The Autumnal Christmas Chronicles Preamble - Thread 2 further ramblings

[HannahDefoesChristmasHamper]

Hope nobody minds me starting anew thread as old one nearly full

Will pop some links in 🍂🍁

@DeckTheHallsAndBringYourBrolly so pleased you got the OK about your teeth. I've got another 4 weeks to wait for my appointment for two fillings and it's driving me mad. I think it's partly the sensitivity, but also the constant ache as I grind and clench my teeth anyway.

On the cake front, any recipe can and will work scaled down. So pound cake / Victoria sponge or madiera recipe can be made into individual cakes. I've tried it loads over the years, including making any leftovers fit a couple of muffin cases. I also did two small cakes on masterchef baked in ring moulds. An individual pineapple upside down cake sounds lovely! 😊

So glad to hear your teeth are sorted @DeckTheHallsAndBringYourBrolly - there’s nothing quite like getting a clean bill of health from the dentist to make you feel on top of the world! Fortunately DH and DD loved the flapjack - it was all I could do to stop them scoffing the lot. Like you I had it in mind to have some treats in a tin Nigel style and thought flapjack might be longer lasting than a cake - some hope 🤣 24 degrees here today!!! Not in the least bit autumnal! I shouldn’t complain - I’ll be piling on the coats and scarves soon enough, but it feels a bit topsy turvy when October is warmer than September.

Beautiful weather and picture! However, despite the sunny disposition, all I could think when looking at the photo was "those parasols look like santa hats" 🙈

How gorgeous to see some Paris in the sun!

Great to hear of good tooth news too.

it is very autumnal here today. I’m waiting for a break from the heavier rain to put my gear on and get out for a walk. I’ve had my long hair cut short today in readiness for treatment - my hairdresser was amazingly positive and dh came to hold my hand and keeps saying nice things about my new (unwanted) do. On the plus side, I have 14” of hair to send to the little princess trust, so it’s off to have fun.

There are some huge oak trees opposite my house and they are serving some wonderful colours. A joy to look out on year round. I’ve been eating a toasted tea cake with good butter, looking out on them.

@Bimblesalong pleased your hairdresser was so positive, and that you had DH there to hold your hand. 14 inches of hair to send to a good cause is a brilliant positive to come from a very difficult experience. It must feel like a rollercoaster.

I'm sure your new (if unwanted) do looks great bimbles. And some
Little girl somewhere will be very happy with all that hair x lots of love to you x

Jsut xsfhci guy on the thread as have been on something of a phone detox for a few days.

In the middle of my Wednesday clean but as it's sunny and the trees are looking beautiful in their autumn finery I'm thinking of sacking it off and going for a walk instead.

@RainbowZebraWarrior thank you! I'll give it a go then. I'm keen to make the mini pineapple cake, I think it'll be so cute! Need to buy a very small cake tin; I suppose I could repurpose the pineapple tin for now! But I'm making a banana cake today for DH so it'll have to wait a bit longer.

@Bimblesalong I'm sure that was difficult. 💐 How lovely that someone will be able to benefit from it.

@LillianGish I wouldn't mind eating them all myself to tell you the truth, I just can't for health reasons. I'm not at all surprised they've already gone! I wonder if flapjack freezes well...I have a vague memory of trying it and I think it turned out fine, but I can't be sure. Loving the French autumn sunshine.🌞🌞🌞

@RainbowZebraWarrior they do look like Santa Hats!

We're having steak and chips (well, not chips exactly since I make them myself and don't actually deep fry them, but close enough) tonight with cauliflower cheese on the side. It's a nice, easy meal but so comforting on a day like this. Raining and miserable here.

@WeMeetInFairIthilien I'm fascinated by the Tudor period-I am a history graduate and I especially love learning how the regular people lived as opposed to the upper classes. I've got a bottle of Hypocras which I purchased in Carcassonne earlier in the year just waiting to be opened whenever I'm in need of a medieval restorative!

@RainbowZebraWarrior meant to say sorry you're still suffering! I've got to go back in November to have the work done too.

Always glad to see a lurker. Welcome! 🍁🌾🍂 Thank you for the tip on the book, luckily I think most of us who hadn't already ordered it were able to take advantage. Sorry for the delay but I'm just reading back now (don't always read all comments as too much too process at once).

This all looks and sounds wonderful.

@SunshineonLeaves have you got a recipe for the beef in Guinness, please?

(I suppose you don't really need a recipe for that sort of thing but I just like to follow some kind of structure the first time I make something)

Oh, that sounds amazing!

We've made mead in the past, and I've currently got a pan of split peas soaking, to make pease pottage tomorrow.

I'm also particularly fond of fried broad beans, which is a Tudor recipe.

The weather is dark, dank and miserable here. Just counting down the hours until I can reasonably fill up the hot water bottles!

@Bimblesalong So good that you feel supported by DH and your hairdresser, the decision to cut your hair must have been difficult to come to terms with, but what a lovely thing to do, to help some little girl to feel like a princess when she must be going through a hard time. Very best wishes that all goes well with your treatment and then you can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

How’re you doing today @RainbowZebraWarrior ? It is chucking it down here, which is never good for achy joints, hoping yours are behaving better.

I’ve just ordered Stanley Tucci’s newest book to indulge in more foody reading.

I'm lucky that I work somewhere that has quaint old houses amongst our buildings where people live and I spied an arrangement of autumnal gourds outside one front door - all different colours amongst granite grey.

I need to get our decorations ready for autumn when I get home from a few days away- teen is down with a cold so we are taking the afternoon off sightseeing.

Bimblesalong that must have been very hard to have your hair cut but donating it was so kind 💐

@MovingCrib those displays using real squashes, gourds, pumpkins etc are my favourite. Nature's bounty, and I love how many different colours, shapes and textures there are.

Thanks for asking, bimbles. I'm really struggling to walk and do things like clean the cat's litter tray due to pain and fatigue. I've finally given in and had my cleaner here to help me. She did a few weeks over the summer to get on top of things, but I now need her on a regular basis. She's just done 2 and a half hours in my bedroom and I've managed to put a new duvet set on. What a difference it's made! 😊

Having your cleaner help out more sounds like the right thing Rainbow. So sorry you are struggling with that physical issue now. It must be so frustrating.

And I'm sorry that your fillings are achy too (just read back on your posts).

Would Sensodyne toothpaste help? Helps when my teeth get a bit sensitive (though I don't need fillings just now)

A new duvet set will be just the thing. It’s amazing how much simple pleasures like fresh bedding get stymied by health. Glad to hear you have help.

I’ve been for a walk around the village in my wet weather gear - we are pretty much cut off by flooding. It looks set for sunshine tomorrow and I hope the sodden ground gets a rest for a bit

we are pretty much cut off by flooding 😮 Gosh @Bimblesalong - that sounds rather extreme. And so true what you say about getting into fresh sheets - I’m surprised Nigel doesn’t have a chapter on that in ATF. Sorry to hear about your hair - hope you can embrace your new style (or no doubt knit yourself a fabulous hat knowing you 😉). I thought of you today as I booked tickets for the ballet (Sleeping Beauty at Opera Bastille) for April! They are a Christmas present for DD after she told me her best present ever was tickets to Don Quichotte earlier this year.. I’m not usually so ahead with present buying, but these sell out almost as soon as they go on sale. Sending healing vibes to @RainbowZebraWarrior too - with all your crafting, cooking and beekeeping (not to mention your much appreciated sterling work marshaling this thread) it’s easy to forget how much you struggle. I hope your lovely fresh duvet and clean bedroom promote a healing night’s sleep 😴

Thank you, all for the healing vibes. I've managed a short walk around the village with well timed painkillers and my crutches. It's rather smoggy due to a combination of low cloud and one or two folk burning goodness knows what.

Here's our Mr Darcy making the most of the fresh bedding before I have to move him to climb in myself later. He's such a love I can't deny him his spot ❤️

Also meant to say that being almost cut off by flooding is awful. We've had problems in the past with that, too, and it's awful.

I recently happened upon a diary from the foot and mouth outbreak 23(?!) years ago. Seeing it all written down was heartbreaking. It is amazing also, though, to see how we recover, regroup, and move on as individuals and as a community. The one thing I always try to remember from therapy is 'Adjust and Adapt' It felt so irritating at the time, but the alternative is kicking and screaming against whatever cards you are dealt, and that is never good for the stress levels.