It is the sort of day when the damp cold air clings to your face, wrapping itself around your clothing and following you in when you come in from a walk.
As I type this, I am making a fruit cake - full of nuts and sultanas, dates, dried plums and apple. Treacle sits heavily in the centre waiting to soften, melting with the butter and the kitchen is filled with the woody scents of cinnamon, ginger and clove.
Candles have been lit and tea is being brewed, the kitchen smells heavenly with the fragrance of a cooking fruit cake - all comforting and cosy acts as an active antidote to the dreich out side. Hope you can find that little glimmer to make you smile today.
Thank you for all your wonderful and welcoming back comments on my last post xxxx
Lovely.
ReplyDeleteI am aiming for a tidy living room...instead of a workspace with half a dozen projects!!
There will be a candle...looking forward to the Solstice...at about 9.15 tomorrow morning I think?
Tidy rooms - I often aspire to that too - I find that candle light actually makes an untidy room look rather romantic (well that's what I tell myself!)
DeleteI love how cozy your home looks. And I'm sure it smells delightful. I'm so very happy you are posting again. Hugs, Sharon
ReplyDeleteThanks Sharon - glad to be back hugs back xx
DeleteIt’s been a good day for baking. Christmas Rocky Road for me. Looking at the ingredients though I think I need to give a lot of it away to save my poor arteries. Lamb rogan josh in the slow cooker ready for new year and a big batch of tomato soup for Christmas Day are a lot healthier. I am slowly starting to feel organised 😀. Carol x
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of a big batch of tomato soup for Christmas day - I might just do that too! My cake is now iced and ready to be devoured (we are a family of fruit cake eaters, so it never really lasts long) but I have still to make the biryani we're having on Christmas eve - looking forward to filling the kitchen with those scents! x
DeleteNever mind when all else fails, my mantra is "First light your candle...". I have found a source of pure beeswax tealight size candles which burn for 7 hours, such a positive energy. So glad to see you have returned, Instagram is a tempting morsel but not as satisfying as an evocative description of one of your walks.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking since your last post about the difference between the northern and southern hemisphere skies. I've decided a North York sky in winter feels like a lid resting on the hilltops, here in scorching Australia at the moment it feel like huge airless dome. No beneficial walking being done here, neither my lungs nor the dog's poor paws are up for it. Clearly, we are not suited to extremes!
I agree with you, Beth, about the positive energy that emanates from a candle.
DeleteI lived in Africa for many years and I completely understand where you are coming from with the energy sapping heat - it is dangerous too. I do miss the light and the sun though - if I am perfectly honest. thank you for your comment xx
You are right, of course, and by thinking of the cold and the heat I had forgotten how wearing the limited hours and low level of natural light can be when the body is used to a lot more, especially from a young age. The sensitivities of transplants, eh? But now I am even more pleased that we've reached the solstice, as kinder times are coming for both of us.
DeleteWell done for braving the outdoors, I confess there have been a couple of days recently where I have only got as far as the dustbin a couple of times and that was it (although being blown off my feet on the drive may have influenced the decision to stay indoors 🤠)
ReplyDeleteOh - we've had those sort of days too! ones where even going to the dustbin means roping up and lashing oneself to the back gate!! haha
DeleteShame on me! I've yet to deliver my final local cards and they have been ready for 2 weeks; once again time has whizzed by. My antidote for dull days??? Making quilts for Project Linus with colourful fabrics and fleece backings! And yes, baking is always wonderful. x
ReplyDeletedon't be too hard on yourself - the weather has not been encouraging enough to play out and we have only just done ours now - later than ever before - love your dull day antidote xx
DeleteIt has been almost impossible to avoid the rain over the last few days. The aroma of those spices must have been amazing. Xx
ReplyDeleteSome spices just warm up a room as they curl around and fill the air - then they gently linger - I love that x
Delete