One of my favourites are snowflakes. They are not so much a Christmas ornament for me as something that usually fits in all winter. I say "usually", because there had been no winter to speak of here so far - until last weekend, when I woke up on the morning of the 15th to a light dusting of snow and grey skies suggesting there could be more:
There were a handful of flakes coming down during the rest of the day, but nothing really stayed on the roads.
On the Saturday, the sun was back...
...for a while before it started snowing once more:
But again, it didn't stay on the roads, and the weather presented no problem for us when we drove to a friend's birthday party on Saturday night.
It was a different story on Sunday, though, and I am glad we had been so lucky driving back home after the party when the roads were still entirely dry:
I did not put even one foot outside my front door all of yesterday. There'll be plenty of that today and all week, when I'll have to face the cold on my way to and from work. Not keen on it, but it can't be helped, and I rather have some snow now in January than for winter to stick around all the way into March and April, when I long for flowers and sunshine, birdsong and butterflies.
Eating well, with plenty of vitamins etc., is important all year round, but even more so in these conditions. I made sure of giving myself a proper boost of all that's good with my TV dinner last night (watching an episode of "Midsomer Murders"):
Tomatoes and (uncooked) cabbage turnip (is that the right word for it?) with a bowl of hummus. Lovely! Tomatoes don't taste of much this time of the year, at least not the ones I find in the organic section at Aldi's, but they are alright when you dip them in the hummus.
The azalea is a gift from my kind neighbour, the elderly lady who lives in the house with the beautiful garden I can see from my kitchen window. We are on very good terms, but not of the kind where people visit each other all the time and exchange gifts and so on. Therefore, she was very surprised when I gave her something for Christmas: A calendar I had ordered to be printed with photos of my view of her garden over the last year, fitting each month and season (lilac in May, cherry blossoms in June, autumn leaves in October, and so on).
Her garden gives me joy every day when I look at it first thing in the morning. I wanted to give her back some of that joy, and was successful in that. She told me she's been showing the calendar to all her neighbours (some of which I know only by sight).
Anyway, the flowers add a splash of colour and a hint of spring to my kitchen.
And for the snowflakes indoors (see the headline of this post): I came across this cushion at the supermarket some time in December, and couldn't resist, even though strictly speaking I didn't "need" it. But it looks nice on my bed, doesn't it?
I was glad we didn't get the snow that was forecast here. The snowy garden looks so much prettier with the sun shining on it don't you think? How thoughtful of you to give your neighbour such a lovely gift.
ReplyDeleteI've not heard of cabbage turnip. I also like carrot sticks with hummus. :)
Your new cushion is a good match with your bedding and the motif is very tasteful. You'll have to find some other seasonal ones then you can have the whole set. :D
Snow definitely looks prettier with the sun on it, that's true!
DeleteCarrot sticks with hummus are nice, too - but I didn't have any carrots, otherwise I guess I'd have added them as well.
An online dictionary said "cabbage turnip" when I looked it up. The botanical name is Brassica oleracea gongylodes.
Oh yes - a flower for spring, butterflies for summer, leaf shapes for autumn. Would look nice, I'm sure!
What a lovely idea to have that calendar made for the elderly neighbour! It sounds as if it has brought a sprinkling of joy into her life. Good on you Meike!
ReplyDeleteYour Sunday dinner looks very different from mine! We had roast pork, roasted potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, apple sauce, gravy and of course Yorkshire puddings! By the way, I made it all myself while Shirley was lazing about sewing a new dress.
Thank you, Neil! It was fun choosing the pictures and creating the calendar, and even more fun receiving the printed version and wrap it up nicely for my neighbour.
DeleteThere is indeed quite a big difference in your Sunday dinner and mine. I suspect it will be a while before I next make Yorkshire puds myself, and I have never made a proper Sunday roast - wouldn't know how to treat the meat, really. But I do appreciate such a dinner as long as I can share it with someone, and/or when soemone else makes it ;-)
Shirley made a new dress? Any more Royal parties to attend for her this year?
You have an elephant memory! No more royal parties this year. For most serfs, a Buckingham Palace garden party is a once in a lifetime occurrence.
DeleteWhat a thoughtful gift you've given your neighbor. I have a calendar made each year for my husband and daughter using photos I've taken.
ReplyDeletePretty, pretty flower.
Such personal gifts are the best, aren't they! I had another calendar made: Pictures of Yorkshire from my holidays there with my sister, for her as a Christmas present. She gets one of those from me every other year or so.
DeleteI love snowflakes, too, and easily understand your love of them. What a nice pillow with the snowflakes on a gray background. And also, what a kind thing to make the calendar for your neighbor. I am sure she was touched with this.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if that is Kohlrabi, the vegetable you call cabbage turnip. I love it in soup and stuffed and just anyway. I love the cabbage family! Wow. It sounds like I "love" too much!
She was touched, yes, and has told me several times now how much she enjoys looking at it every time she walks past it in her house.
DeleteYou're right, Kristi, it's indeed Kohlrabi. I love it in all variations, but most of all "as is", just peeled and cut in slices.
I think your gift to your neighbor was very sweet and thoughtful!
ReplyDeleteI love homegrown tomatoes so much that I can't bear to buy greenhouse grown supermarket tomatoes. I used to grow heirloom tomatoes from seed, and plan to do so again once we find a house to buy (we're looking). I long for a garden of my own, with flowers and herbs and vegetables.
The snowflake pillow looks great on your bed!
My Dad grows tomatoes on the allotment. They taste 100 times better than anything you get in the supermarkets here, but of course they are not available this time of year.
DeleteI like the snowflake pillow very much, too!
What a kind, wonderful, thoughtful thing to do - making the calendar for her. I love this story. And your meal looks great.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nan!
DeleteTo buy something like the cushion not because you needed but just because you wanted it is good Meike. If we only bought things we need and not things we want then the economy would collapse. So think of your purchase as an act of economic necessity! I'm curious about the 'cabbage turnip' and as I have never eaten kohlrabi I'm not sure about that either.
ReplyDeleteHmm... the pillow was very cheap (we're talking Aldi here), so I doubt its impact on the economy. But you're right, only buying things we need would make things rather dire. If I think of my wardrobe, 90 % of its contents are things that I bought because I wanted them, not because I needed them...
DeleteKohlrabi's botanical name is apparently Brassica oleracea gongylodes. Maybe you know it under a different name?
I do actually know what kohlrabi is insofar as I can buy it in the local supermarket but I've never actually bought or eaten one so I've no idea what it's like other than it's outward appearance.
DeleteIt's delicious! Just peel it as you'd peel an apple (but there is no core), and eat it.
DeleteThanks Meike. Next time I see one I'll try one.
DeleteYou are a beautiful, wonderful woman,Meike!! How thoughtful and kind of you to share with your neighbor exactly how much her garden means to you.
ReplyDeleteIs a cabbage turnip perhaps a kohlrabi? Nice dinner.
I have always loved the formations that ice crystals make on windows and glass. But, here in Colorado, where there is practically no humidity, winter or summer, we don't see such things unless we have lots of fog.
So, snowflakes are the next best thing. Be careful walking out there, Mieke.
Thank you, Peace! You are making me blush over here in front of my computer...
DeleteYes, Kohlrabi is the German word for what I ate last night. I love it and often buy it to eat it just peeled like an apple, uncooked.
Crystal formations are fascinating, aren't they! I don't get to see them on my windows, as they are not cold and humid enough for them to form. I also have earrings in the shape of snowflakes, and I wore them to the office today :-)
The calendar was a lovely thought Meike. We have had very little snow here in the Midlands. You can't help thinking that there is more to come though.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about the calendar for many weeks before I actually had it made, and I am glad I did!
DeleteThere has been no new snow since Sunday (well, it's only Tuesday...), and I'd like it to stay that way.
I also love the snowflake design, it's pleasingly symmetrical but also full of detail. Your neighbourhood looks enchanting in the snow. We haven't had any here, which is a shame but not a surprise as we're just too close to the coast. What a lovely gift you made your neighbour, I can just imagine how delighted she must have been. x
ReplyDeleteNot keen on snow myself, but I admit it looks nice - when seen from inside my kitchen, with the heating on ;-)
DeleteMy neighbour was truly delighted, she told me so several times already, and I am glad I could provide her with such a pleasant surprise.
I love your snow and your snowflake pillow!
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning me and even having a link to my blog!
I just did a post and put a flower from my Dad's garden on there, and what do you think, the middle of the flower there looks very much like a heart!!
:-)
You're welcome, Kay! I thought of you, seeing hearts everywhere - in clouds, rock formations, leaves, to name but a few. And since I know that, I think of you now every time I see something heart-shaped :-)
DeleteNo snow here yet, for which I'm grateful. Oh, and I find that outside the Mediterranean, tomatoes invariably taste of nothing :(
ReplyDeleteAh, Frances, you have not tried my Dad's homegrown ones! They are really nice. But waiting for them for another half year seems a bit long.
DeleteTo me too a snowflake pattern says "winter" rather than just "Christmas". Just put a blue blanket with snowflake pattern on top of my bed today after changing the bedlinen (laundry day)... When I woke up this morning we also had about 20 cm more snow on the ground outside than the night before!!!
ReplyDeleteYour blanket sounds very pretty, Monica. How about posting a picture of it?
DeleteI'm glad we've not had any more snow... yet!
I still enjoy watching the re-runs of "Midsomer Murders"...the original ones with John Nettles playing Tom Barnaby...of course.
ReplyDeleteBack in 1986 when I was manager of the resort on Hinchinbrook Island John Nettles and this then girlfriend, a London nurse named "Sue" were guests of mine at the resort for a week. John Nettles, in person, was as nice as he appears on the screen...a gentle, polite man.
I agree, the original Midsomer Murders with John Nettles are still the best! But the new ones are also growing on me. They do have a slightly different character to them; for instance, now you see smart phones in every episodes, and text messages etc. start playing a role in some cases. But I guess the writers and producers have to adapt to the times.
DeleteNeil Dudgeon and Fiona Dolman make a nice Mr. and Mrs. Barnaby, I think. The good thing is that the new Barnaby never tried to be exactly like the old Barnaby, but he has his own approach to things.
How nice that you got to meet John Nettles back then! I wouldn't expect him to be anything less than gentle and polite. He's also done a very good documentary about Jersey.