Countdown to Christmas: Day 8

The Countdown to Christmas (and the countdown to our December holiday!) continues. It was mostly work-but-make-it-festive today, though the very wintery weather certainly helped with the festive feel!

Advent Tea

Today's advent tea from my Bird and Blend Tea calendar was Cold Weather Warrior (much needed today)!

A Winter Walk

I had a very frosty estate walk with my colleague this morning. It was a wee bit nippy, but it didn't half look festive!

Boggart Hole Clough

The lake in Boggart Hole Clough looked absolutely stunning in the icy weather today! (And the mince pies at the Lakeside Cafe weren't half bad either!)

Dam Head and Crosslee Christmas Party

The Dam Head and Crosslee Tenants and Residents Association held a lovely Christmas party for older residents on the estates today. Hotpot, massive cakes (seriously, massive), music, a festive quiz and Christmas cards made by kids at the local school.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 1

It's here! The most wonderful time of the year! Our Year of Celebrating the Seasons has reached Halloween! Like last year, I'm going to be celebrating 31 Days of Halloween throughout October. I set the bar pretty high in 2021 (I mean, I walked across hot coals last October, so there's no beating that), but I've got a lot of stuff planned for this Halloween as well. I've got 31 Halloween teas ready to enjoy, and I've picked a book of short stories to read as well. My box of Halloween earrings is out of the wardrobe and ready for action now as well.

So here's how I celebrated my first day of Halloween this year...

Today's Tea

My first Halloween tea of the year! I'm starting off with Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice from Mystic Brew Teas. Looking at the ingredients, the 'everything nice' is not an overstatement. It's got everything from white pepper to rosehip in it! But mostly it tastes of pumpkin, ginger and cinnamon.

Today's Story

Last October, I read a story-a-day from a book that turned out to have less than 31 stories in it. This year, I'm reading a story-a-day from a book with way more than 31, the Classic Tales of Horror anthology from Canterbury Classics. (I had to work out which stories to skip this month, and I'm afraid the Edgar Allan Poe ones have been ditched - I read a lot of Poe last Halloween.) Today's classic tale of horror (the first of the season!) was 'The Devil and Tom Walker' by Washington Irving.

Halloween Earrings

My first pair of Halloween earrings of the year... pumpkin candies!

Fun Day in Boggart Hole Clough

I had a great time today at a fun day to raise money for Rodney House Specialist Support School at the Lakeside Cafe in Boggart Hole Clough. I even won a prize on the tombola. Woohoo! It's not just the boggart that makes this a Halloween event though. I opted for a seasonal design from the face-painter, and a member of the Lakeside CIC community group regifted her tombola prize to me... a pair of skull shot glasses!

(Virgin) Espresso Martini

Espresso Martini from Glen Affric Brewery to celebrate the start of the month. (But I've got a litter-pick first thing tomorrow so it's mocktail, not cocktail.)