Countdown to Christmas: Day 22

Back in Manchester after a wonderful pre-Christmas holiday! Lots to do over the next couple of days though.

More Mulling!

Time to mull some more apple juice.

Bailey’s Wood Winter Solstice Walk

I led a Winter Solstice Walk in the Woods for the Friends of Bailey's Wood today. We talked about seasonal folklore and I, as always, shared tales of Captain Christmas. We also saw some amazing mushrooms and stopped for some mulled apple juice under the silver birch trees.

Mulled Apple Juice

There was still some mulled apple juice left after the walk, so me and Rob had it with a mince pie!

Yule Candle

We lit our Yule candle from Chalice Creations tonight. Frankincense, cinnamon, orange and cedarwood to put us in a very festive mood.

Advent Tea

Behind Door No. 22 in my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Salted Caramel Lebkuchen!

Advent Jewellery

And behind Door No. 22 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a gold Christmas tree pendant!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 25

Today was a very big day, with three separate (and very different) events on the cards. We also did some festive stuff at home afterwards, as we moved into the final week of celebrating.

Crumpsall Park Halloween Story Walk

I led another Halloween Story Walk this morning, this time for Friends of Crumpsall Park. This was such a fun event to do - loved working with the kids to come up with a spooky story about the park. The Crumpsall kids did come to a different conclusion than the Blackley kids on Monday though... they decided I must be the werewolf! One of the kids drew a picture of me as a witch, being transformed into a werewolf by a tornado and it's my absolute favourite thing.

Castlerea Halloween Film Afternoon

We had our annual Halloween Film Afternoon at Castlerea Care Home this afternoon. This year we watched Frankenstein Created Woman, with spooky movie snacks of course. I also did my traditional dramatic reading of 'The Raven' for the housemates (with audience participation)!

Green Quarter Weird History Walk

I led a Halloween weird history walk for GRUB MCR tonight, taking walkers from Angel Meadow to Red Bank and telling tales of bodysnatching, swimming baths, ragged schools and railways along the way.

Samhain Candle

We lit our Samhain candle from Chalice Creations tonight. Rose, sandalwood and orange to scent the season.

Pumpkin Lantern

Rob carved our pumpkin lantern tonight! And what a fine lantern he is too!

Little Gem Squash

Another lovely recipe for our Groobarbs Autumn Squash Box... South African Style Baked Little Gem Squash!

31 Halloween Films: Saw

Tonight's film from our Halloween list was the one we were sort of thinking would come up last Saturday! But it was so good to watch Saw again after seeing Saw X!

Lammas: Day 4

It's the fourth day of our Lammas festivities. And I had a couple of nice things planned for today (and only a little bit bread-based!).

Breadmas Calendar Day 4

Behind Bread Wrapper No. 4 today... it's a Pretzel (from Morrison's)!

Bailey’s Wood Litter-Pick

We were out in the Lammas-y woods this morning for the Friends of Bailey's Wood litter-pick. And the rain (almost) held off too!

Hannah’s Bookshelf Lammas Special

I had a blast hosting the first ever Hannah's Bookshelf Lammas Special on North Manchester FM this afternoon, including some amazing seasonal short stories. I can't believe how fast the time went!

Lammas Candle

We lit our Lammas / Lughnasadh candle from Chalice Creations tonight. Lavender, patchouli and lemon to usher in the grain harvest.

Midsummer: Day 3

It's the third day of our Midsummer celebrations, and it seems that cake continues to be an important theme!

Midsummer Tea Break!

Today I was drinking Peach Soda from Bird and Blend Tea.

New Midsummer Earrings

I got some new Midsummer earrings today, and photographed them just before the Summer Solstice Walk in Woods this evening.

Bailey’s Wood Summer Solstice Walk in the Woods

It was lovely to be out this evening, leading the Friends of Bailey's Wood Summer Solstice Walk in the Woods, enjoying the changing seasons in the woods and sharing stories and folklore. We were a bit worried about this evening's Summer Solstice Walk in the Woods when we saw the rain this morning, but it turned out to be a pleasantly sunny evening. And we had a little taste of summer before we started out!

Midsummer Candle

We lit our Midsummer (Litha) candle from Chalice Creations tonight. Jasmine, rose, lavender, ylang-ylang, geranium, helichrysum and melissa lemon to scent the season.

Beltane: Day 1

Well, Beltane season began today, but sadly it isn't going to be the week we had planned. Poor Rob's been really quite ill for over a month now, and it's been a tough time for him. Unfortunately - with the worst timing in the world - just as Rob was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I ended up spending an entire day in A&E with a throat so badly swollen I couldn't breathe or swallow properly. It turns out I'd managed to come down with one of the worst cases of tonsilitis I can remember having (and I've had some bad cases).

We'd got a little holiday planned in Bakewell for April, as we do every year, and we really didn't want to miss it, despite everything that's happened. It won't be the walking holiday we'd planned, but we came to Derbyshire on Sunday (with a first aid kit that looks like a field hospital) to convalesce and recuperate for a couple of days.

‘Beltane’

I've got a whole week's worth of Beltane/May chapters to read in Ronald Hutton's The Stations of the Sun this season, so I'm starting (appropriately enough) today with 'Beltane'.

Lambs and Hills

Again, not quite the Beltane week of adventures we had planned, but we took a very short trip out this afternoon and saw some hills and some lambs today, so that was nice.

Beltane Candle

We lit our Beltane candle from Chalice Creations to mark the start of the season tonight... Ylang-ylang, jasmine, geranium and frankincense are the scents of our Beltane fire this evening.

Spring Equinox: Day 2

It's the second day of this year's Spring Equinox celebrations. And the first day that we've done anything together. It was our wedding anniversary on Wednesday, and we weren't able to celebrate (for personal reasons), so we deferred things till tonight.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs

I surprised my brother with a Reese's peanut butter creme egg this afternoon. 'Tis the season...

Poetry in the Park

I had a wonderful afternoon with Castlerea House care home, celebrating the upcoming Spring Equinox in Crumpsall Park with poetry, cakes, fresh air and flowers. Bet you can't guess what poem I ended with...

Ostara Candle

We lit our Ostara candle from Chalice Creations tonight. Lime, bergamot, coconut and grapefruit to last us through till the Spring Equinox.

Wedding Anniversary Gifts

It was our 9th wedding anniversary on Wednesday. 9 is the willow or pottery anniversary, so we've been nauseatingly cute about the theme.

Wedding Anniversary Cocktails

We celebrated our wedding anniversary with this month's Muddlebox cocktail... and it was a Gold Digger!