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.