Showing posts with label Tugboat Tea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tugboat Tea. Show all posts

Wednesday 27 December 2023

Countdown to Christmas: Day 16


And we're still on holiday! Woohoo!

Lizard




Another day in our remote little cottage at The Lizard. I don't think I mentioned this before, but there are cows right outside the cottage.

Hannah’s Bookshelf 3 Minute Santas Special



By the magic of technology (and forward planning, of course), I was on air on North Manchester FM today. It was the annual Hannah's Bookshelf Pre-Christmas Christmas Special this afternoon, with festive flash fiction from this year's 3 Minute Santas writers.

West Country Scandals



I bought this little book, West Country Scandals by James Whinray, at a gift shop last year, but I didn't get chance to read it then. Of course, the real West Country scandal is that I drank Devon Cream Tea (from Bird and Blend) when I was reading it in Cornwall. Shocker!

Zombie Cocktails



I know tiki cocktails might not sound very Christmassy, but look how festive these Zombies look!

Escape from the Movie Studio



We brought a couple of little escape room games to play while we're away. Kicked off tonight with Escape from the Movie Studio and totally nailed it. We are no longer trapped in a movie studio.

The Last Snow



The next book I read on holiday was The Last Snow by Stina Jackson. I teamed it with Ceylon Bop from Tugboat. (The bookmark was a little present I bought for myself when I was Christmas shopping at St Ives Bookseller the other day.)

Advent Tea



Behind Door No. 16 in my Bird and Blend tea calendar... Devon Cream Tea!

Advent Jewellery



And behind Door No. 16 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a gold joy pendant!

Saturday 23 December 2023

Countdown to Christmas: Day 13


We're on holiday! Woohoo!

Lizard



Another day in our lovely remote little cottage at The Lizard!

Pumpkin and Red Pepper Soup




I made Pumpkin and Red Pepper Soup today. Most of the ingredients were from our most recent Groobarbs delivery, but would you believe that the mini ghost pumpkin was from our Halloween pumpkin picking at Dunham Massey Ice Cream Farm? It lasted perfectly and tasted amazing.

Cherry and Ginger Banana Bread



I've done some baking! I made Cherry and Ginger Banana Bread this afternoon, and enjoyed a slice of it with a cup of Bird and Blend's Mascarpone and Sour Cherry tea.

Chocolate Pots



Chocolate Pots are a holiday go-to for me (though it's another no-bake dessert). 150g of melted chocolate mixed with 150ml double cream, and then anything festive I can fling at them! Top tip: make them the night before so they have plenty of time to chill in the fridge.

Daisy Darker



The next book I'm reading on holiday is Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney. I bought it for my mum for Christmas last year, and she lent it to me in January after she'd read it. I've been saving it since then, because I really wanted to read it while we were in Cornwall. And I'm having Rose Conjou tea from Tugboat in Truro while I read it.

Advent Tea



Behind Door No. 13 in my Bird and Blend Tea calendar... Christmas Cake!

Advent Jewellery



And behind Door No. 13 in my Avon jewellery calendar... a star pendant!

Thursday 27 January 2022

Imbolc: Day 1


We're beginning our Year of Celebrating the Seasons this week, with seven days of Imbolc celebrations. We've already come up with a couple of (hopefully) new traditions that we're looking forward to, but today was all about enjoying the last bits of winter and some tiny glimpses of spring.

Imbolc Lights





One of our new traditions (we think) is keeping some of the Christmas lights up until Imbolc, to keep the winter darkness at bay. I know some people keep their Christmas tree up and decorated until Imbolc, but that seemed a bit much for us. We've just kept a little corner of festive light to see us through.

The Haunting Season



I wanted something seasonally appropriate to read in the period between Christmas and Imbolc, and so I chose The Haunting Season. This is a collection of short stories that I skim-read for my radio show in December but didn't get to enjoy properly over the Christmas period. It seemed just right for the wintery gap between our seasonal festivities.

Snowdrops



I spent a lovely half hour with a friend today, snowdrop-spotting in our local park.

French Toast



I don't know if this is seasonal or not (since I've happily ordered it at other times of the year), but we celebrated our successful snowdrop hunt with French toast at You, Me and Tea! It certainly felt festive.

Imbolc Earrings



Continuing the snowdrop theme, my first set of Imbolc earrings for the year were a pair of cute little snowdrops. I'm building up my seasonal earring collections, so I don't have quite as many for Imbolc as I do for Halloween and Christmas. I'm getting there though!

Starve Acre



It was actually quite difficult to find a seasonally-appropriate book to read this week, as most wintery fiction is set around Christmas/winter solstice. I've chosen Andrew Michael Hurley's Starve Acre, as I believe it's set in February. Hurley has a story in The Haunting Season as well, so I might have to watch that he doesn't just become my go-to seasonal fiction writer!

Imbolc Tea




I'm not going to go all out like I do for Halloween and Christmas, but I did want to have at least one Imbolc-appropriate tea. I've got Snow Buds, a white tea from Tugboat in Truro. It's a 'treasure of a tea', apparently. I think it's very flavourful for a white tea, which is no bad thing at all.