December Begins

It's the first day of December and what a beautiful, cold, crisp bright day we've been treated to here in Atticland. We had our very first frost of the season this morning and breathing in that super-chilled air was so invigorating.

After dropping Little B at school I was meeting my friend for our weekly outdoor coffee/walk this morning. She was running late so I sat on a frosty bench beneath the above yellow-leafed tree to wait. It was a bit cold on the nether regions but I didn't mind too much....

....I had swans, ducks and pigeons for company....

....and the most fabulous feel of the early morning sun shining full force onto my face. I really am a sun worshipper, never more so that in the winter months when those warm golden beams of light feel so precious.

My friend arrived and we set off to walk along the canal to the park, via the coffee shop. Of course we did, coffee is our thing, and although we would much rather spend time in one of our favourite cosy cafés, we have come to appreciate our al fresco socially distanced meet ups this year.

We always sit in the same place at the top of the stone steps....

....with this view out across the park. I felt truly uplifted by the weather today, particularly as yesterday was so awful. 

I had a real major mood slump yesterday, and I felt deeply gloomy all the way from my head to my toes. I just couldn't shake off the melancholy, no matter how hard I tried to dig for gratitude and thankfulness, I just felt plain fed up with pandemic life. The missed opportunities, the imbalance, the lack of social interaction, the mean squeeze of our lives into the tiniest of boring, repetitive circles. I just wanted it all gone. I wanted my old life back.

Today I have thankfully felt brighter, and I know that the sunshine and brightness of the day has helped enormously. 

Blue skies are like medicine for my poor light-deprived soul, I know this for certain. J thinks I'm absolutely "full of unicorn poop" as he said to me today when I tried to explain my feelings to him. Well that's OK, I can live with that, because I have a very strong feeling that unicorn poop might be rainbow coloured. 

I continue to try and nurture myself physically so that I can feel as strong as possible in this season that I struggle with.

Gawd, I LOVE eating breakfast so much! I usually have it mid morning, and honestly it's just so good. I make a small half-serving of milky porridge (20g of oats) and top it with as much fresh fruit as I can get away with. What you can't quite see in the above bowl is the half a sliced banana and the half a grated apple which are mixed in with the cooked oats. The fresh fruit on top is a mixture of whatever we have in the fridge, usually mango, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries. And a sprinkling of seeds for good measure (I use a mix of pumpkin, sunflower, flax and chia).

Sometimes I do change it up and have a cooked breakfast - a slice of gluten free toast with a poached egg, bacon, mushrooms and tomato. I also like my oat pancakes too. I would love to know what you eat for breakfast, do tell?! Do you vary it each day or do you stick with your favourite thing?

We had our usual trip to the market on Saturday and brought home an amazing haul of the most gorgeous fruit and veg. It's pomegranate season which the Little People are very, very happy about as they love this quirky fruit. I have to admit to getting a freaky amount of satisfaction from the slow, laborious job of freeing up the little jewelled seeds for them to eat out of a bowl.

Obviously my little unicorn-poop mind is easily pleased - give me sunshine and fresh fruit, and I am delighted.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon and early evening crocheting up a bowl of animal parts, like you do. I gave in to the sudden urge to make a small festive animal, and despite the huge protest from my arthritic joints I just about managed to complete all the hooking.

I'm now waiting on the correct size beedy eyes to arrive in the post and then I'll be able to stuff, stitch and assemble all the body bits. I'll show you when it's finished.

Also, a lovely lady reminded me on Facebook yesterday that Granny Josephine has not had her moment in the spotlight yet, and to my shame I had to admit that I'd completely forgotten about her. What with all the Meadow excitement and all, and then cross stitch things and little Christmassy creature things, well, poor Granny Jo has once again been put to one side. Shame on me. I shall see to it right away, and hope to have a ta-dah moment to share very soon.

Beady eyes first though.....!

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Comments

[Lindsay Poulsom]

Your blog is so uplifting! I’m not a breakfast person but love sourdough toast with mushrooms and scrambled egg as a treat (especially with a liberal sprinkle of black pepper)
I am seriously struggling at the moment but you’re a chink of sunshine for me, so thank you!

[Line]

Looking forward to discovering your beady eyed animals!

[Pamela]

Aww Lucy, What do I have for breakfast, what do I HaVe for BREAKFAST, I am completely, totally, In love ❤️ with .......your oat pancakes... I love them, love love loves them... can you tell...... that’s why I had to comment, 100% bowled over with your oat pancakes, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and banana 🍌, topped with fat free yogurt... been having them since early April, 7 days a wk, if not then at least 6..
on a serious note, I get the melancholy days, so get it.. keep smiling, keep blogging, fabulous ‘unicorn poop filled’ lady.x 🦄🌈

[Sarah F.]

I look forward to reading your blogs. I love seeing all the sights, admiring all the coziness, and I am always in awe of your talents! Congratulations on winning the British Knitting and Crochet awards!
For breakfast, I usually eat one egg and a half a piece of toast or apple oatmeal with some nuts stirred in. I send you abundant sunshine from Arizona, I do wish we could make weather trades. Brighter days are coming and thank you so much for opening up your days to us. xx

[Sue Metcalf]

Hi Lucy
The quickest way to get seeds out of a pomegranate:
Cut in half across it’s middle and hold cut side down in your palm over a bowl. Hit skin side with the back of a wooden spoon or similar. The seeds will tumble out easily and most of the pith will be left behind! (I place the bowl in the sink to contain any juice splashes).
All the best.
Sue x

[Sue]

Hi Lucy just wanted to say thank you for your beautiful inspiring posts. With the limited time I'm allowed outside we have used it to discover our own small river and take photos before heading home to make an attic inspired draught excluder or blanket stay safe x

[Deb, Wisconsin]

My big issue with the pandemic is that I don't see an end. I know vaccines will be a bright spot but does that mean normalcy is right around the corner? I keep telling myself STAY POSITIVE, STAY POSITIVE! Your colorful cozy posts help.

[laurak]

we de seed our pomagranates in a bowl of water- doesn't make any mess- pieces of the shell float seeds sink to bottom.... As for breakfast.... I eat some butternut squash that I roast weekly before I go to work- at about 445 am, then have a banana and 1 teaspoon of crunchy peanut butter at my morning break time- about 8 am.... the butternut squash is accompanied by a giant mug of steaming hot coffee... and then hot water for the rest of the morning. At work, my eating time is not in my control- based on patient needs- so those starters are a good base for the day.... I would love to tuck into a scone or scrambled eggs with goat cheese and mushrooms and spinach - well... weekends
enjoy the sunshine. I would bottle some of what we have here in california and send it to you if I could

[PixieMum]

Breakfast at PixieTowers varies between cereals such as Oatbix, Rice Krispies, or porridge made by DH with full cream milk served with raspberries because raspberries and porridge are the food of the gods. With ordinary cereals in addition we have blueberries, figs, bananas, always topped with generous portions of home made plain yogurt. Yogurt is made in Lakeland electric yogurt maker overnight so quietly thickening away for often nearly 10 hours when we oversleep. I try to avoid dried fruit such as prunes or apricots as the preservatives upset my fragile tum.

Occasionally we have cooked breakfast, DH is a dab hand at cooking scrambled eggs served on his home made bread, with bacon & tomatoes. All served with Yorkshire tea, no teabags for me.

[Mary Lloyd Jones]

You are so descriptive ..I feel that I would really know where I am going! Breakfast for me is frozen blueberries ,porridge oats with raisins and Ice cold milk! The blueberries give the mixture a most beautiful colour when cooked! Yummy,yummy.

[CJ]

Sorry you had a down day yesterday, but glad the sun is shining for you today. Sometimes those days just have to be got through, and then things look brighter the next morning I think, having had a few recently as well. Breakfast is absolutely my favourite as well, eaten after chores and dog-walking. Oats with a couple of cashews, a couple of dried cranberries and a couple of little chunks of dried apricots, soaked overnight in unsweetened soya milk, then topped with live organic yoghurt from a local farm and a spoonful of cacao powder and a spoonful of ground flaxseed. Good grief, writing that out I have realised what a complete diva I am about breakfast. I haven't even got to the glass of kefir... I always thought I was simply and low maintenance. May have to rethink that. CJ xx

[Esther López]

My dear Lucy, thank you for sharing. I also feel sad and live in a privileged place in the south of Spain. The landscapes that accompany you are beautiful. I breakfast a coffee with milk and a toast of bread with extra virgin olive oil and a slice of ham. In the middle of the morning, I have cereals and nuts with another coffee and sometimes I prefer fruit, in my city oranges are delicious. Meadow's order will arrive soon. A hug from the south of Spain.

[Amanda]

I think the grey weather has got a lot of us feeling low, combined with lockdown, and then the tiers coming out of lockdown. I have been feeling down and negative, I’m generally a very positive person, but having to shield once again and having a virus (not Covid!) has definitely affected my spirits. It was such a relief today to be able to see the sun and blue skies. I took advantage of a medical appointment and enjoyed the drive there and back. I’m really looking forward to the Meadow CAL. The beautiful colours of the yarn pack are so uplifting. I hope your moods continues to improve, be kind to yourself. Xx

[witloof]

I have a pomegranate for breakfast nearly every day when they are in season, and here is how I prepare mine: I cut it in half through the equator, hold one half in the palm of my hand with the seeds pointing down, hold it over a bowl, turn it on its side, and whack the peel near the cut edge sharply with a heavy spoon. The seeds will start falling out into the bowl. As soon as the sides are empty, you can whack it in the middle. It takes about a 30 seconds and you can get almost every single seed that way, plus, who doesn't like to get their aggressions out?
I follow an anti inflammation diet and the author, Kathy Abascal, recommends not eating grains or sugar at breakfast, and it was a real game changer for me. No more energy dips, no more brain fog, no more achy joint or foot pain! So I have eggs, fish, kale, fruit, nuts, plantains, things like that in the morning. I love oatmeal so sometimes I will have a small vegetable dinner and then a bowl of steel cut oats along with it.

[Jo]

I had carrot cake porridge for the first time today - was amazing. Cook your porridge with half a grated carrot instead of apple and a few sultanas, crushed walnuts, cinnamon and vanilla - then topped like yours with loads of berries!

[Coastal Ripples]

Unicorn poop made me smile :) As for breakfast it varies between yogurt and fruit and a large bowl of porridge with homemade strawberry jam. Delicious. B x

[fiona tims]

Can't wait for the granny reveal :) I pretty much despise amigurumi. I have made my hubby a dragon, and 2 cats and swore never again haha.

[Mary Marsh]

Here in Maine, USA, supposed to have sun tomorrow. I, like you, do not do well with lack of sun in the winter. Glad you got some blue sky to lift your spirits.
Your posts are always full of color. Your blog ALWAYS brings me joy. Thanks so much.
Mary

[Cindy Spencer]

I love sauté’d veggies ( whatever I have on hand) and chicken sausage and topped with an egg over easy with sprinkles of cheese and a squirt of Sriracha sauce on top. It’s my favorite, filling breakfast. No lunch needed. I also love your oat pancake recipe!

[Linda Graveling]

I love your blog posts. I live way down south on the other side of London so reading your posts is a bit like looking at a travel magazine! I have family that live in Baildon and we’ve been to Skipton for the day a couple of times. You are blessed with such glorious scenery and it is a total contrast to our country side in the south. Thank you for posting Lucy, be kind to your self. You certainly aren’t alone in your topsy turvy feelings. Take care

[Christine Summerhill]

Hi Lucy, gorgeous photos as usual...unicorn pop....I'm full of it..I too felt as "low as a cellar" yesterday, very weepy, angry, restless and just downright grumpy. Better today though, think I'm ruled by the moon. Keep smiling! X

[Louise]

I’m looking forward to seeing the little stuffed animal - and Granny Jo of course! We also love pomegranates and have been eating them every day since September. The fastest way to prepare them is to cut them in two across the middle, gently open up each half slightly by gently breaking the outer edge of the skin, then hold the half upside down in your hand (seeds against your palm) over a large bowl and bash very hard with a big spoon. This loosens the seeds so they fall in the bowl. It’s quite quick and very therapeutic 😉 Just make sure you use a big bowl though so they don’t go on the floor, which is much less fun. xxx

[Christine]

So look forward to your posts and new exciting makes. I'm making your baubles at the moment but I make rod for my own back as I gift more and more decorations as gift tags, but people really appreciate them and this year I cannot disappoint.x

[Mags Wilkinson]

Thanks for sharing again Lucy, I love Skipton, the boats and the woodland make me feel good. I too have been a bit fed up over the last few days, and not being able to see my two grown up girls is hard. No good talking to the other half tho, he would think I'd lost the plot! 😂 Soon be the shortest day and then Spring will be on it's way! Take care x