Category: Stuff I love!

(This is back on Monday 7th December before all the craziness happened).

After visiting the Christmas tree farm on the Sunday, I didn’t have much energy to actually decorate it, so we did it in bits during the week.  We got our fake tree down and put it in the dining room (we couldn’t decide for a while) so now we have two trees- I am making the most of this once in a lifetime situation!

Andy’s dad made us this amazing wooden tree, so I put our little Disney baubles on it.

On Wednesday it was the final yoga of the term (none in the final week) and I felt Ok, although any of the inversions just felt bad so I missed those. It’s so weird to think that since March the classes have been going online. I am still yet to do a proper headstand (I can get one leg up at a time, but not both)- maybe 2021 will be a year for me to get the hang of that.

On Thursday I met my dad for a run- a little out and back in the rain. It was enjoyable to catch up and as it turned out, our last run together for a while so I am glad we managed it.

I am loving the Proviz jacket although it is very noisy!

Friday treat of a gingerbread biscuit while I tackled some work, more festive tea in my advent calendar and a crime drama on the TV.

Of course, now that it’s December, the festive leggings are out. Another club challenge was to do some reps (I think 200m or more in length, maybe 6 reps?) so I did that on Saturday morning as part of my (not)parkrun. All good.

Since finishing The Crown and whizzing through The Queen’s Gambit we started an Icelandic drama called The Valhalla Murders which has been really good (way better than Young Wallander), and then onto Fargo.

I’d ordered a wreath kit from a lady on Etsy who usually does classes, and there was a fair bit of hassle with the delivery company losing the parcel (not the seller’s fault at all- she was super helpful), but the replacement arrived in time for the weekend, so I spent a good hour and a bit making the wreath. Things like this are so therapeutic and I would definitely do something like this again. The lady had made a video as well as printing out instructions, so I could watch and pause her instructions whenever needed. It of course doesn’t replace a live class, but in this situation that we are in it was perfect. The box was full of moss and fir and pine cones and dried orange slices and wooden stars- it just looked so festive.

I also wrapped the presents for people at work, made decorations for some relatives and got them ready to post, sorted a donation to The Woodland Trust (instead of sending Christmas cards),  topped up the bird food, did the cleaning and finished some work. Phew. A very productive day.

On Sunday I took the run fairly gently as I still felt like I had a bit of a cold left, so 8 miles in the rain felt like plenty. I did some more crafting- I love making these Danish hearts- and also made some cookies.

These are the Pret vegan chocolate almond butter cookie recipe, and then on the top I melted a little dark choc mixed with some peppermint extract, and then sprinkled on some crushed candy canes. I just wish we were allowed to give out home-made food as gifts (I understand why not but it’s a shame all the same).

On Sunday afternoon my Christmas movie was Godmothered (on Disney+)- a bit of an Enchanted and Elf vibe, and as a lot of it is set in Boston over Christmas it let us look back on a few yeas ago when we went to NYC and Boston over Christmas.

What Christmas movies have you been watching?  Do you like crafts? I just got a glue gun and I can see a lot of use for that in the future!

I hope you are doing OK whichever tier you are in and whatever plans you had…

So, last week it was the start of December. Usually we can say things like “wow, how is it December already?” but this year it feels like we have been in December-Eve for ages.

On Sunday I watched another festive film, this time Noelle, from Disney+. This was more of a fun Christmas film than Last Christmas (which was a bit more like A Christmas Carol)- loads of lines from Christmas songs, lots of cute decorations and full of festive cheer. I did wish that Anna Kendrick would sing a bit more though.

Advent calendar excitement, Run up 2 Christmas socks and a hot cross bun with some tea after a super busy day at work

As well as advent calendars, December marked the start of our running club challenge (they’ve created 12 days of Christmas, with 12 challenges to be completed, in any order during December), and I am also doing the Run Up 2 Christmas for MIND- I am aiming for 100km before Christmas day.

On Tuesday after work I met Carrie for a run. We had said we would run to see the Christmas lights in WGC (I was even wearing my Christmas top which I realised that after putting on my high viz vest and light over the top, no-one could actually see…), and after doing a little detour around the town to see some of the lights, we thought we would be able to tick off the 10k on the club challenge- we actually ran over 7 miles which we both agreed was something that neither of us would have done if we were running on our own. I was absolutely freezing though- after work I’d had a meeting and to make it socially distanced we had to sit in the hall, with all the  doors open, so it was about 4 degrees. I think only after running around 4 miles did I start to feel warm, and I was so  glad when I got home to find that Andy had put the wood burner on.

On Monday we finished The Crown, so Tuesday was the time to begin The Queen’s Gambit (a week on we have finished it!).

On Thursday I drove to my parents and had a run with Dad- he had planned the route and it ended up being very muddy as we ran across fields and along bridleways. It was good fun, and although it had rained all day, it actually stopped when we started running, and with the moon out was quite a clear evening. I wore my new Pro Viz jacket which I had got in the sales. I mainly got it as a waterproof as despite washing my running jacket with the special wash stuff, it isn’t any good in heavy rain. Weirdly, despite being the same price and pretty much the same design, the cycling jacket is waterproof and the running one isn’t, so I got the cycling jacket. I am so impressed with the reflectivity, as was my dad.

See below for how muddy my shoes were after! Another club challenge ticked off (a (not)parkrun).

On Friday night I slept so badly, and on Saturday decided to do another challenge, 3 hill repeats somewhere in your run. I ended up doing 5 miles, but just never warmed up and my pace was super slow the whole time. After a hot shower and breakfast, I still wasn’t feeling great but just thought  it was because I hadn’t slept well. I managed some cleaning and a walk to get some fresh air, but I had some work to do and ended up sitting in bed attempting to do it, and just went to sleep all afternoon instead. Andy woke me up and I had some dinner, and then went back to bed again.

No run on Sunday morning- instead a morning spent watching TV. By the afternoon I felt a bit better, and Andy had found a local Christmas tree farm, so we went there to choose a tree- it’s a hard decision!

Although by the time we had got it home and put it up, I had no energy to get the decorations down or start putting them up, so we left that for another day.

Are your decorations up? Real tree or fake? We have a fake one which we put up each year, but as we’re not going away as a special treat we got a real one this year.

The evenings have been occupied with scented candles and The Crown. Trying to not burn through it too quickly (the candles and The Crown, because the candles are from the USA so I won’t be getting more any time soon)!

I am also missing that Friday feeling (see Fry above). There was a glimmer on the horizon as Junior parkrun might come back in the spring, so here’s hoping that real parkrun will come soon after- with all these vaccines being developed we must have hope.

We also got some satsumas in our shopping- it’s always a bit of a gamble getting them delivered because I am a bit fussy and in normal times would pick them up in a real shop instead, but these one were good.

Last weekend I had another go at the vegan babka recipe for weekend breakfast- it’s a good one because I can make the dough on Friday night, leave it to rise in the fridge overnight, and then in the morning shape it and spread on the filling, and then Andy puts the oven on while I’m out (not)parkrunning, and then it’s baked and cooling while I have a shower. It’s good heated the next day too. I think this time I got the twists more accurate, although it’s a sticky dough so transferring it from the board to the tin is always very tricky.

Recently Saturday has been a day of jobs, but I have been pretty efficient at getting all the cleaning and sorting done in the morning after my run, so we’ve often walked into town (usually when the weather has been OK) to get our Caffe Nero drinks, and of course maybe one of their delicious mince pies. I wore my Dole Whip mask for the first time after having bought it in the summer ahead of our DLP trips. (We’ve just had to cancel another one, as we had booked a couple of days at the start of the Christmas holiday, as they were meant to reopen, but now France has carried on with their lockdown so it won’t open until Feb 2021- impressive that we had annual passes for 2020 and did not use them for one day!). Anyway, it was very comfy and didn’t steam up my glasses. I think half my masks do, and half don’t, and I’m not too sure if it’s the fabric or the fit.

I fancied something easy going so on Saturday we watched Last Christmas. I am not one for holiday cheesy movies (eg I would not watch The Holiday or anything)- but this was less of a rom-com and more of a modern day Christmas Carol (ish). I mean, you can’t expect much from a film based on a song, but it was festive enough.

On Sunday the weather was meant to be terrible, but it was amazing! A cold wind, but such beautiful skies and leaves. My battery nearly ran out though (I thought I had checked the night before, but I think I’d actually checked on Friday)- thankfully it lasted until I got home- because if it’s not on Strava … (and I want to have 100 miles in each month this year as I’ve surpassed my original target of 1,000 miles per year a while back).

After breakfast we went for a walk in Panshanger, although it seemed like all of Hertford and WGC had had the same idea- the car park was rammed! Luckily it’s a huge park and the fields tend to be busy with dog walkers, so we walked the parkrun route which was fairly quiet. I did see lovely Donna from my running club- she was waiting for her partner to finish his run so we had a brief chat (and I was wondering if that was allowed?).

At one point I saw this puddle and went “oooh look”- Andy thought I had seen something exciting, and was very disappointed when it was just a puddle shaped like Mickey Mouse. I did point out that even if I had seen a woodpecker he wouldn’t find it exciting, not sure what he was expecting!

I baked another Christmas cake and then had tea and a mince pie while it baked. Andy was watching a podcast, so I decided on a chai latte and a Disney movie- this time The Princess and The Frog. It’s got such good music, but the sad bit is still so sad (not quite Pixar level).

Are you watching Christmas movies yet? And if so, which ones? 

I have always been quite happy to run on my own. I love that running gives me “me” time, and that I can clear my head, process things for work, or catch up on podcasts. But then when I joined my running club I really looked forward to the club run each week as it was a chance to catch up and chat- the miles do fly by. Due to logistics, I haven’t been regularly attending the club runs for a few years, but every now and then I have, and of course at parkrun there was always the opportunity to run with others.

I had been running with Dad on a Saturday morning before the latest lockdown, but that stopped as I had been popping in to see my mum too (and sitting in the garden for breakfast). As the guidelines stated that we were allowed to meet outside with one other person for exercise, our running club facebook page has been getting a lot of requests from people for a running buddy, and as luck would have it, one friend wanted to run after work on a Thursday.

I messaged to say I would meet her around 5, as I could drive past her house on my way home. I was looking forward to it all day. I changed at work (above- pink cheeks as I had to make several parent phone calls after the kids had gone home- and then after I had changed into my running kit in my cupboard) and then parked outside her house.

It was fab! We did an out and back route, different to my normal route as she lives in Hatfield, and it was so good to chat and just talk to someone different. I don’t think I realised how much I’d missed it until we started running.

The Leon burger sauce is still going strong- with veggie burgers and vegan brioche rolls from Aldi it is as close as we can get to Leon right now!

The following week I did the same thing- on Tuesday I met Carrie on my way home (although my meeting went on a little longer and then I got stuck in bad traffic so was rather late) and on Thursday I stopped and met my dad. We did our traditional route through Jersey Farm park- luckily we both had lights, and it was so good to be running through theses deserted woods and paths.

I think because at the moment everything is more lonely than usual it’s just even nicer to speak to someone in real life, so I am really appreciating runs with company. It does mean I am getting behind with my podcasts though!

Do you like to run on your own?  How are you coping in the lockdown?

So last week I mentioned that I decided to re-do my Christmas cakes. I was trying out a new recipe (a vegan one) and also dividing the mixture into smaller tins, and I think I just overcooked the first lot. A bit of a pain, but I have nowhere else to go at the weekends right now!

It was so sunny the other weekend that I wore sunglasses on my (not)parkrun- it made a nice change from after work runs in the dark. I thought our Vitality reward would stop in the lockdown (last time they stopped) but we are still being credited with a free drink each week, so on Saturday we walked into town to get a takeaway- I tried their mint hot chocolate and it was really good. We also bought a mince pie because they are so tasty (and happen to be vegan).

(This shows how behind the blog is)- on Sunday I wanted to run 11 miles as it was Remembrance Sunday- as I ran past home I realised I was just over, so kept going to make it 11.11. I had made baked French toast- before I have used the Pip and Nut recipe, but I am reducing animal products more  and more (it includes eggs- I used to get eggs from my mum because she keeps hens, but I am going off the idea more), anyway, this recipe uses a combination of coconut milk and silken tofu, and was so tasty. (I kept the slices whole and spread peanut butter on them and sprinkled with berries, so it was a bit of a mash up between the two recipes).

I wanted to do some bits in the garden, and am amazed that lots of the flowers are still going. Our rose has started flowering again, the fuchsias are still going strong, as are the geraniums. Good for the bees.  I am finding the temptation to work a lot more at the weekends, but I know I need a real break. Work is always busy, but with the added covid pressures I am feeling more drained at the end of the day, so I know I need a rest at the weekend, but as there isn’t a great deal to do it’s hard to stop. I used to like a walk into town and a sit in a café with a magazine, because at home I could sit and read but there would always be a job that needed doing. Anyway, now that isn’t an option either, so I am finding that giving myself something else to do is helpful. I like to watch a film or some TV, but only after I’ve been busy first- I feel all antsy if I sit around inside all day.

That weekend I made a little hedgehog home. I say home, really it’s some leaves and twigs (no woodwork involved).

I’d seen it on a newsletter, and thought I’d give it a go. Apparently hedgehogs are really struggling, partly because we are all putting up fences so they can’t wander from garden to garden, and also because we tend to keep our gardens tidier so there isn’t piles of leaves for them to hibernate in/ logs for the bugs to live in that they feed on and so on. This home was simple- pile up leaves (I started with small ones first) and then top with twigs so they won’t blow away. I tucked it at the back behind a tree stump, and am hoping that it is useful, if not for a hedgehog at least for bugs.

On Sunday afternoon I had another go at the Christmas cake- this time it turned out really well (I made one big one instead of two smaller ones)- it smells delicious. It was this recipe– looking forward to decorating and gifting later. While it was baking I watched a movie- this time I gave The Descendants a go. Someone had recommended it to me, although I had got confused and thought it was the film set in Hawaii about the family on Kauai. Anyway, it was quite fun although I kept getting confused by who the characters were related to!

Grilled cheese/ beautiful morning sky/ after a run in the cold/ Christmas cake

In the evening I sampled the Christmas cake (of course I had to put a bit of marzipan on it, because that’s the best bit) and it passed with flying colours.

On a side note, I love a grilled cheese sandwich, and used to have a sandwich maker but it broke (this was probably 15 years ago!). I saw this sandwich maker getting lots of positive reviews (randomly on a teaching forum) and decided to treat myself. Well, I have no idea how it works, but it’s amazing! I use the violife cheddar which melts really well, and added a bit of piccalilli in- alongside some veg soup it was such a good dinner.

Do you have any traditions? For a long time now I’ve always baked a Christmas cake for us, my parents and Andy’s parents, and it’s one of my favourite projects as I get to decorate the cakes too.

What sort of things are you doing to relax at the weekend? I’ve been eyeing up some craft projects for the next few weekends.

If you have a garden, do you think it helps to support local wildlife?