Saturday, June 29, 2024

A third of the way through Winter!

 


I am sitting here at my desk, on a very wet rainy Winter afternoon, going through my list of Hygge activities that I can do to brighten up the day.

I had forgotten about my Hygge list, created 4 years ago, until I went through my old Winter blog posts. It was just what I needed 😊. So, I picked a few activities to do and set to work.

My first activity was to bake an "Easy lime and coconut cake." I found the recipe online on the Taste AU recipe website and luckily had all the ingredients needed to make it. This is the third time I have used my oven to bake something. It turned out nicely despite there being no temperature markings on the oven temperature dial! 

While the cake was cooling and waiting to be iced, I set about doing my second task which was to clean and rearrange my desk. I added one of the miniature cyclamen plants, which I bought a few days ago, for some cheerful colour.

My next Hygge activity was to dig out my favourite Gien filets bleu tea-set and make a large cup of Twining's English Breakfast tea with a slice of lemon in. The tea went perfectly with a slice of the cake I made. A bonus is that the cake was also liked by mum and dad.

As I had my afternoon tea I watched an episode of Gardener's World, which I really enjoy. And then I watched the latest Chateau Diaries vlog post on YouTube. It was lovely seeing the English Summer flowers and also the happenings at the French chateaux de LaLande.
As I looked out of my bedroom window, at the pouring rain, I felt happy and cosy inside and actually enjoyed watching the rain splashing on the deck outside. My cat Otto sat on my knee for ages cuddling and purring. Bliss. Otto then curled up and fell asleep on a chair by my side.

I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to start a jigsaw puzzle...

...But Otto was only pretending to be asleep. As soon as he realised that I was opening a jigsaw puzzle box he was there in an instant to help me!

Supervising me was quite exhausting work for Otto, and after deciding that I was capable of doing the puzzle by myself, he finally found a comfortable place to have a nap.
The last Hygge activity that I chose to do was to use the photos I took yesterday, of the new indoor cyclamen plants we recently bought, to create this blog post. Another thing that I love doing.
We chose a variety of miniature and large cyclamens in different colours, to brighten the house up for Winter. Our old cyclamens are dormant at the moment and are living in the potting shed.



I had a very lovely, relaxing time today. The Hygge things that I chose to do have left me feeling happy and cosy on a cold and wet Winter-day. 

Tomorrow morning I will plan what to do for the rest of the weekend. It is a long 3-day weekend. Matariki, the Maori New Year, is being celebrated here in New Zealand at the moment.

It is now time for me to have a warming cup of hot chocolate before bed.

I hope that this post finds you well and enjoying the season you are in.

Lots of hugs, 

Rose x

8 comments:

  1. The leaf patterns of the cyclamens are so lovely and you have a fine selection of colours.
    Cats and jigsaws seem to go together. A warm cat is a great comfort on a wet and dull day.

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    1. Hi Janice, thank you. We were spoiled for choice at the garden centre. There were many different cyclamen varieties, so we spent quite a lot of time selecting the ones we wanted to buy. As there was a sale on, we ended up buying more than we intended.
      Otto and jigsaw puzzles are almost inseparable, especially if there is a box involved too! Hugs, Rose x

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  2. Hi Rose, I love everything about your cozy, Hygge day. Your slice of cake and cup of hot tea both look delicious, and very cozy. And what gorgeous cyclamen plants! They really do brighten up a space. I especially love the pink ones.Oh my goodness how cute is Otto curled up in the puzzle box! I enjoy working a puzzle from time to time although I'm not that great at it - it seems to take me forever to finish one! Hope you are enjoying the long weekend.

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    1. Hi Julia, thank you very much. I had a very enjoyable and restful long weekend, keeping warm and cosy. The cake didn't last very long, we finished it in 2 days! I will definitely be making it again as we are inundated with limes now. The cyclamens have made a big difference by adding colour to the room. They have made us all very happy. Jigsaw puzzles take me quite a while to do too. Luckily mum and dad like to join in, plus Otto of course lol. Have a great week. Hugs, Rose x

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  3. I think it just doesn’t get any better than that – cake, tea, a gardening show snd a lovely cat curled up on a puzzle – made me smile! Time flies doesn’t it-you are relaxing and being cozy and the weather here has been hot and humid. In the 90s, which is unusual for June. Today for some reason, the temperature dropped 20° And we had a cool breeze – heavenly. I even felt chilly this evening with the windows open, so I made hot chocolate, too! I’ll have to make my own Hygee list – what a great idea😊

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    1. Hi Mary, thank you, it was a lovely, relaxing, cosy day inside. I don't do very well in the Summer-heat, especially with high humidity. The cooling breeze that you had sounds just what you needed. Hot chocolate is delicious, what a bonus that you could drink it in Summer! Have fun creating your own list :o) I adapt mine for the different seasons too. Hugs, Rose x

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  4. Hello Rose. I just looked back on your list and will remember to try those things when our Winter comes around. Otto is always so helpful with jigsaws. He has a great way of keeping all the pieces safe under his furry tummy. Also your cyclamens look lovely displayed in your photos . Glad you had a lovely day.

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    1. Hi Beverley, Thank you, I should try to fit in more days like that :o) I hope you will find the list good to use, and you can always add more of your own ideas. Otto is so funny with jigsaws, he isn't really interested in them unless I'm there working on them! He destroyed the puzzle box while keeping the pieces safe lol. I hope that you have a great week. Hugs, Rose x

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