Jottings 22nd November - getting outside

 A while ago I announced my intention to join in with Splodzblogz one hour outside November challenge - but a few days of dampness at the beginning of the month sapped my enthusiasm. Throughout this year doing anything has seemed like so much more effort than normal, add in inclement weather, and spending all day reading or doing online jigsaws seems like a great idea. 

It isn't really though. During May/June my Fitbit was registering only 1000 steps per day (!), and since then I've been taken deliberate steps (lol) to get more exercise. It's harder to plan days out at the moment, but on Thursday we headed out to Shipley Country Park, and I'm trying to pull in a short evening walk every day, only 15/20 minutes in length (I often put dinner in the oven, and THEN go out, as something ready to eat as I come back in is great)

There are more reasons than exercise for getting outside though, even pottering round the garden gives a change of focus and improves my mood. Apart from one day when I did some pruning, I haven't actually been doing anything practical but a few minutes outside generally turns up something interesting, from a flock of long-tailed tits coming to join the resident pigeons, to the amazing winter jasmine now in full bloom.

Undoubtedly the garden looks dull at this time of year, but there are still quite a number of flowers around in odd places, hanging on despite the shorter days and colder nights.

There's maybe just one disadvantage to all this pottering around outside. After last week's attempt to ditch the baggy black trousers, I was back wearing them again this week, because sometimes something a bit more practical is needed.

Evenings have been very busy - first watching The Crown, which I find more fascinating than the Royals themselves (perhaps because their fictionalised lives have a story arc that messy real life lacks), then, for a distinct change of pace, the last series of The Bridge. Binge-watching a boxset has a major drawback, a single series always feels too short, and I'm already looking for something new to watch. It's also time, as nights draw in to rekindle my enthusiasm for console games, so Lara Croft is off on her adventures again. If you've been reading this blog long enough you'll know that I'm a great fan of this fellow Derby woman.

And one evening I slipped in to an open mic Zoom event at which my youngest daughter was playing. I miss going out to gigs, but since my daughter moved up to Manchester I've missed hearing her play. This was almost like old times of going out to pubs and music venues with her, but without the alcohol and sticky floors.

This week's new meal was 'pork chops on a bed of sweet orchard apples' from the Abel and Cole Cookbook. Flavoured with rosemary and cider vinegar this dish tastes very different to pan-fried pork and apples (and sometimes kale). Apples and rosemary came from the garden, and I served it with potatoes and cabbage from the allotment, and carrots given us by another allotmenteer. There may not be any such thing as a free meal, but this comes pretty close.

And the week ended on a cheerful note, thanks to my back garden birch tree. It's the last of my trees to still have leaves, and the last few days have seen them turn to this glorious gold.

Sunshine at Shipley

 

I'd been watching the weather forecast all week hoping for at least one sunny day to get out and about, and at last on Thursday it arrived.

It was much colder than previous days, but I'd rather walk in chilly sunshine than warm(er) rain.

Being a last minute decision, we decided to go to Shipley Country Park, which doesn't need any pre-booking, and found that lot of other people seemed to have had the same idea. I was amazed how full the car park was for a chilly afternoon in mid-November! The paths are good and wide though, so there was space for everyone. 

The sky was still clear but shadows were getting longer even as we arrived and headed up the hill and through the beech trees on Horsepool Hill, kicking up leaves as we went.

And by the time we'd finished the circuit of the old hall's grounds the sun was definitely setting.

At home the sunset is obscured by houses and trees, but at Shipley there's an open view across fields, so I decided to sit and wait for the sun to sink below the horizon, while a crow cawed in a nearby tree and an owl hooted somewhere over the fields.

Back at the car park, there was just time to catch the last daylight reflecting in the reservoir before heading home.

Jottings 15th November - living more colourfully

 

A lot of time this week has been spent in an overhaul of my clothes. I've been lounging around for weeks, or months, in the same old baggy black trousers (I have a couple of pairs exactly the same, and more in navy for an alleged change of style) but a couple of incidents led me to think it was time for a revamp of my wardrobe. First, my in-box was being bombarded by sale offers for gorgeous, wildly patterned, or soft velvet dresses. So, so tempting. Then, I spotted a tweet from author Anthony McGowan - No one ever says to a peacock, "Hey, Mister, this is neither the time nor the place for that tail" - and despite it actually been a writing tip (the rest of the tip apparently refers to the 'superiority of farting to burping in books (and life))*, I thought it applied equally well to my clothing choices. I would buy some new glamorous clothes and wear them every day, and if the cut of some wasn't exactly flattering, it wouldn't matter as I'm not going anywhere for anyone to see me.

On the other hand I'd made a resolution earlier in the year to not buy any more clothes (it hasn't worked) and I would rather lose some lockdown weight before I go on a spending spree

It hardly took a moment's reflection to realise that I probably had a garment or two, lost somewhere in the back of the wardrobe, that would fit the bill, so I set myself a challenge for the week - to hunt out and wear something different every day, to save the baggy trousers for walking and gardening.

Wearing something more colourful, and a little dressier than my usual style worked wonders for my mood.

From flowery or flouncy ruffled skirts, to my purple 'festival' trousers and crochet waistcoat, everything I wore felt so much more fun.

It made getting up and dressed each morning take rather longer than normal but having worked out what I have, what still fits, and which pieces go together, in future it shouldn't take half as long (and I may even get back into the swing of putting tights on without contortionist wriggling, or ending up looking like a comedy medieval peasant with yards of material hanging off my toes!). My skirts and dresses are definitely making a comeback though.

I've continued my evening walks, though now they're generally in the dark, and too often in the rain. 

The beginning of the week saw the world wrapped in fog, but Thursday, Friday and Sunday saw a welcome return of sunshine.

Eating something different is, I believe, part of living more colourfully. This week's new experimental recipe was a bit of a cheat - taking an idea from Diana Henry's Roast Figs and Sugar Snow for glazing poussins with a maple-syrup, garlic and hot sauce, and applying it to chicken thighs and roast vegetables (parsnips, sweet potatoes and cabbage). The full recipe included a cornbread stuffing which I didn't bother with, but the glaze was one of those oh-so-easy and effective twists that I'll use again and again.

* If you're intrigued about the book of writing tips, you can find it here - Swallowed by a Whale: how to survive the writing life, and more about Anthony McGowan (he's a Carnegie award winning author, not just a teller of fart jokes) on his website

Jottings - 8th November weather

As of Thursday we're now back into a second lockdown, but with care and planning it doesn't really affect me on a day to day basis. I had one last chat with my elderly neighbour in her garden, I've got the click and collect shopping sorted - though I still tend to accidentally buy too much - and I can still go out walking. I prefer walking at places where visitor numbers are limited by timed entry, National Trust parkland, and Chatsworth's huge garden have become my favourite places to go this year. After a slight panic-booking of a trip to Chatsworth it turned out that gardens and parks will be allowed to stay open for exercise (but not presumably for anything frivolous), so I needn't have rushed. 

I've realised these jottings seem to be acquiring a personality of their own; this week has to be about the weather. From glorious sunshine, to rain, fog and frost, with an added rainbow or two, we've had quite a range of it. 

Monday morning started with a rainbow, which seems like a good omen, and it seems to have been a good week. After an early supermarket dash, Monday was a quiet day spent at home, with a little pottering in the garden, though there's not much that needs to be done right now.

Our visit to Calke on Tuesday started in rain, but that cleared away to sunshine, with another rainbow.

On Wednesday at Chatsworth the sun shone constantly, and the garden there is perfectly situated for late afternoon sun. I'm trying to build up the distance I can comfortably walk, and this week proved that I still have some way to go. Two days out left me exhausted with aching muscles, so I need to find ways of finding more time to walk near home.

Clear evening skies mean dipping temperatures and sparkling frost next morning - the first of this autumn. 

By weekend the weather was beginning to warm up slightly with early fog, but this blackbird came along to cheer me up.

There's less fresh produce from the allotment now (though still plenty stored in various ways) but I still found enough for a salad of cabbage, red onion, apple, and chioggia beetroot. Much is said about the desirability of eating seasonally and growing our own vegetables means this is something we do without really considering it, though there'll be tomatoes and runner beans  from the freezer to bring a touch of summer throughout the winter months.

This week's new recipe was from Pinch of Nom again. A tuna pasta bake made without the usual cheese sauce, but a lighter version with low fat soft cheese and stock. I wasn't impressed, as I definitely missed the cheesiness of the familiar dish. 

It's been a week of listening to new music; first two guys that I know. Gecko released a new album last week, with a launch on Attila the Stockbroker's Facebook page, and an appearance on Life and Rhymes, a spoken word programme fronted by Benjamin Zephaniah on Sky Arts, but his song about Laika, the dog sent into space by the Russians, made me too sad to listen to the whole album in one go. Then Tim OT, a guy I first saw playing in front of a pub dartboard (very brave), decided to take up the government's call for creatives to retrain in other occupations, by re-training as 'a musician who actually releases music', so his new band Morning Crush have a single out and hopefully there'll be more from him before long. And on Friday I spotted on Twitter that a band I follow there -  Tom Lumley and the Brave Liasion - also had a new track out. I've not got as far as seeing these guys live, but one day, maybe next year (fingers crossed) I will.

I've also caught up with last week's video from North Cornwall Book Festival. This time gardener Anna Pavord talking about landscape - its influence on us, our influence on it. 

And evenings have found me glued to Netflix series, The Queen's Gambit, based on a novel by Walter Tevis about an orphaned girl who becomes a chess prodigy. I never realised the game could be so fascinating. 

So far, lockdown2 hasn't been bad. I just hope it's all over in time for Christmas.

Chatsworth in autumn

Tuesday took me to Calke; Wednesday I headed in the opposite direction out of Derby, to Chatsworth.

I wouldn't normally take two days 'out' of whatever I do the rest of the week but I suggested the visit in a panic in case the grounds closed through this latest lockdown. They won't be after all, but the house will.

It was a gloriously sunny day to be outside.

The gardens sit on a westerly-facing hillside, catching the afternoon light perfectly as it shone through the trees.

As I've said before, my favourite area is the more natural, though perfectly planted. wooded area at the top of the garden, but there's a new path now running across the hillside, through the trees but lower down, and this area has been underplanted with flowers and grasses that fit with the 'wild, but cultivated' feel of this section. It could be a rival for my old favourite.

I'd spotted earlier in the afternoon that Christmas lights were being strung across the garden near to the house, so we stayed to see them. Work was still taking place on them, so another trip will be in order before the end of the year.