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.

Which way to the office?

Today I started my new role. This has meant a change of office. I went to my, now old, office to box up some stuff to take across and locked up behind me. I will be back in that office from time to time so have only brought across what I feel are the essentials for now.

I’m going to be sharing an office again, something I’ve not done for several years. Having said that, both my fellow officee and I will be working from home at various points, so in reality will probably see very little of each other.

The weird thing is that the desk I’m now occupying was clearly someone else’s and they vacated it in a hurry. I suspect as a result of the first lockdown when those who could work from home, were encouraged to do so.

It feels a bit odd though to be moving someone else’s coffee cup and pen pot etc out of the way, so I can clean it down, and make space for my stuff. Somehow it feels invasive.

I’m now in an inner office situated at the back of a larger open plan office. The open plan office used to be occupied by IT staff, most of whom now work from home. Its a bit like the Marie Celeste.

I’ve booted up the PC and its taking an age to load my desktop view. Then of course it wants to do a gazillion updates because it hasn’t been used in 6 months. There’s one of those ergonomic mouse gizmos which feels very odd. That’s going to have to go. The screens (yes, there are two) are too close, the desk is smaller, there’s a headset plugged into the phone. The phone doesn’t ring out loud even though I’ve tested the ring tone. I’ve had to rethink my lunchtime walk start and stop.

One of the good things about it is that I’m much farther away from the shops and canteen and would have to go outside and into a building about 3 minutes walk away, so that should stop me from snacking.

It’s going to take a bit of getting used to.

Strolling, strolling, strolling

Something I try to do every day is go out for a walk. Sometimes it might just be walking into town, during a working week its around the hospital grounds at lunchtime, and sometimes its a bit more of a planned event, like Tuesday’s epic Thames Path.

On Monday afternoon I took myself for a walk around the block whilst C was waiting for a parcel to be collected. I simply wandered up the main road to the local park, around the edge of the park and back down the back streets. Not very far, but enough.

Wednesday C needed to pick up a prescription so we walked to the GP surgery, about a mile, then can back via the old Cinder Track, a footpath that links the estate where my parents live to the city centre. This path I have trod many times in my childhood.

It seems that a lot has changed along that path since I last went that way. The actual path is the same 2 lane affair. Pedestrians to the left, cyclist’s the right, as you head into the city. But what was once just old scrubland has been turned into a pleasant little tree covered pathway, with children’s play things and benches, and notices telling you about the wildlife that frequents the area.

For all that new scenery there was a sense of the familiar. I’ve walked, run and cycled along that path and back so many times. Its nice to see the scrubland repurchased, but its nice to have the familiar crunch of the path underfoot.

Things change and they can change rapidly and sometimes unexpectedly. Its inevitable that things will progress and move on. Things will never stay the same forever.

As human beings we need to be adaptable and resilient in the face of change. Sometimes that’s easier said than done. I try my best to adapt to new things, like virtual #bellringing rather than the real thing and I try even harder to be resilient. Sometimes going for a walk to clear my thoughts helps with that.