Surprise Surprise

There are a few of my former work colleagues, as well as myself, turning a certain age in the next month or so. The first of our little gang to celebrate this milestone happens this weekend. She doesn’t work Wednesdays and Thursdays and then has some annual leave that covers the actual day, so her colleagues and friends (?) surprised her today. When she arrived at work, her desk was surrounded by balloons, presents, cakes, cards and all manner of things. She’s not one for a fuss, but she did rather well in accepting the effort that people had gone to to celebrate with her. She did better than I would have done.

I hate surprises. It might be something to do with my ISTJ personality traits. It makes me feel very uneasy, nervous and not in control of what’s going on. If it had been me, I’d have either walked straight back out, or set about popping all the balloons. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t appreciate the effort of those who had done it had gone to, but if they knew me at all, they wouldn’t have done it in the first place. For me, I think it’s also a case of embarrassment, not knowing what to say or where to look, or what to do next. This is why I never work on my birthday.

At school my birthday was always either at the weekend or during a school half-term holiday so I never had to deal with my birthday at school with people either making a fuss or making fun of me. In most of my working life hardly anyone has ever known it was birthday anyway, and therefore a fuss was never made. Then I just started to book the week off that surrounds my birthday.

This year my significant birthday falls on a Saturday, so I’ve actually booked the week before and the week after off. The original thought was to have gone away somewhere with C and R and have a lovely break and experience somewhere else. However, in the current climate that’s not going to happen, and I’ll be unlikely to even be able to see R, so it’ll be a very quite affair instead. And I’m ok with that. I understand the situation we’re in and that there’s no point in going off about what I can’t do, or depressed about not being able to do what I want to. I’m still going to take the 2 weeks leave, got to use it up anyway, and I’m going to enjoy having some time off to recharge the batteries.

When the time comes that we can meet up with R, or that we can go away somewhere, then we’ll do what we might have done in the first place. I shall have that to look forward to.

The importance of nothing

Life can be so full on sometimes. Even having a week off work doesn’t really give you the rest you sometimes need. I’ve written loads, researched loads, rung loads and had several meetings during my week off so I really haven’t felt any restorative benefit.

Today though, we had nowhere to be and nothing to do. C turned the alarm clock off so we woke up naturally and didn’t actually get out of bed until nearly 10am, which is unheard of. Some might say that that’s wasting so much of the day, but waking up naturally actually made me feel more awake and alert than being ripped from slumber by a screeching radio alarm.

Saturdays have seem to have got a new ritual of bacon butties for breakfast. C cooks them whilst I’m in the shower so its ready, with my coffee, when I’m dressed and ready to face the world. So grateful for that.

Both of us then just sat for a while, reading or catching up with social media. No need to rush.

We had no reason to go into town for anything and as we’d had a late breakfast didn’t feel the need for lunch.

I did do some food prep for breakfasts and lunches for the working week ahead as Sunday is full of ringing, family Skype and virtual meetings as well as the weekly ironing fun. But once that was all finished, I could get comfy on the sofa and read.

Haven’t spent so much time dedicated to just reading for ages. A cup of mint tea with the last slice of winter spice cake made it all a bit hygge. Both of us just sat on the sofa reading. For hours. No other distractions of TV or radio. Blissful.

Some might suggest that a day was wasted and we should have done some exercise or something more constructive with our day, but I actually feel more awake and positive having taken some time to just be.

It probably helped that the book I was reading, not one of the e-shorts I had intended to, was talking about quietening inner critics and self sabotage. It was helping me understand the ways to silence the inner brain chatter and believe that I’m good enough, when so much that has been going on lately has left me feeling totally inadequate.

Benefits of doing nothing include being mentally stronger and more compassionate by having opportunities to delve deeper into innermost feelings and convictions. It helps relieve stress and help you become more rested, happier, productive, creative and allows your brain to reboot by letting thoughts settle.

My step count for the day is hardly going to break the 1000 mark but it doesn’t matter for one day. Self healing and restoration was what was needed today and I’m glad to have given it space in my life.

Its beginning to smell a lot like Christmas

I finally got around to baking the BakedIn Winter Spice Cake. Its a test of biscuitery and cakery. Gingerbread houses, trees and stars and a cinnamon flavoured cake and icing.

It was, as you might expect, quite time consuming. Need to make the dough for the biscuits, then whilst that’s chilling in the fridge, make the cake batter. Then when the cakes are baking its time to roll out the dough and cut out the shapes. Then bake them whilst the cakes are cooling. Then make the icing while the biscuits cool. A little bit fiddly in parts but otherwise quite satisfying to put it all together.

The smell of the cinnamon and the gingerbread is just like its Christmas cooking all over again. Christmas food is just about the best.

Food smells, like any other smell, has the ability to transport us to the past, to experiences and periods of our lives.

There’s always been a smell, that I can’t really describe, that always reminds me of my grandads kitchen and the massive panty/cupboard where he kept all the crockery and some tins (peaches, pears and spam generally) and packets of food. I can’t really remember a particular smell from my nanna’s, but I do remember the food. She’d get enough in for tea that “whatever you don’t eat now you’ll have to take home with you”.

I wonder what olfactory memories our daughter will have of our house. There’s certainly been a lot of baking. I know she came in from her evening job when she was doing her A levels, and always said that whatever was cooking for dinner smelled lovely. Usually something like chilli or spaghetti bolognese.

What smell memories do you have?

Someone’s trying to tell me something

I received two totally independent packages today.

One was a belated Christmas present from my brother. He had intended to be able to visit just before Christmas to deliver them in person, but the change in Covid restrictions put pay to that so he had to resort to posting. There were several little wrapped presents in the package, but one of them was a cake slice with the words “happiness is a piece of cake” written on it. 👇 Ain’t that the truth.

The next parcel to arrive was some cake decorating goodies that I’d ordered a few days ago. I don’t have any cakes to make at the moment but I was looking through some photos and came across a couple of some sprinkles pots that my friend at The Cupcake Oven uses. I’d taken photos when I was last at one of her classes to remind me of the brand name so that when I wanted to order some at a later date I’d remember. This prompted me to browse their website and, naturally one pot of sprinkles became four.

It seems rather coincidental then that two cake related items should arrive on my doorstep on the same day. And just the day after what would have my granddad’s 107th birthday (who was a master baker) and on the day that would have been my nephew’s 23rd birthday.

Perhaps someone is telling me I need to make a sparkly cake for no other reason than just because. Maybe I will at the weekend.

Socially distanced birthday cake

As plans have been well and truly scuppered for Christmas, it has also made Dad’s birthday celebrations difficult. We usually have a grand gathering for his birthday and couple it with “the great car boot swap”, the chance for everyone to exchange Christmas gifts.

As we weren’t having a great gathering in a pub somewhere I thought that Dad might miss out on his pub dinner, so my original plan for Dad’s birthday was to order dinner from a localish pub that was still doing take away service, then drop it round with his pressies and their Christmas stuff too. However with the latest restrictions, the pub decided to withdraw its offer, so I had to tell mum she’d have to cook after all.

I have however, made a cake and as I was working from home, dropped that off with his presents etc instead. I left them on the doorstep, rang the doorbell then retreated to the other end of the driveway.

We chatted for a while and updated news on what daughter is up to i.e. not coming home for Christmas. I couldn’t stop long, a) because that’s probably not a good idea and b) had to get back for a 1pm meeting.

I think Dad was suitably happy. He’d spoken to big bruv and one of my sister’s by the time I got there. Not your average birthday but when you’re on your 81st of them, maybe they get a bit samey after a while.

Sunday slump

Sunday mornings are usually fairly active. We rarely get a lay in because we need to get to the Cathedral for #bellringing. Once we’re home again, it’s the fun that is the ironing to get done. This Sunday, we followed the usual routine and I even threw in some cake decoration as well. Then its time for lunch.

After lunch comes the slump. That time in the afternoon when you know you have a million things to get done, but just want to sit and slump. I have to be careful not to totally give into it though as I have a meeting this evening that I’m chairing so need to be awake.

I am however giving into watching some movies. This afternoon’s choice is The Theory of Everything. The biopic of Prof Stephen Hawking. I’ve seen it before but it is incredibly moving. Eddie Redmayne is absolutely incredible and I’m glad that he got to meet the great man and form a friendship, and won an Oscar for his performance.

I’m feeling very self-indulgent in watching a great film, with a cup of mint tea and scoffing some chocolates. Not quite joined the ranks of sitting on the sofa in my Pj’s, but enjoying my slump nevertheless.

Start the day as you mean to go on.

The start of the day really set the tone for the rest of the day. I accidentally opened tomorrow’s advent calendar window instead of today’s. Wishing the day away. Doh!

We had a virtual #bellringing session this morning that wasn’t successful either. Three attempts at one method came a cropper so we tried a different one and that didn’t want to go either. Having been ringing for around 45 minutes, we called it a day.

After lunch I baked a cake ahead of decorating it tomorrow and it sank in the middle. A bit of stealth buttercream will fix that.

Early evening the new Covid Tiers were announced and has put us and our daughter’s areas in tier 4 which means that it is likely we cannot see her for Christmas now. Her flat mate can’t go to his family either. At least if they have to stay in the flat there’ll be the 2 of them so neither will be on their own. If we can wangle it and they can come here, of course they’ll both come, we wouldn’t leave him on his own. R is, at the moment, still working until Wednesday. My fingers are well and truly crossed. I felt physically sick for a while, at the prospect of not being able to see her, or that her flatmate may have gone back to his family and she’d be alone.

I participated in another virtual #bellringing session in the early evening and there were some technical problems as well as method mistakes so that wasn’t as good as it could have been. My brain was truly fried by the end of that.

Dinner was a lovely fully loaded jacket potato with bacon, sweetcorn and some tomatoey concoction. Dinner was a bit later than anticipated as we had been waiting for a call back from R as one option would have been to drive down to get her tonight. So eager was I to eat that I took a massive bite and savagely burned the roof of my mouth and gums. I could feel the skin peeling. Then I got what amounted to a paper cut on my thumb knuckle when I peeled back the foil lid on my yoghurt pot.

After dinner it was as much as I could do to keep my eyes open. I’ll draw a line under today and move on.

Have your cake and eat it

Today there was much talk of cake, of all different sorts.

A family conversation recently discussed the merits of an After Eight Mint cake that one sibling had seen on social media, and the challenge to bake one was issued. I had actually made After Eight mint cupcakes a few years back, so shared the photo (above).

We were due to socially distance visit some friends this weekend but our area has been placed in Tier 3 so that’s now not happening. Before the deadline arrived, our friends popped round to deliver Christmas cards instead and, from the safety of staying in their car, also delivered some yummy cupcakes.

Then, the anticipation of delivery of the monthly BakedIn box. Mine hadn’t arrived yet, but the video had been released so I had a sneak peek. OMG, sounds delicious. My box did arrive later that same morning, so not really a spoiler. I will save that one up for Christmas week.

Then sibling tagged me in a post for a no bake Terry’s chocolate orange cheesecake. I LOVE cheesecake. I printed the recipe off and C picked it up off the printer and declared that I’m making it for Christmas Day dessert. OK then.

And I’ve been formulating an idea for a cake for a special delivery next week. Got an idea in my mind. 🤫

As Marie Antoinette apparently said “let them eat cake”. I shall do my best.

Yule be amazed at what I just made

Well, probably not. This weeks bake was a caramel yule log courtesy of BakedIn. This is the 2nd recipe I’ve made of theirs which requires the making of caramel. The trouble is, for some reason its something I’ve never been able to get right. The sugar and water never seems to go a brownish colour, then when I add the cream its just a slightly dirty looking yellow colour. If I wait for it to darken, it then sets rock hard. I can never getting at a pouring consistency. However, I have sprinkled said rock hard caramel instead of drizzled it. It’ll add some texture!

We’ve got proper christmassy today. Been into town for some last minute gifts and wrapped them up. Made said yule log. Then went for a wintery, night walk around our local RHS Hyde Hall to look at the Glow lights. It promised to bring the gardens to life after dark with festive food and drink and Christmas shopping. It didn’t disappoint.

The trees and shrubs were lit up in different colours, there was festive food and drink (although we didn’t partake) and everything was well set out and managed. And of course the obligatory stop in the shop.

Have had a thoroughly lovely day.

Baking tutorials, are they good for business?

Watching videos and IGLive tutorials from my favourite bakers really inspires me to want to bake more. The trouble is threefold. I tend to miss a lot of the tutorials as they tend to either be during the day or early evening when I haven’t quite got home from work. Secondly, I don’t have time to do so much baking. Thirdly, if I did all that baking I’d either be the size of a house or diabetic, or both 😅

Those who do free tutorials and IGLives are so generous with their time and expertise. Surely by telling everyone else how to do it runs the risk of putting themselves out of work because we’d all be able to do it for ourselves.

Does it make good business sense? Actually, it probably does. By making themselves more accessible, it means that more people would follow them, be interested in their other products and offers, and be willing to paid for membership and exclusive access to more tutorials.

The company my daughter works for seem to have quite a cult following, with people willing to travel miles to get their hands on their goods. So far, I’ve only managed to sample a sourdough loaf, but I hear their doughnuts are to die for. I’ve watched bits of a few IGLives, when I’ve managed to get to it in time. There’s nothing pretencious about any of the recipes, its all good, honest baking. I’m kinda hoping that R will get me a copy of their book for Christmas 😁

I do need to put a bit more effort into some home baking puddings and cake. C is in charge of bread baking as he’s the one that eats most of it, so I’d best not interfere there.

Shout out to my favourites: Bread Ahead, Cakeflix and The Cupcake Oven.