Wassailing used to happen in Britain around Christmas time: it was a custom for groups of people to gather together and share a large bowl of warmed drink, usually a warmed or ‘mulled’ apple cider, with the call ‘Waes Hael!’ meaning good health being shouted before everybody drank it down. The original wassail cup had mulled ale, curdled cream, eggs, roasted apples and spices. Using … Continue reading Waes Hael! Good health in an apple drink!
It’s properly Autumn now, with chilly mornings that brighten into golden showered days when the Sun smiles with a last gasp of heat. Days when the sky flashes between the blue of a robin’s eggs into a silver streaked grey that lowers and threatens to rain. In the countryside, nature’s harvest falls thick and fast, with conkers, acorns, beech nuts and seeds aplenty scattered along … Continue reading Ten Easy Ways to Pamper Yourself in Autumn for Around £10
It’s a peculiar thing about my life that Wednesday seems to be my spinning tops day. You know what I mean, the day when everything happens or seems to creep up and you spend the day in a tizzy wondering what to do next, or following a list that you had the foresight to write out the night before and getting three entries in before … Continue reading Spinning tops? No, I prefer spinning wool.
I’ve been browsing quotes about Autumn, and September, October and November as I get the next edition of Cosy Happy Hygge ready to go. There are so many to choose from… and not all of them nice. There is nothing in this world that unites everybody: that’s human nature. Say you like chocolate and most people will nod and agree, but there’s always somebody stood … Continue reading Oh, Autumn, how I love thee!
The Hygge Life by Gunnar Karl Gislason and Jody Eddy. The subtitle for this book says it all: Embracing the nordic art of coziness through recipes, entertaining, decorating, simple rituals and family traditions. Written by an American journalist and an award-winning Icelandic chef (I’ll let you work out which is which), this is a 160 page book that deserves a space next to Meik Wiking’s … Continue reading Hygge book: the hygge life by Gunnar Karl Gislason and Jody Eddy
It’s the first weekend in September!!! Yay! Just imagine, it’s almost time for everything nice and spicy and happy… although, in my quest to live a life full of hygge I have discovered that every time of year is the right time for nice and spicy and happy. Hygge would be no use as a feeling if it were confined just to one (or two) … Continue reading A Weekend With…. Sarah Raad
Wait… it’s September on Saturday? How did that happen? Only a couple of weeks ago I was complaining there was ages until September and open season on pumpkin spiced whatevers. I was anticipating having plenty of time to get the gold and red decorations out, the slow cooker out of hibernation and the jumpers onto the back of the door ready to slip into as … Continue reading A September of #smallthings
Hot topic on one of my Twitter timelines this week was whether it is cultural appropriation for other people (ie not from Lancashire) to eat Lancashire Hotpot or whether it’s a step too far to let anybody from Yorkshire eat it. There was thoughts of some retaliation with the banning of Yorkshire puddings in any town west of Saddleworth. Be aware, there may at some … Continue reading A Word for the Weekend: Rove
