Greetings to you, my lovely readers! I hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend that’s filled you with energy to tackle whatever tasks you have in front of you this week. Last night I returned from a weekend in the woods, which was wonderful and left me with that “full of energy but drained at the same time” feeling, haha. Today I’m back with a brand new photo diary, so let’s take a look at what I was up to last week!
Little Bran and Cefin are settling in great. The boys have all gotten along perfectly and it’s a joy watching all of them together.
It’s nothing short of a miracle, but I still go on runs regularly. At least once a week. Having a set route that’s just the right distance really helps, and I’ve gotten myself some running headphones and a phone holder I can strap around my waist so having music with me is much easier. I hope I’m able to keep this habit up as we move into autumn, it does feel really good to be a bit fitter.
The IKEA catalogue arrived! Fully realising how pathetic it is, I’m still going to admit that the arrival of the IKEA catalogue is one of the highlights of my year and something I actually look forward to for weeks. Yep, I’m that person. I just absolutely love looking at all the inspiration and new items and flipping through the catalogue which really reads like a magazine. I managed not to touch it until the evening, when I sat down with a blanket and a cup of tea and took my time. The ratties were running around in the meantime, Robbert played a video game, and it was a really nice cozy evening.
On Tuesday I spent all day in the kitchen, filming a recipe video. I hugely underestimated how much time goes into filming just three relatively simple recipes, but I really enjoyed doing it! Definitely something I want to do more often, if the video is received well.
All of Tuesday and Wednesday was super rainy, with thunderstorms to boot. I had to pull out all of my studio lights to get half-acceptable lighting while filming, but the worst part was it was just dreadfully gloomy. I much prefer when the sun is shining, can’t help but feel like this weather weighs down on me.
A bit of bonding time with little Bran :)
Robbert was away a few evenings this week so I once again grasped the opportunity and made myself an easy but delicious supper- IKEA veggie balls and French fries. Honestly, I think I could happily eat this every day.
In the evening I played some more Just Dance. I still have access to the “unlimited” section with all the songs, so I’m making the best of that until it turns into a paid subscription after three months (which I probably won’t take). This game is so enjoyable, really a great way to work up a sweat without feeling like you’re working out for a single second :)
I pulled up my sauerkraut from storage again, and finally gave it a taste. It’s going so well! The taste is getting there, but I’m going to leave it to ferment for just one more week before transferring it to the fridge. I’m so happy it seems to have worked! Can’t wait to make my first kimchi too, when the sauerkraut is done.
On Friday my friend came over to help me get the groceries for my camping trip this weekend. I got food for nine people, hence the giant bags, but it looks like I only bought loads of snacks, haha. I promise there are veggies and fruit underneath ;)
She stayed for lunch and I made us carrotdogs, which are hotdogs made of marinated carrot. I’ve seen recipes for these floating around the internet, but they sell readymade ones in my supermarket now by the brand Knakwortel which are absolutely delicious. Definitely worth a try if you can get your hands on some!
Are you familiar with tea flowers? They look like little balls of dried tea leaves that open up into a beautiful flower when you submerge them in boiling water. I have a few lying around the house but never remember to use them, until now. This is actually the first one I’ve ever used and it was really fascinating to watch the flower slowly opening. I’ve now decided I want to make my own and apparently it’s not that hard to do, so there might be a tutorial on this coming sometime in the future.
From tea flowers to survival… On Friday evening Robbert and I left for the woods along with some of our scouting colleagues. We joined a bushcraft weekend, where people come together to learn and practice wilderness living skills.
This was our first time here and I didn’t really know what to expect beforehand. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed myself. This was so much fun! I’d definitely like to return again in the future and learn more useful skills. One of the first things I did on Saturday morning was follow a workshop where we carved a wooden spoon out of a fallen tree branch, and I ended up spending most of my time trying to finish that spoon, haha :)
I bought a more suitable knife than the foldable one I use for scouting, and this is how far I got this weekend. Not too bad, but it’s definitely far from done. I have every intention of finishing it soon! Can you believe this was a branch on the ground just two days ago? I feel like we’re so disconnected from nature nowadays, it’s really good to have these little wake-up calls every now and then.
We got home again on Sunday night, invited everybody over for pizza, and that’s where my week ends. It was a really good one, despite all the rain. Luckily it wasn’t there when it would’ve hindered us the most, during our time outdoors. I hope you’ve had a wonderful week as well guys, talk to you soon!
