Weekly round-up.
First up… anyone who finds winter tough – WE HAVE CRESTED THE SHORTEST DAY, YIPPEEE! People, it’s basically nearly summer…
…Ok, so we have some way to go, and unfortunately mornings continue to get darker right into January… but it’s reassuring to know that we’ve weathered the worst of it! Get the BBQ out!
I hope you have a stash of Love Hearts (sweets) in the cupboard! I heard on the news this week that Love Hearts provide relief for indigestion. SAY WHAT? I’m sure you all know this but indigestion/heartburn occurs due to an excess of stomach acid, excess stomach acid can occur when we eat or drink a bit more, (often richer food), than we are used to. Love Hearts contain a small amount of the alkali sodium bicarbonate (also present in heartburn medications like Gaviscon) which neutralises the excess acid. Thus, finishing your Xmas day meal with a couple of Love Hearts may mitigate the potential discomfort of burny, burpy heartburn!!! Ok so this isn’t medical advice, but I do just LOVE a little fun fact like this!
After my grandad died, I believed he had come back as a Robin – the morning after he passed away, a robin appeared in front of Mum and I in the garden, he bobbed around in front of us for ages, and it felt like a reassuring display of ‘I’m still here girls’! Before Dad died, I randomly asked him what his favourite bird was… he told me he liked Bullfinches… to which I replied, ‘and what are they?’ He probably told me, but I seemed to erase the information from my brain! I hadn’t really thought about it again since our chat, but this week I was looking out of my kitchen window and spotted an unusual looking bird on the bird bath… I wanted to identify it, so Googled ‘orange breasted small bird, black and white tail UK’ (as you do)… I nearly fainted when the first thing that popped up was ‘Male bullfinch’… the picture was exactly what I saw out of the window… obviously I cried!!! Nearly 2 years after he passed away, I feel like Dad has paid me a visit, love you, Dad!
There is some quality content on the TV at this time of year isn’t there? None more so than ‘Inside McVities at Xmas’*. Apart from the fact that I find these programs weirdly fascinating, the thing that TOTALLY blew my mind was that a team of ‘super-tasters’ out there are employed by McVities as ‘professional biscuit tasters’ WHAATTTTT??? Can’t we all be professional tasters for a living!?
*The Harrods documentary was also V.Good - I promise I don’t watch THAT much TV!… ok I watch quite a bit of TV… scheduled for the next few days = The Holiday, Love Actually, Elf, Home Alone… you know the drill.
More last minute yummy sweet treats… I literally can’t stop with the baking at the moment! Below I’ve shared my recipes for: a show-stopping pavlova wreath, passion fruit possets, and citrus, almond, pistachio and fennel Cantucci - I hope you like them!
Finally, all that’s left for me to say is Happy Christmas! Whether you celebrate Christmas big time, a bit, or not at all, I hope you have a reasonable time. If you’re like me, it may not be the ‘happiest’ time of year, but I just think of it as an excellent opportunity to prioritise rest, eat some yummy food, and watch some classic films. I hope you don’t mind but I’m going to take a week off over Xmas so will be back again on the 7th of January! Thank you to each and every one of you for your support this year, it really means more than you will ever realise!
Sending all my love, Steph x x x
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Comfort Chronicles to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.