Hey everyone
First up, yesterday I warmed myself up by having a lovely cup of gingerbread tea!
This was so delicious! It was from Jemma for Secret Santa, so thanks Jemma š It reminded me of the loose cinnamon tea you used to be able to get from Whitards- spicy and gently sweet. It would make an amazing latte I think. I needed warming up as we attempted a walk- we only went out for 20 mins and that was enough for me (standing up straight is still quite hard and sometimes sore)- with the effort of the walking and the cold cold wind.
I also got a little surprise this week:
A card made by my class (how sweet- it is a stained glass style-they cut out the holes then covered in tissue paper- this is the style we did for the Christmas cards this year only they did a tree/star shape)- they all signed it too (made me quite tearful), and some lovely flowers from work.
I also feel rather strange as I keep on getting “Get Well Cards” through the post. I am not one used to being unwell, and I did not really feel like my situationĀ warrantedĀ the cards. Andy keeps telling me off- I suppose I was in hospital last week.
Today I found out that my “urgent” appointment is not until the end of January (and I think this is where they discuss the options and not when they would actually do the operation) which is annoying as I am getting annoyed at myself for not being well. It seems a long way away! That is a long time without running (I suppose the pain might keep getting less, but at the moment even walking is uncomfortable)- might have to cancel the Brighton Half marathon. Which I know is not the end of the world but you know this illness has already scuppered our holiday plans, made me miss 2 weeks of work and so I was hoping it would be sorted sooner rather than later. Moan over!
I am trying to find things that keep me occupied that involve sitting down! I can potter about a bit, but not for long (which is just ridiculous in my opinion but it is how it is). Ages ago I made some Christmas cakes (which can be made the day before so if you fancy having a go see my post here) so I decided to start decorating them this week. The Pink Whisk website has a brilliant how-to, so have a look there if you fancy having a go. I used the boards I got from Dunelm Mill which come with bakery-style white card boxes- perfect as they are gifts to go in little hampers for our parents.
On went the marzipan (stuck down with warm apricot jam- I did the top as a circle and then the edges as a long sausage shape which I then moulded together). This had to be left to set/ harden overnight as then the icing would stick better to it.
Then on went the icing. This was rolled out into a huge circle, draped over, smoothed on top and then smoothed around the side. All the extra bits were cut off and used for the next cake.
I have not decided on the decorations yet. I will do one as a parcel, as I loved learning how to make the bows. But I also saw the cute gingerbread man cake on the pink whisk which I am tempted to try, or a cute polar bear (snow-lar bear) cake. Who knows. Which one would you choose?
Over the weekend I have a give-away to announce too, so stay tuned.