Five Things to do on a Stormy Day

Have a lie in. No bright sunshine peeking through the curtains, demanding your attention, reminding you to make the most of the sun while it’s here, to get out on your bike, or go plan a picnic. Just nestle down in that duvet and enjoy the fact that the day won’t go and be all glorious without you.

Open the window wide. You might not want to be out in it, but it’s nice to get a face-full of it. Cold wind on your cheeks and rain on pavement, and you still cosy in your PJs. Thunderstorms are especially good for this.

Bake gingerbread. No more light fairy cakes, or strawberries and meringue. This is weather for cake that sticks to your ribs. I use the same recipe as my mum and grama, from the same book with the red gingham cover. It calls for that beautiful red and gold tin of black treacle on the top shelf, with its sticky lid and hint of Christmas. Yum.

Splash in the puddles. No day is bad enough to warrant staying indoors (unless you want to of course, and then I can come up with some very good reasons to do just that). Tom and I got caught on a flooded path round Newtown the other day and had no choice but to run right through it. Shin-deep in water, kicking up the spray, our whoops and shrieks carried over the water. We squelched around the rest of our run and embraced our sogginess.

Make luxury hot chocolate. Mini marshmallows are a stock cupboard staple at this time of year. Make up a batch of this hot chocolate, and curl up on the couch. Light a fire and have a nap. And stuff newspapers in those soaking wet trainers; you might want them again for that rainy run tomorrow.

My Creative Mini Adventure

Today you’ll find me over at Michelle’s beautiful photography blog, talking about my great love for a mini adventure. Do go check it out!

Normal Service Resumes

My high-speed ferry commute is so easy, zipping me back and forth from Cowes on my daily commute. I take it for granted, until it’s gone. Red Funnel has had a busy fortnight, ferrying so many passengers across the Solent with one boat down. So, I’ve seen less of home these last couple weeks. I’ve missed the sea, the golden light, and the easy-going Islanders.

Even with a ferry service under intense demand, I’ve been charmed by the ever-cheery faces of the staff, and the unruffled Very British Queuing as we all wait for the boat. I’ve been on the slower car ferry more often than usual. The one hour crossing turns out to be the perfect amount of time to finish a beer, knit 20 rows, and get through a whole Spotify playlist (thank you free ferry wifi!) I usually take the car ferry with my bike and always appreciate how they let the bikes go to the front of the queue (unlike other Isle of Wight ferry services, which shall remain nameless.) It makes a big difference to be the first passengers to pedal off on the other side, without having to sit in the belly of a boat and get gassed out by two floors of departing cars.

Absence always makes the heart grow fonder. I’ve enjoyed the evening light in Hampshire, but found myself thinking ‘Just imagine how beautiful it must look over Tennyson Down right now!’ So, with the Red Jet service now back to its complete set of fast catamarans, it was a sweet feeling to end my working day with a swift hop over the Solent, glimpsing the far west point of the Isle of Wight, before seeing the lights of Cowes appear out of the evening mist. It’s as sweet a sight as there ever were.

Christmas Crafting

I know it’s early guys, but really, it’s not that early. Autumn is here in its full-on, golden richness and I’ve just got back in the mood to start knitting. I was busy thinking about my favourite colours and what selfish knitting I might start next when an eager friend told me she’d already done lots of her Christmas shopping. If it hadn’t been for her, I’d have bought that mound of burgundy wool I was planning for myself. But instead, I’m getting my Christmas craft on.

I love making Christmas gifts of any sort: baking, drawing, stitching, brewing.. It gets me in the holiday spirit. It’s a little early to go gung-ho on the festive cheer, even for me. But I’m enjoying spending a little more time over some presents and being ahead of my usual November’s-end frantic rush .

Choose carefully to whom you give these made-with-love presents. Some people are strangely bah-humbug about homemade, and no one wants that putdown all over their parcel. But if you can find someone who delights in your creativity and appreciates your time more than your wallet, then you’ve found a worthy candidate. Happy crafting!

Picking Sloes

Tom found a blackthorn bush on his run yesterday, laden with sloes ripe for the picking. So we returned today, eager to fill a box. I’ve heard mention of sloe gin before, but it wasn’t until Tom was given a bottle for Christmas last year that I realised what all the fuss was about. A sweet, red liqueur with a warm burn just perfect to be sipped by the fire in December. Sloes are a beautiful berry, far more satisfying to pick than blackberries as they don’t crumble in your hands, and there seems an abundance of them on each bush.

Beyond the grunting of pigs in the field behind, the countryside was quiet. It seems noone really uses this path, so we were free to pick in piece. On such a grey day, this, our first sloe-picking expedition, was the perfect excuse for some outdoor time before the rain set in. Now we just need to turn this box of beautiful dusty purple fruit in to some winter liqueur worthy of its fine reputation.