Last week was a very mixed bag in terms of weather. After the sunny Monday (see my previous post), we had just about everything else (apart from summer temperatures), including snow on the weekend.
 |
| Just one blossom - but it's yellow! |
Serveral times, my sister and I met for after-work walks. I don't mind at all walking on my own, but it is also very nice to have company, especially when the walk is on very familiar ground with few surprises, no spectacular views or anything else to demand full attention.
Tuesday started with snow that turned into sleet and then into rain. Wednesday was sunny again for good part of the day, clouding over by the time I finished work and went for my briefest walk of the week.
 |
| Sunrise on Wednesday morning |
 |
| Early afternoon the same day |
The sky was a solid grey lid all day on Thursday, it never felt properly light, but that did not stop my sister and I from walking. We chose the opposite direction of where we'd been two days earlier, walking past the palace. My sister took the picture of me looking through the gates. She pointed out the sign on the locked gates, saying that it was a document of these strange times we're living in, with Covid restrictions in place.
I managed to finish work a little earlier on Friday, still in time to catch some of the sunshine I had wistfully been looking at all day from my desk. Determined to make the most of it, I walked for about 2 hours, taking in the beautiful sunset and returning home in near darkness.
On the weekend, O.K. was with me, and Sunday was a proper snow day! It hardly stopped snowing all day, and many were out on the fields to enjoy it. I wasn't too happy about O.K. having to drive home in it that evening, but all went well and he was home almost half an hour before curfew.
It was the perfect weather for comfort food, and I made vegetable soup for Saturday lunch, a pizza on Saturday evening and egg nests in the oven for a late and leisurely Sunday breakfast (yes, complete with sparkling wine and Earl Grey tea).
I'm not sure which I love more: your swoon-worthy food, or the gorgeous snowy pictures! Would you post recipes for the egg nests and soup? Both look scrumptious!
ReplyDeleteI have just added the link to the egg nests recipe in a post from 2019, just click on "egg nests" in the post. For the soup, I'm afraid I can't really give a recipe - I simply peeled and chopped a few spuds and parsnips I had still lingering in the kitchen, added a yellow and a red bell pepper, and boiled it all long enough in salted water until the spuds and parnsips were soft so that I could mash them with a spuds masher. Oh, and to start the whole pot, I fried a small red onion (another leftover) in coconut fat. I spiced the mix generously with spiced ginger and added a teaspoon of instant vegetable broth. Well, there you go, is is a recipe after all :-)
DeleteThe last outdoor picture with the tree between the field and the road - did you get to make the first footsteps? That's always a childish delight.
ReplyDeleteI love doing that, yes! But in this case, we were just two among many other walkers, although that particular path was not quite as busy as some of the others.
DeleteBeautiful sunset pictures! I agree with Jennifer - I'd like the egg nest and soup recipes too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting!
Thank YOU for reading and commenting, Ellen! See my reply to Jennifer for the recipes.
DeleteI just looked up your egg nests recipe and it sounds very good! I'll have to give it a try soon. This time of the year the weather can really change around quickly but despite that you have some beautiful pictures. I especially love your snow pictures!
ReplyDeleteSnow looks always beautiful when it is fresh, doesn't it! Unfortunately, in town it never lasts long in that pristine condition; a few cars are enough to turn it into brown-grey slush.
DeleteI must see if I can find your egg nests recipe. It looks as if it may use white bread, which we don't usually have, but it does look delightful!
ReplyDeleteJust click on the word "egg nests" in my post, Jenny, I have added the link to the older post with the recipe.
DeleteI use mostly more substantial types of bread, too, but every now and then, a slice of white bread or a baguette (with shakshouka or when we have a barbeque) won't harm.
Loving your big sky sunset photos. So expansive. I live in a hilly, tree-filled area and don't have any big views from my house or neighborhood. Must drive a bit to catch a sunrise over the Chesapeake Bay or a sunset over the river on the other side of our peninsula, but that doesn't work with my schedule most days.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, Mary! From my house, I can only catch glimpses of the sky looking west; east is easier, but there are still many buildings and a few large trees to interfere with sunrise views.
DeleteIt takes me a good 15 minutes to get to those fields where I took the pictures, and some days it will be too late after work to go.
Nice to see that you have a Cadbury's Dairy Milk mug.
ReplyDeleteThe other one, just about visible on the left, is a Cadbury's Fruit & Nuts mug. I really like Cadbury's!
DeleteYou have just given me the idea to post about my mug "collection" - it is not a big collection, and every mug is regularly used, but each has a meaning for me and a reason for being there.
I an so envious of your walks! What lovely photos!! We have had so much rain and dreary grey days, I think I have that disorder where I must see the sun! Never had a January like this one. I had such high hopes for 2021 too, oh well! It's got 11 more chances to redeem itself!😊
ReplyDeleteWe've had a lot of rain and grey days, too, but I am actually happy about them - the extremely dry years we've been having for a while now are definitely not good for our forests and fields.
DeleteThe sun makes a big difference though, doesn't it!