Category: Stuff I love!

Originally last Saturday I was going to be heading into London to meet a couple of friends for a parkrun and breakfast, but one of them couldn’t make it so we have postponed until January. It probably turned out for the best because I hadn’t run all week and although I was feeling better, I opted for Panshanger which meant I could get up pretty late and drive around the corner, as opposed to getting up super early to run to the train station.

I saw on their facebook page that they would be collecting old trainers and sports kit for Kit Aid, so I loaded up a bag with 3 pairs of trainers and some old race tops (is it just me that saves trainers?). It was absolutely freezing at parkrun, and I headed around fairly gently, with many a tissue stop!

In the afternoon the rain started tipping down. We had tickets to see Reef in Oxford and were going to head to Waddesdon Manor on the way (an NT place) to see the Christmas lights, but we thought it would be pretty miserable wandering about in the rain, so we just headed into the centre of Oxford instead.  A quick dinner in Leon and then a fun evening listening to them play the classics.

On Sunday morning it was time for the running club Christmas bRUNch- there is a club run (from Hatfield) and then we meet at Bill’s in WGC for brunch (some people just come from the breakfast without running too). It’s only a mile and a half from home, and as we had a pretty late night I only left at about 9am (the brunch was at 10). I thought I would meet them on the way but they ran a different way and it was rather slippery in places so I cut my run short, doing just over 4 miles in the end. Brunch was of course delicious, and it was lovely to catch up with people as I’ve not managed a club run in ages.

Andy walked in and met me, and we walked home together. After a shower I did some cake decorating- I went for a Minnie Mouse theme for our cake this year to remind us of our Florida holiday.

I also made another batch of the Christmas pudding fudge, bagged them all up and got gifts ready for people at work.

On Monday I popped into town after work to collect an order (I was meant to be having a massage but it was cancelled but I still needed to collect my order). I felt OK but then after dinner I felt a bit weird and went to bed feeling a bit under the weather. I think the germs at work were all catching up with me as occasionally I was feeling a bit dizzy and I was still getting over my cold.

I had promised to come to the club run on Tuesday because it is moving to Wednesdays so I won’t be going any more, but it was cancelled at the last minute. The weather was pretty horrendous with sideways rain and winds, and I nearly didn’t go, but as I was already changed and needed to wash my hair I thought I’d just do a short one to get some (very) fresh air.

I got absolutely soaked through- this running jacket isn’t waterproof (I really need to invest in a good one I think) and I got splashed by a van driving too close to the kerb. I did find a street that reminded me of Home Alone as every single house had really pretty white lights, although the photo didn’t really come out. I had to peel my clothes off they were so drenched when I got home!

I had another short run on Wednesday, and in the evening we watched the final episode of Narcos and enjoyed a hot chocolate.

This week I’ve been cracking out my Christmas hats-  I feel like I probably could wear the Minnie Mouse one at other times, but the Rudolph one really only has a short window to be worn in!

On Thursday headed back into town for the massage. It was the most painful once since my first one I think- the amount of crunching coming from my shoulders was awful.  I could move better afterwards, but I also have a few bruises on my back. The end of term stress is high!

Once home I had to pack, as I was being picked up on Friday after school to go straight to Heathrow as we were going to Berlin for a few days over Christmas. Of course everyone checked that we weren’t flying from Gatwick, and we felt pretty lucky that we were away from that chaos.

Gingerbread from someone at work/ hooray for the last day of term/ parkrun directions/ running kit packed up

I’d emailed to myself the map of Hasenheide parkrun, looked up the directions on the train, packed my barcode wristband and cow hat- I was all ready. Literally 5 minutes after checking our bags, Andy got a text to say our flight had been cancelled. Argh!

(Warning- ranty post alert)

This then turned into a massive palaver because we then had to get our bags back. I had to join a queue, use a phone, give the receipts to a customer service person, then get my passport (one person per party was allowed to collect the bags so Andy waited outside looking at flight options on his phone) and be accompanied into the baggage hall. It then turned out I had to go through full on security (if you ever wondered where they send the people who aren’t cheerful enough to work on the customer security, the answer turns out to be behind the scenes for the staff and lost baggage security…). If I had known, I would have left my rucksack with Andy, so I had to take off my boots, empty my rucksack, get out my liquids, all the time being overtaken by members of staff (some of whom literally took trays out from under me as I was about to put my belongings into them). I said to the person scanning that I didn’t have a bag for my liquids as I hadn’t been through security because my flight was cancelled, and the lady said it was fine as long as I left them in the tray. However, once scanned the man (who was about 2m away from the woman) told me off for not having a bag, even though I had just explained that I didn’t have a bag and that the lady told me it was OK.  He then stomped off to get me a bag, and then told me he now had to test the liquids . The lady who had accompanied the group of us had gone with everyone else and at this point I thought I was going to start crying- I find security stressful at the best of times and this was awful.  I had to wait in the security bit for ages before eventually she came back, and when I explained that if I’d known I needed to go through security I would have left my bag and coat outside, she said “oh don’t worry, I’m not in a hurry”- argh! That wasn’t my point!

In the baggage hall I had to join another queue at the customer service desk, to speak to the same lady again (I don’t understand the system at all)- she rang the baggage storage and our bags were released, so I had to wait by carousel 8. After waiting for half an hour and no sign of either bag, I went back to the  desk but of course there was no one there. After 45 mins Andy’s bag came through, and then it was another 15 mins before my bag appeared and I could go out of the baggage hall and find Andy. The entire process was 2 hours! I was feeling so thirsty and tired and I just wanted to sit down. This was around 6.30pm and Andy’s parents were heading back from Southampton and said they would pick us up (my Dad had driven us) so we had a bit of time to get some dinner. I had a very tasty toasted sandwich from Caffe Nero (it was vegan cheese, sundried tomatoes and basil) and we shared the gingerbread that I’d been given at work. After getting the train to Terminal 3 (where they were picking us up) we got a cup of tea. We didn’t get home until about 10.30pm as we had to be dropped off at my parents’ (where Andy’s car was) and then drive home from there.

This morning I went to Ellenbrook Fields for their festive parkrun- Dad and Tony cycled over and we ran around together. It was a gorgeous morning with blue skies- perfect for running. I went back to Mum and Dad’s for pancakes, so although not a Berlin parkrun, it was still a pretty good start to the weekend.

After a shower we walked into town to pick up the free gift from John Lewis (a little gingerbread biscuit) and I booked a haircut (which is so lucky I popped in then as my hairdresser had one slot left this week and then she goes on holiday until some time in February!). Then I chilled out in front of the TV, watching a load of things I’d recorded on the box including Liam Bakes, the Inside the Factory Christmas show and some Kirsty Homemade Christmas. I loved seeing the reflection of our Christmas tree in the door. I did a bit of present wrapping, and then in the afternoon made a pot of mince pie tea and warmed up a mince pie in the oven to enjoy. It may not be a German Christmas market but it’s still festive.

We are booked on a flight tomorrow, so fingers crossed nothing will go wrong!

How has your Christmas countdown been?  What are you planning for Christmas day?

Last week turned into a bit of a rest week. After having a bit of a sore throat on Sunday it turned into the lurgy on Monday- I am pretty impressed I got this far through the term without being ill. Monday is a rest day anyway and so we just had a little walk in the evening and that was enough.

On Tuesday I had planned a run, but I felt pretty achy when I got home from work, so we walked around to the shop to pick up some throat sweets and ibuprofen (Andy also picked up some cold and flu medication and the lady on the check out ID’d me but I think it was because she felt sorry for me!). I was getting sore sinuses and although my throat didn’t really hurt, I was losing my voice coughing a bit, so admitting defeat and resting seemed like the best option.

There was no yoga on Wednesday and I had again pencilled in a run, but when I got home all I wanted to do was lie on the sofa, and drink hot (fruit) tea with a little honey in it- I just had no energy for anything.

Thankfully by Thursday I was feeling a little better. After work we had a team afternoon tea which was really lovely.

It was a vintage tea room inside a pub, and all the cakes were home-baked on the premises, including the most squidgy brownies and lovely warm mince pies with more mince than pastry (always a winner). We had to each take some cake home as no-one could manage a slice!

We did a little secret Santa and I was given a lovely penguin decoration (I love penguins) and this went straight onto the tree as soon as I got home.

Look how cute the label is! One of our team had made personalised labels for each person to stick on the presents so they stayed a secret.

I did see some gorgeous sunrises this week as I was heading off to work- the pink hues are hard to capture but the sky looked pretty amazing.

When I got home my tea club had arrived- more festive blends with  Eggnog (rooibos and spices, no eggs thankfully), Figgy Pud (another spiced rooibos) and Mulled Cider which is the most gorgeous apple tea. (We were meant to be going to the cinema that evening too, but I think we have learned that we should not book tickets when I am somewhere else because I will always underestimate how long I will be! I think the last film we managed was Ralph Breaks the Internet. I am super excited about Mary Poppins though).

On Friday after work I met my friend at The Waffle House. We walked up into town first to look at the St Albans Christmas market, which is still tiny, but not quite as tiny as last year. They had a few local stalls (like a glass blowing stall based in Sandridge) but I didn’t get anything- I am pretty much there with Christmas presents now so it was nice to wander and not feel the pressure of needing to find something. The outside of the restaurant was really pretty, with fairy lights everywhere and little reindeer lights by the water so the lights were reflecting- I felt very festive indeed.

I fancied something wintery, and on the Specials menu was a waffle with apple, cranberry and ginger with gingerbread ice cream, so my decision was made! We sat inside by the fire and it was so cosy in there, and lovely to have a catch up as usual.

When I got home Andy had put the fire on, and we watched Arietty, which is the Ghibli version of The Borrowers. As a side point I’ve been loving the podcast Ghiblioteque- they discuss a different Ghibli film each week (after watching it- they do have spoilers)- the Totoro episode made me so happy to listen to.

We have not started on the Christmas movies yet though- I think not finishing until very close to Christmas means it doesn’t feel close enough yet, although we have been making the list of the classics- Home Alone, Muppets Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Snowman and In Bruges so far, plus things like the Community Christmas episode from a few years back.

What is on your Christmas film list?

 

The local running club organised a 5 mile race each December with profits going to a local hospice. I’ve run it for the last few years, although last year it was cancelled as we had a rather large dumping of snow on the Saturday before.

As the start is less than 2 miles from home, I ran there, and then had booked Bill’s in town for brunch (Andy would walk in from home and meet me there). A pretty perfect plan for a Sunday morning in my book.

The race is just the type I like- small, friendly, low key. You pick up your number on the day but there were no queues as it’s a small event, so for the 9.30 start I think I was there just after 9. There was a little tent for a bag drop- I was going to just hang my jumper on a tree, but because of the rain I put it in the tent instead, so I had something dry to put on at the end.

From their facebook page

As I ran there it rained briefly, but once I got to the start it had stopped. Pretty much everyone wears festive running kit in some form or other (from full on Santa suits to headgear). A couple of my club mates were there and just before the start we saw a big rainbow- one of the photographers snapped this picture of us although the rainbow didn’t come out too well.

The course is two laps, all on pavements, and it fairly flat (not as flat as the Hatfield 5 though). I wasn’t feeling great, having woken up with a bit of a grimy throat which usually means a cold is on the way. My focus was on enjoying the run, which I did. It always has such a lovely atmosphere with all the marshals wearing Santa hats and being all cheerful.  Festive leggings are becoming more commonplace too, so I love looking at the designs and wondering where people get them from (and also wondering how people manage to run so fast in the Santa suits).

When I finished I picked up my chocolate Santa, put my jumper on and then chatted to a few running friends, before heading into town.

We had booked the table for 11am, but I was there at around quarter to, so in the end I went inside to wait for Andy as it was so cold. He brought a bag with a jacket in it for me, as I knew I’d be cold on the walk home.

We had a lovely breakfast together and a quick wander around a few shops, before picking up a hot chocolate for the walk home.

That weekend I started to feel a little more on top of Christmas prep- I managed to marzipan and ice the cakes, (just the decorating to go), I’ve made some sugar scrub as presents for people (I used this recipe), and I decided to go for brown paper and ribbon (more environmentally friendly than wrapping paper that can’t be recycled) and so I’ve wrapped a few presents and even written some Christmas cards.

On Sunday afternoon we got the Christmas decorations down from the attic and put up the tree.

Are you feeling festive yet? I do quite like asking Alexa each day “how many sleeps ’til Christmas”- it’s meant to be for kids but it’s quite fun (and makes me think of Dora the Explorer where she asks what bit you most enjoyed).

After a quiet Friday night at home (apart from the kitchen mishap which I will get to later) I was off to St Albans on Saturday morning to visit a relatively new parkrun, Jersey Farm. It started just over a month ago, but we held off visiting the first event as they had requested a quiet start, and then my parents were away so this was the first opportunity we had to run together.

I drove to my parents and then I walked to the start with Dad- it was just under a mile away, so a nice warm up.

Pictures from their facebook page- new runners briefing

There isn’t much parking right by the start, but the park is very close to a big residential area (Marshalswick) with plenty of residential streets and no parking restrictions so it would be fine for people travelling so long as you left a few minutes to find a space to park and then walk to the start. The weather was gorgeous- cold but with that lovely low winter sun.  As we walked through the field looking for the start we met another runner and ended up chatting. It was his first ever parkrun- he lived in the local area but wasn’t driving so didn’t ever go to the St Albans one. Just after we arrived they did the new runners briefing which seemed to be the majority of the runners- I suppose that often happens with new events now (this was event number 5). The briefing was quite amusing with the lady getting us all to chant about what we will not do with the finish tokens (we will not take them home).

Their winter route started in the middle of the field, went to the edge and then it was two identical laps taking on various bridle paths (the official course page has a different route with two slightly different laps).

It was a fairly undulating course- you can see below you were either going up or down, there weren’t any flat bits. It was also fairly narrow in places- there were 163 runners and at the beginning we were a little too far back really and got a bit stuck in places as the paths were only wide enough for  two runners at times. By the second lap it did thin out somewhat, and neither of us were aiming for a fast time (Dad had only had one run in the last month as he’d just got back from Namibia) so it was fine for is, but a few times faster people had to crash dramatically through the undergrowth on the side of the paths to get past, and we both got clipped by dogs (on leads but maybe not under control…) as they ran past us too.

The course had varied views- sometimes you were running with woodland on either side, and other times you ran around the edge of the main field and could see down to Sandridge Village (where Heartwood Forest is/was). It was muddy and slippery in places so I was glad of my trail shoes- once winter really kicks in it will be a fun one to do if you like slipping in the mud.

As we finished my watch said 30:18 and I did get excited that maybe I’d ticked off another umber for stopwatch bingo, but alas, when the text came through my time was 30:06.

We saw the guy who we chatted to at the start, and he had really enjoyed it, although he said he only got one Saturday off work in 6 weeks, so it would take him a while to make it to his next one.

We had both taken jumpers with us to put on after, but we started to get quite cold so headed off fairly quickly (via the shop so Dad could pick up the paper). We walked back along Jersey Lane (which is a bridleway/ path that goes from Marshalswick down to Sandridge- it’s how Dad and Tony would cycle to Heartwood Forest)-it was so nice to be away from the roads.

Then of course it was home for pancakes made by Mum. My sister, her husband and their baby came over, and Andy also popped over with our wedding photo album, so we had a nice catch up, looking at my parents holiday pictures too.

So that’s J ticked off (just I, K, Q and Z left), and more importantly I have re-claimed Queen of Herts, having once again run all the parkruns in Hertfordshire. I am sure we will be back fairly soon to Jersey Farm as it is so easy to get to, and as I often end up and Mum and Dad’s anyway, it makes sense to drive there and then head to the parkrun together.

And then the kitchen mishap. I’d seen a recipe for candied clementine slices, and I absolutely love them. I had a few which weren’t the nicest (fresh ones) so I thought I’d give it a go. You had to boil them in sugar for 90 mins, and I kept on checking all through dinner, and they were looking good. After dinner we went into the living room and Andy put the fire on, and I thought it was smokier than usual. He said he’d only had the door open for a bit, but I could still smell smoke. Then it clicked and I ran into the kitchen to see a lot of smoke- as I opened the back door the pinger went off.

There was no saving them! It had basically turned into treacle and hardened as soon as I poured it out. Thankfully the pan managed to be saved (thanks to Andy) but the kitchen smelled like strong marmalade for the whole weekend! Ah well, you win some, you lose some.

Have you had any bad kitchen disasters? When I was younger I made popcorn and then put the pan on the work surface while it was still hot, burning a lovely ring into the counter.

On Saturday morning I was off to run at Ellenbrook Fields- after getting the email about them being short of volunteers I’d offered to sort the tokens after as I was going to be on my own (eg not heading back to my parents for breakfast) and we weren’t heading into London until later so I knew I’d have the time.

Plus, who can resist a penguin? My cow cowl bobble hat arrived on Friday so I decided to take it with me as it was cold and rainy and I knew I’d cool down as soon as I stopped running. The only other time I have sorted tokens was at Panshanger on a frosty morning- I feel like the people who get to do it in a cafe (or in the summer) have a much nicer job! Anyway, the parkrun was enjoyable (28:24- too slow for a bingo number as I need 17 and 18) and then put on my coat and hat and started to sort the tokens. Luckily now EF have a little tool box so the scanners had been putting them in the correct box (sets of 20) so I just had to sort each section. None were missing (excellent work EF runners at returning them all) but it got a bit windy and at one point the set I was sorting blew all over the table- argh! The RD decided not to put them on the knitting needle things as she said she needed to take them home to dry them out so they wouldn’t be sticking together next week, but I still felt very satisfied when the box was full and all the sections were properly ordered. I was just pretty cold, and I was going to treat myself to a hot drink from the coffee van, but the coffee van didn’t turn up.

Once we had finished I helped pack away (I say helped, one job was to take down the gazebo and I am not very spatially aware so I just could not work out the way it would fold- thankfully there were 4 competent people who could manage that while I carried the bag…) and then headed back to the car. I stopped at Tesco on my way home as I wanted to get some marzipan and icing for the Christmas cakes (they have been maturing away for a few weeks now) but the shop was a total nightmare, rammed full of people and awful stuff like Slade blasting out- urgh. I was glad to finally get home and have a hot shower and breakfast. I pottered around at home a bit, and thankfully the rain eased off before we had to leave for London.

We drove to St Albans and got the train in and had a lovely wander around Covent Garden to see the Christmas lights. We went to get a fancy Christmas hot chocolate in Hotel Chocolat but I was a bit disappointed as we usually get one with the coconut milk, and automatically they never seem to add the cream (not a fan of the weird squirty cream) but this time it came with a huge pile of brown cream (chocolate cream? is that a thing?)- we had to spoon it off and then there wasn’t much actual hot chocolate left. Next time I shall specify no cream! We also went to the amazing Swedish bakery and picked up a couple of cinnamon buns to have for breakfast (seriously, just standing outside of the bakery means you get the most amazing smells wafting out- it reminds me of the book A Year Of Living Danishly because I mainly  wanted to eat cinnamon rolls while I read it!). After a quick dinner in Leon (their vegan falafal Christmas wrap is so tasty) we got the tube to Kew Gardens.

I’ve not been before and I was really impressed. Within the gardens was a mile trail with all sorts of light installations along the way. Some had music, some moved, some made of fire, and some floating on water. It was all varied and felt so festive.

There were lots of food stalls, so Andy got a mulled wine and I got a hot apple juice with cinnamon, and we walked around admiring the lights. At one point we had to cross a bridge and there was a bit of a traffic jam there, but not for long.

We were probably there for around 90 minutes in the end, just wandering and taking our time. I liked that it was one route, so you had no worries about missing any of it.

One of the places was playing Silent Night (sung in German) which my Grandad had tried to teach me when I was little (my Grandma was Austrian) so I had a little time in the dark remembering my Grandad. It made me think of my Nan too, as when she came to stay with us at Christmas we used to make sure we drove past certain houses as they always had crazy Christmas lights and she loved to see them all.

I must have been shattered as on the Sunday I didn’t wake up until nearly 10 o’clock! I cannot remember the last time I slept that long. I had to head out quickly on a run as my cousin was coming over later and we needed to pop to town (I had to return a jumper and get something for dinner), so I only did 5 miles.

After racing into town and ticking things off the list we were home just in time for my cousin, his wife and their baby to come over. We’d not seen them for ages (since before their baby was born- they’d popped over after a hospital appointment as we are close to the hospital) so it was good to catch up.  After they left it was time for a bit of life admin and then catching up on TV.

On Monday after work I went on a run (my regular 3 mile route)- I saw loads of Christmas lights up, but seeing as it is actually December I think it’s OK. Some are rather interesting (giant inflatable Santa and snowman anyone?).   I wore my new Running Heroes t-shirt. A couple of weeks ago I had an email saying that because I’d filled in a questionnaire (which I don’t remember doing) I had won a t-shirt. It’s lovely and soft, and that bright orange colour is good for winter, although of course I had my light on too. My back had been feeling a little stiff so I ran very gently as I didn’t want to make it worse, and I think it helped. I had chosen to run on Monday rather than Tuesday because I had a training session after work over in Watford which didn’t finish until 6pm and I knew the traffic would be a nightmare getting home, as it’s in the wrong direction. I wouldn’t usually run for 3 days in a row as the third run tends to be a bit of a slog for me by that time, although doing  shorter run on the Sunday meant it was actually fine.

On Wednesday I had a late meeting, so didn’t have time for my usual walk before yoga. It was our last yoga session because our teacher is off to India for a month (normally they run during term time so we’d have a couple more weeks).  It was a really small class, and had that end of term feel. We ended up going off piste, as a few people mentioned tight shoulders. A few weeks ago we did a little partner yoga to stretch out the shoulders, and so we ended up doing loads of it- things like child’s pose with someone laying on top (maybe called turtle?), lots of paired downward dogs (where the other person puts their feet on your hips to push down further)- I was really pleased because I’ve never managed to be the person balancing on top before, but with a little help (someone else helped to place one of my feet) I managed to hold the pose. I just need more confidence because I tend to think my arms aren’t strong enough and then panic (to be fair last time I tried I fell over and bruised myself quite badly). We then did some laughter yoga, which felt strange at first but it did leave you with a sort of feeling of release. The final relaxation was very much needed.

On Thursday I had to get to another meeting after work, and although it didn’t finish as late as I thought, the traffic was really bad. I did the regular 3 mile route and it started to rain just as I got into my road so I decided that was enough! With lots on at work it’s good to just get a little bit of fresh air.

Have you been to London to see the lights? Do you have nice Christmas lights near you? Have you ever been to a light show? I quite liked the Lumiere festival in London last year.