Month: November 2016 (page 1 of 2)

Frost

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It seems fitting that the last day of November should bring with it, such frosty conditions. I didn’t walk for very long this morning, even with my gloves on, my fingers were just too cold.

The ice on the pond was thicker this morning. A small portion, untouched by ice, still remained and the ducks were huddled in there together, paddling about. The air smelled so clean and fresh. The woods were quiet this morning.

So much happens in the month of November that it always goes by in such a blur. I hope December doesn’t pass us by in a whirl. I keep thinking where I was a year ago and where I am now and where we might be this time next year. Goodbye, November! See you next year.

Ice & Hot Chocolate

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It was 25°F when I headed out for my walk this morning. The pond was frozen over, but one little patch by the reeds still remained swimmable, as a lone duck was paddling about. Tonight it is supposed to get even colder.

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I made my way down to the edge of the water to look at the ice. I’m always fascinated seeing how it forms. This was a contrast of angles and rough edges. It was almost feathered in some spots. I love peering at things under the ice as well. One Christmas in Denmark, we were out for a stroll and I noticed that someone had dropped a bit of a tangerine peel in a small dip in the street. The water that was resting in that dip had frozen over and the peel lay underneath. You could see crystals around it’s edges, almost like sugar. There was a beauty to it, frozen underneath the blueish coloured ice. I never photographed it. I wish that I had. I think of it often. A strange thing to think of I know, but there was a quality to the light that day and a beauty to what lay beneath our feet.

I ran errands during lunch and treated myself to a gingerbread hot chocolate. Happiness is…

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The Nature of Daylight

Today feels like a Monday. It’s not yet noon and the sun already appears as if it is starting to make it’s descent. The shadows are changing. As we move into December the lamps are turned on and the candles are lit a little earlier. At the height of Winter, we are normally almost dark by 3:30ish. It doesn’t usually bother me, the early evenings I mean. I like being cocooned in our little cottage, listening to music, cooking, reading. The darkness that envelops us this time of year, feels to me, like Mother Nature’s way of saying: Stop! Rest! Refuel! Be in the moment! Be!

I feasted on a turkey sandwich for brunch and drank a cup of Christmas tea. I totally smothered the turkey in cranberry sauce. The last taste of Thanksgiving. The rest of the turkey is cut up and ready to be used in a pot pie. Mr. Michie cooked dinner last night. It was the first time we actually cooked something since Thanksgiving.

After running errands this weekend, Mr. Michie took me on a date to the movies. We saw Arrival. I’m still thinking about it. I really enjoyed it and I feel that I need to see it again to keep piecing it all together. We each had our own interpretation.

The mid-century modern house that Amy Adams’s character lived in was scrummy! All the light that would pour in would be intoxicating. The soundtrack features one our favourite songs, On the Nature of Daylight. The title is fitting today, since I have been pondering that very thing, the nature of daylight.

Leftovers

I can’t seem to get warm today, no matter what I do. If I drink any more tea, I think I might just float away. We had a lovely Thanksgiving. It is the first time, in I can’t remember how long, that we actually celebrated Thanksgiving on the day and not the weekend.

There is a fresh loaf of bread cooling on my counter for sandwiches tonight. Our fridge is filled to the brim with leftovers and it makes me giddy. I’m not always a leftovers girl, but Thanksgiving leftovers, I’ll never say “NO” too!

This weekend, I need to get stamps for our Christmas cards and Mr. Michie is going to help me carry a stack of parcels to be posted out. If the weather forecast stays at it is, we are supposed to be chilly and foggy tomorrow, so I think it might be the perfect day to head to the movies and eat tons of popcorn! But, we’ll just see how the weekend presents itself.

Here’s to the weekend, long may it last!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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When nothing else will work, I guess you pull out your saw! Hopefully you won’t have to do too much improvising today and it will all be smooth sailing.

Wishing everyone a Thanksgiving filled with blessings, laughter, good food and lots of love! xx

Turkey Day Countdown

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Well, the turkey has been bought. The stuffing is made and ready to be cooked tomorrow. There are cinnamon-brown sugar-clementine marinated carrots prepped and ready to be roasted and a pumpkin pie is cooling on my kitchen table. Lots of my other prep work has been completed, so that should make tomorrow pretty straight forward, fingers crossed.

I’m on Thanksgiving countdown and I can’t wait! What I’m most excited about is my leftover turkey sandwich and a slice of pumpkin pie.

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Dishoom

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This weekend we tried a restaurant that has been on our list for a long time, Dishoom. All I can say is WOW! We got in just in time, when we left, the line was at least 60 deep heading down Kingly Street.

We sat in the bar while we were waiting for our table. I had an East India Gimlet and it was heavenly. The restaurant itself is old world charm meets 60s kitsch. The music was making me very happy! They even played one of my favourite songs, “Jaan Pehchan Ho”. (I don’t truly know if I love the song or the dancing scene in the film better. It’s just too good! Even my niece loves it. We’ve had a few dance parties on the rug together to this tune.)

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We feasted on lamb samosas and far far, while we perused the menu. We decided we would mix and match dinner and share, so we had the best of both worlds. I ate the “Chicken Berry Britannia”. YUM, doesn’t even begin to describe it! Mr. Michie had the “Chicken Ruby”

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I made sure I saved room for dessert and tried the pineapple crumble. Everything was just wonderful. We can’t wait to go back! I think I just might have our date night for this week already planned! 😉

Defrosting

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Well, my candles are lit, A Christmas Romance is playing on TV, so naturally I’m watching it. Nothing like a little Olivia Newton-John and Gregory Harrison to get your morning going. I have a steaming cup of tea in front of me and brownies are baking in the oven.

I’m slowly defrosting from my walk this morning. It was so cold! But, my heart was warm from all the furry kisses I received. I saw a lot of my four legged friends as I made my way along this morning. I also had a nice chat with a robin, who I see from time to time. I whistle and he sings back. After a nice little chit-chat he usually follows me for a while down my path.

I still need to do a bit of prep work for dinner tonight and a bit of tidying up so we are set for the weekend. I’m going to work on wrapping up some packages this afternoon, with Christmas music blasting of course!

This weekend brings with it a chance for us to catch our breath and get a few things done around the house, while also finalising our Thanksgiving menu. I can’t wait for pumpkin pie! Really pumpkin pie and my leftover turkey sandwich is the highlight of my Thanksgiving.

I hope you have a wonderful and peaceful weekend, wherever you may be. xx

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I See the Moon…

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♥ I see the moon and the moon sees me! ♥

This was my first glimpse of the super moon. It has been raining and overcast here for the past two days, so we haven’t been able to see it either night. But I got a glimpse of the moon this morning on my walk.

It still looked beautiful to me, even if it wasn’t quite as full.

Holly Jolly

Well, I’m not embarrassed to admit this, I don’t stop listening to Christmas music just because December is over. I actually listen to it all year long, just here and there. It has definitely been the theme tune to our lives at the moment. There is a lot of George Winston and James Galway being played around the house.

The season of Christmas adverts is upon us and they are truly putting me in a very festive mood.

Some are funny, some made me cry and I want the Burberry ad turned into a full length movie! I love that cape! What is it about a cape? I have long been enamoured with them.

This is just a little sprinkling of “holly jolly” so far. I hope you’re having a lovely weekend, wherever you are!

Aldi:

John Lewis:

Marks & Spencer:

Waitrose:

Burberry: