Do you remember how miserable I was in December? Well, January wasn’t much better. Well, sure, I finally shook off the cold/flu/whatever it was that ailed me in December that wasn’t covid. But instead, everyone else caught the plague which was a whole other level of stressful. But let’s hope that’s over and done with now that January is over. And not everything that happened in January was bad. In fact, it started in the best possible way…
…because the first (long) weekend of January, my beloved grandbaby and her darling parents came for a visit. My grandbaby loves tomatoes and meatballs, so I decided to cook something just for her; meatballs in tomato sauce. She loved it.
The great loves of my life: my daughter and granddaughter. We went for a walk in a nearby national forest when they were visiting. My darling granddaughter even managed to lure my husband into the forest…something my daughter can’t ever remember happening from her childhood. I guess grandbabies really are extra special? 😁
After they left, we were sad and the house was empty, so I made a yummy breakfast to comfort us. Scones, tea, and jam. And a roaring fire. What more do you need?
Then covid hit everyone hard. Coworker after coworker tested positive (but not me) and suddenly there was hardly anyone left who could go to the office, so I donned my stupid face mask (face masks and glasses is not a match made in heaven!), took the train to work, and took one for the team. For two straight weeks.
And when I say that hardly anyone could come to the office, I’m not kidding. 60% of my team was infected within 2 weeks, so we were like 5-6 people rattling around in a space that usually holds 70-ish employees. At least the lunch room wasn’t crowded 😁
But suddenly, one day, it wasn’t pitch black at the end of my shift. The light returns so slowly that you don’t notice. Until, bam! Light. Magic.
I made the yummiest Asian inspired soup for lunch one weekend: chicken noodle ginger sesame garlic goodness. My mouth waters just looking at this picture. And I think it’s really funny that I managed to live in Asia for eight years without learning to cook with Asian flavors and it took me moving back to Sweden to figure it out.
Sunrises are magical and it’s very important to photograph them. This was a weekend morning and I was writing with Ofelia and Ally in the morning office, but the sunrise enticed me, so I snuck outside to immortalize it.
I end this post with the kitchen fire and a glass of red wine. I came home from the office one evening in a foul mood, so my husband poured me a glass of red and told me to sit by the fire to collect myself, and so I did. Because really, is there anything better than a glass of wine (or a cup of tea) by the fire?
(Yes yes. Cuddles and sunny smiles from the grandbaby of course. But other than that? I think not 🙂 )
Tell me something memorable you did in January!
Nell Iris 