Just like that December arrives, the aspirations of November gone and with it the arrival of the candles. They seem more important than ever this year. More sparkle more warmth and more meaning.
Category: Scribbles
Covered Cave
My computer cave has been squashed up into a corner, shut down and put into hibernation. The sash and case windows that have served the house for a hundred years and then some need replacing. The breeze that comes in from the tiniest of cracks is unreal, and has been known to tickle the goosebumps. The dust on top of the books on the top shelf is unnatural and can only be caused by particles drifted through the house on the breeze.
We’ve had some windows replaced before, a gradual process as we work through the house, save the money and pick of the rooms that need it most. It’s an upheaval, workmen in the house, banging, shouting, grunting and dust where the house is opened to the elements as the old windows are removed back to the stone.
So the weekend coffee share is one of carnage as we put rooms back together, the hoover doing overtime, soapy water and a clothe to clinch the final deal.
The coffee is a welcome break, and I thank you for stopping by, we discuss the black Friday offers….and they can make one black with the hunt.
Food wise, if you’re looking for a chocolate pudding……this one is a keeper Chocolate Tahini and Banana Pudding from Nigella. It’s a welcome highlight to the day after all the cleaning and If there were any left I’d share some!
The #WeekendCoffeeShare is an informal weekly link-up hosted by Eclectic Alli that serves as weekly heart beat and sort of of a mind-dump. Helps me reflect on my week, with a list of achievements, thoughts and rambles normally whilst drinking a beverage probably listening to music.
It’s come round quick
It’s Saturday already, it’s come round so quick. I’m back from the morning messages and a simple light rye loaf with blue cheese for lunch. It’s time for a post lunch coffee and the weekendcoffeeshare.
I’m gearing up for painting the porch, it’s a small affair, a long over-due job probably not been touched in 20 years. I can understand why though, a hotch potch of corners, nooks and crannies. The meter is there for the electric, the fuse box and coat hooks. It’s going to be fiddly.
I’m off the Saturday cooking duty as a consequence; which is a little disappointing, at the same time nice to be cooked for….although that is the case most days! I enjoy the weekend spot and the routine of producing something new.
The Guardian today, had various recipes for lunch time cooking whilst at home. I cannot see myself going anywhere near them given the amount of time between online meetings. Where one meeting ends and the next one starts with the touch of the screen on the iPad. I am taken by the roast chicken legs and radicchio (tomorrow nights tea). Then there is the easy weeknight root vegetable fitters and slaw with Sausages….probably Monday’s tea.
TV has so much going on at the Moment. I’m late to the Mandalorian, and caught up quickly, about to start the next series (no spoilers please) with the youngest. Star Trek Discovery, my guilty pleasure just keeps giving…and nobody is interested in the house but me. Then the BBC has got His Dark Materials an adaptation of Philip Pullman’s trilogy and the whole family seems to appear for the Sunday sit down which is nice.
It’s time to start making the fruit cakes if you wish to feed them in time for Christmas, another thing that’s come round quick. The smell lingers in the kitchen for hours….a smell that always takes you by surprise, but right back in time to my grandma’s kitchen.
The #WeekendCoffeeShare is an informal weekly link-up hosted by Eclectic Alli that serves as weekly heart beat and sort of of a mind-dump. Helps me reflect on my week, with a list of achievements, thoughts and rambles normally whilst drinking a beverage probably listening to music.
The Fear
The 7 day streak is long gone and the fear of keeping it going has to. It got too much for me I have to say. That and a number of other things like staring at the computer screen for 12 hours a day over the last few days. A mammoth milestone at work coming to fruition this weekend.
I’ve managed to shape some kind of routine where the first hour of the day is my own over the last few months. If I do manage to not hit the snooze button it starts with a bit of yoga, an attempt to stave of the back pain from sitting in a chair all day. A bout of fresh air, although it’s dark now. The bonus of the shift in daylight hours long gone.
Breakfast, I’m working through some chocolate porridge concoction from Jamie’s Superfoods, the boys tried it once and I’ve since been left with the consequences. It’s a date, cocoa and hazelnut affair, that grows on you as you get to the bottom of the bowl.
I then take my coffee or tea through to front room, head phones on, Einaudi, breathe and then read for the remaining time until such that I need to plug into the real world.
I’ve got through a few leadership books that have sat on the shelf for a while, a treat for me if I get through one book is to intersperse with a lunch time interview with the FT. 42 interviews combined in one book, the rich and famous, an eclectic mix that make me think about the world differently.
Rather than read this morning, I’m plugging away talking to you and if you’re still reading this, then thank-you for your time as it’s precious! I’m sat in the armchair next to a big old fireplace, I’m still powering up with piano music and wondering what lays ahead for the Friday. I hope you have a good one.
9 minutes to café Klaris
If we were having coffee I’d tell you about another bus enabled week this week. The wind a howling putting the idea of cycling off and a sore throat and head cold to boot.
Playing on my phone, I randomly swiped and noticed a widget telling me it was 9 mins to café Klaris. Sounds like a title of a good yarn but really it’s big brother keeping track of my regular haunts. First time I’ve seen myself tracked in this fashion. My normal stop off before getting into work.
Taking a moment to think I can’t decide if this is useful and helps me in my daily life or whether I should be alarmed. Not really useful, as I know exactly where this is and how long it takes me to get into work and I’m more amused that a piece of software is predicting where I’m heading. What would be really useful would be if it flashed up….come on it’s raining, it’s windy, and the gym is on the way why aren’t you going there.
I’m always on the lookout for a good lentil recipe, not sure how I missed this one in the paper but I’ve found it now. Rachel Roddy’s Lentils, potato, greens and sausage, definitely on the must try list.
The #WeekendCoffeeShare is an informal weekly link-up hosted by Eclectic Alli that serves as weekly heart beat and sort of of a mind-dump. Helps me reflect on my week, with a list of achievements, thoughts and rambles normally whilst drinking a beverage probably listening to music.
Hello February
It’s flown by and the jump start to my body that I was hoping for has not happened. Not through the lack of trying. I think I had one week where I felt on top of the world and then due to a new exercise regime, potentially the new insoles I bought for my shoes…I started to have a stiff hip in the mornings that has thrown my confidence around whether I’m trying too hard.
Really really struggled to get up and at them, the black ice this week meant I used the bus more than planned and a late night post a retirement do on Thursday means I have my head in my hands thinking how I’m going to shake this.
So Saturday morning….the wind is a howling again the idea of getting on the bike without being blown off is a no. The boss had been out for a run and I’m slightly jealous…not in a mean way…just from the point of view of wanting to go too…but then the pain will kick in around my knee. I need to bite the bullet and see a physio. Just writing this has prompted me to book a session.
To share social media wise:
A great podcast on Circadian rhythm and how when we eat is really important: #81 Why When We Eat May Be More Important Than What We Eat with Professor Satchin Panda
As a result we are trying to bring our bedtime forward earlier so I can feel fresh faced at 6 in the morning. Alongside this trying to restrict our eating to within a 10 hour window in order to stick to circadian rhythms.
On the eats front today’s new recipes will be a quinoa and ham hock dish followed by a sweet potato and coconut brownie. A soup to use up the chilli in the fridge will be lentil, bolstered by the left overs of squash and sweet potato from the recipes above.
Have a great start to the month.
The #WeekendCoffeeShare is an informal weekly link-up hosted by Eclectic Alli that serves as weekly heart beat and sort of of a mind-dump. Helps me reflect on my week, with a list of achievements, thoughts and rambles normally whilst drinking a beverage probably listening to music.
Worlds Best Pop Up Cafe
Mothers Day in the UK and this year we were very disorganised at booking somewhere for lunch. I tried a couple of places the night before and they were fully booked. Fortunately we woke to blue skies and decided to head out.
The place…..our very own pop up cafe. Our own freshly brewed coffee (albeit in a flask) and some home baking from the day before…..which had matured nicely.
As I poured the coffee with the sun in my face, I started to think why don’t we do this more often!
The flapjack beauty’s are from a Dan Lepard recipe I found in the guardian, and I see have been featured at the littleloaf wordpress blog. They are perfect for camping and walking trips a like. Fudgy and chunky at the same time. These aren’t for the faint hearted!
So the view from our pop up cafe….Edinburgh Castle, sat there in it’s majesty. The forth rail bridge in the background. Definitely worth getting the boys up Salisbury Crag and packing that flask.
Where are you going to create your pop up cafe?