I have been away from my desk for ages. It feels like months, but it’s only 10 days. We (the husband and I) needed the break and it was wonderful to get away to the seaside at Nefyn, just to walk along the seafront in Criccieth, look out over the Irish Sea at Nant Gwytheryn and just spend time together without needing to ask “Have you done such and such and is X’s file ready to copy?”

We borrow the house off relatives, and we’ve been going there for 16 years so for all the family it really is a home-from-home. There’s no awkward getting-to-know-you moments when you search for the bottle opener or look at the array of pans, no need to check that the facilities are as described in the webpage, because we know what it does and does not have (no telly!) and we pack accordingly.

We cheated on  the telly this year. It does have WiFi, so we packed the projector, the Google Chromecast and my laptop, a couple of DVDs and sat down most nights at 10pm as a family to enjoy a programme or a film. Wall to wall TV isn’t hyggely, but specifically selecting programmes or films and watching them mindfully as a family is.

So now it’s Tuesday, and I’m back at my desk ready and raring to work. I have a list of things I want to do for Peter Kneale Solicitor, this website and my Hygge books, so I need to be set up and full of energy. I hate breakfast and I usually miss it out, but today I was hungry and needed sustenance.

Usually overnight oats are made overnight, but I forgot last night, so today my solution was to throw together a jar, add milk, stir and bring them in. Why am I sharing something so basic? Because it tasted so good, and gave me the energy I needed to get on with work.

Chocolate Orange Overnight Oats

Ingredients

A good handful of oats (adjust to suit appetite)

1 dessertspoon of chia seeds

1 dessertspoon of marmalade

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

A dash of Maple syrup

1 or 2 squares of dark chocolate, broken up.

A dessertspoon of dried cranberries

Milk, amount as required.

Method.

1. Place all the ingredients in a jar.
2. Pour in the milk until the oats are well covered plus about 1cm for soaking in.
3. Put the lid on, pack and take with you to work.
4. After an hour the oats should have soaked up all the liquid. Add more, if you like, or eat as a slightly more solid mass.
5. Enjoy the benefits of slow-release oat energy all morning.

And there you have it! My quick and easy pre-work breakfast in a jar. I have really enjoyed the orange flavour, and I know I’ll make it again.

As for work…. well. After a morning in the same old chair, with the same old screen…. I wonder if the holiday will have an impact, or just be a dim and distant memory?

Enjoy the writing? Want to read more about hygge? If you’d like to read more about how hygge has made my life happier, my first two books are available now:  50 Ways to Hygge the British Way  is available in Paperback and Kindle version and so is How to Hygge Your Summer, again in Paperback and Kindle form, from Amazon.  If you purchase through the links on this page, I get a couple of pence extra per copy, and if you’ve already read it and enjoyed it, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. I have a Goodreads Author’s Page!

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