No Man’s Land

How was your Christmas? All good I hope.
Ours was merry and bright with various family members visiting and staying at different times all week culminating with twelve here for lunch on Friday, although by then I think everyone was a little tired. So a good time was had but then it was all over in the blink of an eye. I'm resisting taking down the Christmas decorations! I usually relish this quiet no man's land between Christmas and New Year as a time to potter about and recharge my batteries but I have felt a bit restless and low in mood. I'm not sure why, and it will pass as all things do. The answer has been to stay busy and partake in activities that are good for the soul...

I have started some new knitting - a lovely pair of fairisle mitts from Lucy Locketland. I don't need more mitts and I have another knitting project half finished but I couldn't resist starting something new! And these are very portable which my other project isn't... that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

I have been reading, both fiction and non fiction. I heard Dave Goulson speak earlier in the year and I'm thoroughly enjoying his book, whilst dreaming of turning my garden into a haven for wildlife. The painting book was a Christmas present which I hope will encourage me to keep painting into the new year... that's my resolution anyway.

The latest book from Barbara Kingsolver is every bit as good as I anticipated... I don't want to put it down but also don't want it to finish. I just love everything she writes.

We have also been blessed with some beautiful weather over the past couple of days - cold, crisp and sunny which is perfect for walking. If I'm honest I could take it even crisper as it is still muddy underfoot. We seem to be constantly be cleaning muddy paws!

 

I've also managed to do a bit of cutting back and clearing in my potential wildlife haven... although not too much clearing so not to disturb any hibernating creepy crawlies! Plus the blackbirds are rather fond of the berries.

 

And in doing so I have discovered absolutely dozens of little snowdrops emerging. One of the joys of owning a new garden is discovering all the hidden gems.

 

The previous owners seem to have had a thing about hellebores too as they are everywhere, not that I'm complaining. So pretty to have flowers at this time of year.

 

The biggest highlight of my Christmas week however has been being responsible for winding the church clock. Every morning I have climbed the narrow spiral staircase in the clocktower to wind up this amazing clockwork mechanism, something that has been done pretty much every day for the past 267 years. It's wonderful to think of all the different people who have done this before me and is definitely something to be counted in my 100 x 100 list!

So that has been my week and here we are about to enter a new year. We've no special plans to celebrate and for the first time since we met we are not going out or spending new year's eve with friends, which does feel a little odd. I guess we might crack open a bottle of fizz but there's a good chance we'll be fast asleep by midnight!

Whatever your plans... Happy New Year!

The Four Pillars

Blogging really feels like it is taking a back seat the moment, which is frustrating because there is much I would like to write about but as always is the way when there is lots happening there is no time to write. Of course when there is plenty of time to write I've nothing much to say!

Despite being busy I'm still trying to follow the advice in Dr Chatterjee's book The 4 Pillar Plan, trying to improve how I relax, eat, move and sleep. For each of the four 'pillars' there is a five point check list and until I started writing this I thought I was doing really well... oh how we can fool ourselves!

For relaxation he suggests carving out some 'me time' each day. It can be almost anything that is solely for me that doesn't involve a screen plus I mustn't feel guilty about it. If nothing else I read a real book for at least 15 guilt free minutes a day so I think I can consider that ticked. I also eat at least one meal around a table... in fact we generally eat all our meals at the table. so that is two points ticked... however keeping a screen free Sabbath (or any day I guess) is not something I've done, nor a daily period of stillness... although when I'm laying awake unable to sleep I try to meditate on my breathing. Does that count? The fifth suggestion is to keep a gratitude journal which I sort of do mentally but just forget to write it down. He suggests doing it last thing at night but it's just about the last thing I think about... too busy thinking about that elusive sleep!

I'm not scoring so well on the moving either. I mostly manage 10,000 steps a day but strength training, high intensity intervals training, exercise snacking, daily glute exercises? I don't think so... I really must reread that chapter! Sleep is not scoring so well either. I can appreciate an environment of darkness for going off to sleep but I actually like the arrival of daylight to wake me up. Plus I'm not about to get new curtains. I did a few days with no screen time in the evenings (until I discovered the ancestry research) and even a few days with no caffine in the evening but even though I have tried really hard  I find most herbal teas revolting and as there was no discernable difference in my sleeping pattern I've reverted back to old habits. At least I get twenty minutes of daylight outside every morning.

But for the eating I'm scoring four out of five (if you have the book you will know that he suggests it is far better to score two in each pillar than a high score in one and nothing in others... but we'll gloss over that for now!) Retrain taste buds to de-normailise sugar... tick, Eat five different veg a day... tick, eat all my food within a twelve hour window... tick, unprocess my diet... tick! The only thing I struggle with at this time of year is drinking eight glasses of water a day. I do try but mostly forget. And when I do remember, I spend half the night up and down needing a wee, so it doesn't do much for me getting a better night's sleep

But I'm really enjoying the food... breakfast is always a favourite meal especially every conceivable porridge variation - the current favourite is made with blueberries and topped with yoghurt and slices of kiwi. Or maybe fruit and yoghurt topped with homemade granola... so much nicer than any supermarket brands. 

Homemade Granola

I warm up 25g butter with 60g nut butter (usually almond) and 60 g honey. Stir that into 300g oats along with 75g chopped nuts (almonds, hazelnuts and pecans all work well). Spread this onto a baking tray and bake at 180 deg C (160 fan) for 15 mins, turning half way through the cooking time. Do set a timer as there is a fine line between toasted nuts and burnt! Allow to cool and stir in a handful of dried cranberries (or raisins) before storing in an airtight container.

Soup is always an easy way to eat several portions of vegetables for lunch and I've been making soda bread each week to go along with it.

Seeded Soda Bread

Mix together 450g wholemeal bread flour, 75g mixed seeds, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda. In a jug combine 1 tablespoon black treacle with a carton of buttermilk and top it up to 450 ml with some cold water. Mix well into the flour mixture and allow to stand for five minutes while the oven heats up to 200 deg C. (180 fan) Shape into a loaf, place on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes.

And just in case you think I'm being too virtuous to be true... there were some date and walnut muffins this week (and some chocolate, but that's a secret!) 

So that's where I am with the four pillars... not doing as well as I thought but I generally keep good health and have plenty of energy, plus I have shed a few pounds since the new year so it can't all be bad. I shall definitely stick with it.

I hope you have a good weekend!

A Day in My Life...

Given that I only seem able to post once a week lately and when I do it's a condensed version of the entire week in one post, inspired by Christina's post here, I thought it might be fun to ring the changes and give you a condensed version of my average day instead... not that there is ever an average day around these parts. Of course there is a chance I'll bore the pants off you and you'll never come back, but I'll take that risk because I always enjoy reading about other people's daily routines but maybe I'm just nosey! So this was yesterday...

• 6.00 am - the alarm goes and although I usually don't mind an early start to the day, often waking long before the alarm, for some reason I want to turn over and snooze for another hour. It may have had something to do with staying up late last night to finish my latest book. The Ashes of London  an historical thriller set in the times of the Great Fire. I found the descriptions of London after the fire interesting even if the plot wasn't terribly engaging at times, so enjoyed it overall... enough to stay up late to finish it anyway.
• 6.15 am - Old clothes are on and I'm out walking the dog. It is damp, cold and drizzling and feels distinctly autumnal considering it is still early August. I don't let Hector off his lead this morning because I can't be bothered with chasing him if he runs away which he tends to do. He is far more interested in other people and their dogs than he is in me. As it happens we didn't see anyone else out.
• 7.00 am - Back home and Stewart has made a pot of tea so I pour a mug before heading up to the shower. I don't take the tea in the shower with me!
• 7.20 am - I drive Stewart to the station, come home and have a second mug of tea whilst looking through a contract for a new teaching job in September.

• 8.00 am - I make my breakfast. The oats have been soaked the night before with some mixed seeds, raisins and cinnamon. I just have to stir in some fruit (grated apple, grapes and banana) and yogurt. I savour it whilst reading through some favourite blogs. I then spend half an hour trying to learn lines for a play I'm going to be in this October... I've got a lot to learn. But because I'm reading out loud it gets the dog over excited and he starts acting stupid, jumping all over the place and barking so I give up!

• 9.15 am - I head out to deliver cheese scones and apple cake to the local coffee shop. I made them on Monday and have frozen them so they can use them as required. They still have a lot left from last week, so didn't neeed as much as usual. From there I go on to the funeral of one of our Embroiderers' Guild branch members. As far as these things go it was a lovely service with beautiful singing from the choir she used to sing with but sad too. And as always there were interesting things about her we never knew. Half way through the service I regreted the second mug of tea though! I stopped off at the bank and the supermarket on the way home.

• 12.30 pm - Back home, I decide that it feels like soup weather, so raid the fridge and find an onion, a chilli, a sweet potato, a butternut squash and a handful of carrots with which I make an orange soup (as opposed to green soup) It took longer than I thought so ended up eating lunch quite late but it made several portions so there is plenty for the rest of the week. I added a splash of creme fraiche and some chives so it would make a pretty photo for Intagram. I also had my eye on a lone cheese scone that was left but youngest son snaffled it whilst I was on the phone to my Mum so I had toast instead.

• 2.30 pm - I finish off a birthday cake order that came in at the last minute on Sunday. I made the cake on Monday but it needed icing and decorating. I always think these things will take about half hour when in fact it was more like an hour and a half. I'll never get rich making cakes at the hourly rate I'm working for but the customer was pleased.
• 4.00 pm - I make a cup of tea and spend an hour answering emails and doing some planning for various classes I've got starting in the autumn, ignoring the fact I'm feeling a bit sick... I may have eaten a few too many chocolate buttons and licked too many spoons... possibly.
• 5.00 pm - it  is time to walk Hector again. We both get very wet... the joys of owning a dog!

• 6.00 pm - Back home I change into dry clothes and get the dinner prepared ready to cook later and then spend more time on sorting out the admin etc for my classes. I'm determined by the time September arrives I'm going to be organised and on top of the work... you heard it here first!.
• 7.30 pm - I collect Stewart from the station and drive home and cook the dinner. We have smoked haddock fishcakes on a bed of sauted greens with a curried mayonnaise sauce. It was met with approval all round but then I don't think they would dare complain!

• 8.15 pm - Dinner is finished and the men have washed up so I retire to the sofa with another cup of tea. I consider knitting as I have just started a new sweater called "Hut 8" from Eden Cottage Yarns. The yarn is a lovely mixture of wool with silk but it is only four ply so it may take me a while. I blame Celia who was wearing a beautiful golden version of this cardigan the last time we met. At least it is knitted in the round so there will be no sewing up. But instead I work on my rag rug which has been put aside for several weeks. I hope to be teaching a rag rugging class later this year so it will be good to have something finished. It's also on my 60 x 60 list as something I have never done before.

• 10.45 pm - after watching the latest drama on TV followed by the news it is time to head to bed and choose a new book to start reading. I pick up The Light Between Oceans which I think I'm going to enjoy but I only manage one chapter before falling asleep!

Summer Breakfasts

Let's talk breakfast... unless I have seriously over indulged the evening before I cannot skip breakfast. In fact I think it is the meal I most often look forward to. I eat porridge throughout the colder months but in the summer I love Bircher muesli in all its variations, full of healthy ingredients which is just as well given the vast amounts of gin and tonic cheesecake consumed this week!

I'm sure I'm teaching my garndmother to suck eggs here but if you have never tried this before... you must! It was devised by Swiss physician Maximillian Bircher-Brenner in 1900, for patients at his sanatorium as a way to get them to eat more fresh fruit, most specifically apples. It consisted of soaked oats, with natural yoghurt or milk and loads of grated apple.

For each portion I use about 25 - 30 g of rolled oats and add a tablespoon of either mixed seeds or linseeds and soak this overnight with 100 ml water, although you can also use apple juice. I confess that I usually forget to soak them overnight but find if I put it together with some boiling water before I walk the dog in the morning, by the time I've got back, showered and dressed it has cooled down and is perfect. If I'm using apple I'll also add a handful of raisins and some cinnamon to the mix before soaking. I then grate in an apple per person, stir in a couple of spoonfuls of natural bio yoghurt (always full fat) and then top it off with a sliced banana, a sprinkle of cinnamon and anything else I have to hand. Some chopped almonds or pecans work well too.

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But the beauty of this is that it can work with any combination of fruit you happen to have at the time. One of my favourite ways is instead of apple I mash a banana with some raspberries and stir this into the soaked oats with the yoghurt. This then gets served with an extra dollop of yohurt and some more fresh berries. What more could you want...

...except pancakes now and then! I learned to love American style pancakes from my years living in the US and they make the occasional treat topped with yoghurt and fresh fruit. I use the same recipe I've used since my boys were small which mixes up in no time - 225g of self raising flour plus a teaspoon of baking powder and 2 tablespoons of caster sugar whisked up with two eggs and 285 ml of milk. Stir in approx 25g melted butter and then cook in dollops (approx 60 ml) on a hot griddle or fryng pan. This makes about 14 pancakes which don't last long in our house!

But tomorrow morning, as a Sunday treat, we'll be having poached egg on mashed avocado on toast with grilled tomatoes. I might even fry up some mushrooms too. I'm already looking forward to it!

What do you like to eat for breakfast?