Earlier mornings and longer nights make me want to stretch out in the sun like a cat and just feel the sun on my belly. It isn’t time for holidays yet but already, in that great Australian way, things seem to be slowing down as we approach the holiday season. I want to sit out on a breezy verandah and sip cool lemonade with a good book in my hands and the sun on my knees after a morning run. I am ready for nights filled with the smoky scent of barbecue heat, good friends gathered around the table, and walks down by the harbour with Chris under the cover of stardust. I am so grateful for this time of year when everything seems defrosted, and we start to prepare for time with family and friends under an endless summer sky.
Monday: tonight I was grateful for an easy evening, discussions about more travels (and soon) and the Gouda, oh the Gouda. See – Monday nights don’t have to be hard. Also lying in bed with Chris after dinner and watching a movie together. I am grateful that we can talk about anything, and also spend quiet time just enjoying each other’s company.
Tuesday: I am grateful that we got a report out the door on time and with minimal fuss so that I could go home, run, and then spend the evening with my darling and my parents while I made donuts for Chris to share with his work friends.
Wednesday: a local café asked me to make some Halloween cupcakes for them so I started by baking some black velvet cupcakes! And they worked – I am grateful that the great baking gods of chemistry and Martha Stewart came together for a successful outcome.
Thursday: I have the best bakery assistant in the world – my Mama. As long as I pay her in cupcakes and hugs she will happily construct and fill cake boxes and hold the icing bag while I fill it with frosting. I may bake some sweet things in the kitchen, but nothing compares to my Mum.
Friday: I am grateful that being a grown-up means that I can decide what to make for dinner. Simple: Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes.
Saturday: Today brimmed with things to be grateful for. I had my long run (Week 2 of Cadbury Half Marathon Training), then went to the markets with Mama and a neighbour-friend, and then met up with Casey, Cassie and Melissa for some Italian hot chocolate at a gorgeous little shop. The evening brought round some time with a hard-studying Chris (ugh, devil maths) and a great vegetarian risotto at a new favourite restaurant (so much gluten-free stuff and flexible for vegetarians too!). Thank you to The Roman Empire Restaurant for a great meal and wonderfully knowledgeable staff members. As Chris and I pulled into the driveway a fireworks show started down by the harbour and we stood together in awe as the sky burst into colourful flowers of flame. A perfect end to a majestic day.
Sunday: Mum, Dad, Molly and I went for a walk around the wetlands – just what I needed to recover from yesterday’s run. Then it was home for banana bread and fruit salad for breakfast, baking for a Pink Ribbon Morning Tea tomorrow, and then a Sunday afternoon nap on the couch.
Now, I can feel my tummy rumbling and I have a fridge full of delicious farmer’s market produce to satisfy my desires. I am also reading a captivating book that I can’t wait to share with you later this week.
Tell me, what are you grateful for this week? Any baking exploits? (I feel like I have spent the week covered in flour, butter, and sugar) Any plans for Halloween?
