I love the word blustery, first of all. I think it conveys what autumnal weather can be like, and also reminds me of Winnie The Pooh stories from when I was little. And boy have we had some blustery days recently!
On Sunday I woke up early, (just after 8am)- I was quite pleased with that time but then I realised that the clocks had gone back so it was just past 7am. The weather was windy but sunny, so I decided to head out for a 10K, as I was expecting torrential rain and gales later. The run was great, although it was tough because of the wind. I decided on an out and back (and very specifically out for 3.1 miles) as then I got to repeat my favourite parts of the run. The wind was behind me on the way out, which meant the hill coming home was even tougher than usual with the wind trying to push me back down.
I was home before 9am, so I had a delicious Rude Health pumpkin bar, had a shower and then got back into bed to read. It was bliss.
Later on I had some porridge- I treated myself to some Dorset cereals Gingerbread porridge (I have made my own using molasses and spices, but this is a treat) topped with some apple (my final garden apple) cooked in coconut oil and sugar. So comforting and warming.
I spent some of Sunday afternoon baking in the kitchen (more on that later this week) before we went for dinner at Andy’s parents. We were considering the cinema late on Sunday night but the cold windy weather put us off- we came home and had the heating on instead!
On Monday I woke up super early due to all the wind. Thankfully we have only had a tiny bit of damage (a fence fallen down, although it is down to our neighbours to fix/ replace it). I had planned a rest day, so pottered about before walking to the post office.
There was a bit of damage to see on the way.
A few telegraph wires had been pulled down too.
At least the weather stayed good for my walk (it is just over a mile away)- it poured with rain just after I was back home!
Then I did some baking- I was going to a friends house for afternoon tea and I had offered to make macaroons- they seemed afternoon-tea-like. I made up one batch, then divided it in half. I added yellow colouring and lemon extract to half, and green colouring and mint extract to the other half. For some reason the yellow ones came so easily off the paper, but the mint ones stuck. I sandwiched the lemon ones with lemon curd, and the mint once with dark chocolate spread. I think I should have used more green colouring too, as once they were cooked they lost the colour quite a bit.
I was quite pleased with how they turned out anyway, and I liked these more than when I tried them before- they seemed to have a better chewy texture and a nicer flavour.
This morning the sun was again shining so for my run I headed to the fields, as now it is dark in the evenings so it is not an option then. It was wonderful, but hard work as it was muddy and the grass was slippery. Maybe I need to look into some trail shoes? Would they be OK for the pavement sections too I wonder? Although I need new normal ones too (maybe that will be done on Thursday).
I had a lot of work to do so tried to get on and power through, and included a lovely tea break, using some of the Marie Antoinette tea I bought at the Cake and Bake show- it looked so pretty. It is black tea with roses, other petals, vanilla and cardamom (and some other bits I think).
Also, I am very excited because I got an email from Popchips this week saying that they are going to bring the sweet potato flavour to the UK! No time line yet, but that makes me happy!
Runners- do you have separate shoes for road and trail?
How did you spend the blustery weekend?
Those macaroons look delicious and I would agree perfect for afternoon tea! I spent my day indoors sheltering from the wind!
I bet it was bad for you right on the coast too!
I like the word ‘blustery’ but I do NOT enjoy running in the wind at all (I’d rather have rain than gales)…sadly for me that rain/gale force winds arrived at mile 7 of the Newcastle Town Moor Marathon on Sunday, and being a town moor it was very exposed. Made for a fun race, that’s for sure…
Glad you haven’t suffered too much damage – I’ve been worried about my blogger friends in the South for the past few days!
xxx
Aw thanks Jess! I shall look on your blog later but I am sure I saw a photo of your Garmin showing an amazing time for that marathon- even more amazing in that windy weather!
I do have a pair of trail shoes as well, and I have used them for a few miles on pavements before getting to trails and they were fine. The wind yesterday was insane, not too much damage here though, I ran along the canal today and there were a few trees down there. It was a beautiful day for a run today- much better than the last few!
I might look into them then, because I do enjoy the off road muddy bits, but I always feel so unsteady wearing trainers with little grip/
Yes it was gorgeous weather today!
Ack…running in wind sucks. Running in wind WITH hills – wow that’s crazy 😉 Good work! And how absolutely lovely to go back to bed after a good run. I love that! I’ve never done it as usually after a run I’m buzzing and have so much energy and need to whizz around doing things to put it to good use. I then crash about an hour lately with a magazine or a book.
Do you know, I’ve never had a macaroon. They’re always quite expensive when I see them. They sound delicious though. The mint and chocolate is such a good idea! One of my favourite dessert combos.
I had never had them until I made them last year- well I bought some in Paris but by the time they got home they were really crumbs! They are expensive I agree, but they look so pretty!
That is so funny, I read your first line and thought ‘blustery, just like in Winnie the Pooh’ then carried on reading and that’s just what you had said. Great minds!
Great minds indeed! That is what I always associate that word with!
Sounds like a lovely few days. I’ve seen loads of off road races to enter lately and have been wondering the same thing about whether my normal trainers would be up to it. I love the look of your macaroons too. I tried making them a little while ago, they’re so difficult! Enjoy the rest of your half term x
I have only entered a couple of off road ones but have struggled, but even when I run on the fields after the rain it is slippery.
Those macaroons look ace, I’m so impressed! Sorry to hear you had a little damage, we were unscathed here but I know lots of people who were caught up in the traffic chaos. Your porridge sounds so good, we were given the final lot of apples off a friends’ tree at the weekend. I’m going to miss them!
I know fresh apples (or home-grown ones) are the best 🙂
I love half term, and I love Autumn with it’s blustery weather! There’s something really nice about coming home and putting the fire on (or the heating) and cozying up infront of the TV or heading under the duvet with a book! Hope you’re enjoying your time off! 🙂
Yey for the sweet potato pop chips! Can’t wait to try them 🙂 It didn’t seem quite as blustery here, but I did wear ear plugs to make sure I could sleep!