::inspiring Mondays::

Fairy tale morning light. The kind that stays in your memory and induces a happy smile no matter how long your day has been. The kind that makes you long for the morning no matter how late you went to sleep. The kind that makes you jump out of bed at 7am on a Sunday to go to the park and see the spires give shape to the magical morning light.

I have a very heavily sore chest and throat. My eyes are on the verge of tears by no fault of my mood. And I had to talk for a great part of the day. Somedays are just like that, huh? And some of those days happen to be Mondays. The way I see it, the week can only improve, so I'm not bothered I started Monday on a small dip. It could have been worst; much worst! I could have turned green and grown a second nose, or a third arm; my hair could have turned rainbow colour overnight from out of date shampoo; my porridge could have been cold, or too hot! In fact, I should thank this Monday for its lack of evil creativity! A cold and a chesty cough, Monday? That's a bit like children's insults... good effort, but low strength!

:: morning photography with my new lens ♥ my bed may miss me from now on!

:: Little Brother's calls. just because. ♥

:: spinach soup. warms body and soul!

:: hot water. you fabulous invention!

:: honest conversations with my boss. a good man!

:: green cardi has buttons. pockets on their way.

:: arm warmers. the kind that have no holes and are soft and lovely and made by LMJ.

:: Strefen. when life gives you a sore throat, give it Strefen... and laugh at it!

:: a Sunday filled with knitting and warm soup and silly films and Homeland.

:: Lindt chocolate balls. so smooth and soft and yummy!

:: oven roasted sea bass. Mum, you'd be proud!

:: early bedtime. so the bed doesn't miss me too much after all!

How was your Monday? Dry, wet, or so and so? Happy? I'd hope for happy! Have a lovely week!

::inspiring Mondays::

 

A good Monday has a new lens one is too in love with for words. A good Monday has a registered brand. A good Monday has a nice hot shower to begin the day fresh and warm. A good Monday has lemon drizzle cupcakes brought to the office. A good Monday has white paint to finally finish decorating one's bedroom. A good Monday has a little bit of rain to remind us of how important water is. A good Monday has the smell of freshly made soup, almost like Mum's but not quite because my Mum's soup is the best.

All that to say today was an excellent Monday. If you see all those full stops as plus symbols, adding up all those good things could only lead to awesomeness. Eat that, grey sky, the Joey wins again! 

:: my new lens. 16-85mm of pure bliss. thank you, Little Brother, Mum and Dad! ♥♥♥
:: our registered brand! ♥
:: Bristolian weekend with my girls.
:: sunshine for our Sunday run. just perfect!
:: luck.
:: chilling. that feeling of just chilling.
:: knitting soft things.
:: Homeland on a Sunday.
:: painting things white. oh room, you look more inviting each day.
:: lemon drizzle cupcakes. yummy.
:: my housemates.

This was an edited version of an eventful Monday. As with everything, things are what we choose to make of them and I choose to make this Monday great, for all of the above. I'm off to kiss my lens goodnight. I hope your Monday has amazing!

::inspiring Mondays::

It's cold in Oxford. That cold that makes you want to have several hot showers a day, especially when you come home and you can put your PJs on afterwards and feel all snuggly for the rest of the evening.  What a feeling! And I'm feeling it right now because I'm lucky!

The week after I come back from Portugal is the hardest. I can still feel the warmth of the sunshine... but I can't!, I can still taste the food... but I can't!, I can still smell all those familiar smells that are home... but I can't!, I can still cuddle the cats... but I can't! Chasing after the memory of it all, the taste and life of the memory, is the hardest, and something the Portuguese people do oh so well. We're a nostalgic people, home to saudade and fado! When I realised I was happier and more cheerful than my  natural nostalgia would like me to, I told it to shut it and go sit quietly in the corner; but occasionally I miss it and let it out to keep me company for a little while... like when I come back from home and want to make the sweetness linger.

I woke up at 4am for no good reason and could not go back to sleep, but that meant I could wish LMrJ a good trip to Cuba as he boarded the plane. He'll be there for two weeks, with limited wifi access (if any!). So I guess waking up at 4am was a good thing. It's all about perspective, really!

:: the memory of home ♥

:: Little Brother phone calls. the phone rings in happiness, as do I.

:: LMrJ laughing when I'm trying to be annoyed. it's so sweet. and annoying. and sweet!

:: getting back into a running routine with Nicky. I'm lovin' it!

:: Oxford chilly autumnal clear mornings. gorgeous!

:: morning walk with porridge and my favourite podcast. bliss!

:: my hot water bottle. the snuggly feeling lasts and lasts!

:: post. what a great invention!

:: James Bond awesomeness! been there done that!

:: looking up. and smiling. it works every time.

:: central heating. what a fabulous thing!

:: wifi... we only notice it when it's gone.

:: chamomile tea. always!

In spite of the cold, this was a beautiful and dry start to the week. Isn't that amazing? Yep, it is! How was your Monday? Inspiring? Happy? I hope so :)

Pumpkin jam

My absolute favourite jam. Ever. Always. It reminds me of lazy Sundays with bread and cheese on the side and National Geographic and the golden autumnal light through the window with a cat or two on my lap.

Pumpkin Jam is my favourite jam of all. My brother likes to ask me silly things like “if you had to pick one forever and ever, what would you choose?”. I tend not to have an answer to these questions, but I do in the case of jam – pumpkin jam forever. With or without nuts. With or without cheese on the side. Pumpkin jam rules my jam world!

Ingredients:
1kg of cubed pumpkin
500g of white sugar – I don’t like very sweet jams and this reflects it. You can increase your sugar up to 750g.
3 cinammon sticks
2 oranges
Walnuts (optional)

Preparation:
1. Peel and chop your pumpkin into small cubes to have 1 kg. Place in a tray.
2. Put the cinnamon sticks in the tray with the pumpkin.
3. Cover the pumpkin with 500g of white sugar.
4. Peel and slice the oranges and place them on top of the pumpkin and sugar.
5. Cover the tray so nothing falls in it (with a kitchen board for example) and leave to rest for 12 hours (overnight).
6. When you uncover the tray 12 hours later, you’ll have your pumpkin bits softened in a liquid, with the orange slices on top. You’re good to go!
7. When you’re ready to make the jam, start off by preparing the jars. Wash glass jars and lids (mine are metallic) in hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Place everything in the oven, on top of a kitchen towel, at 110C. Remove from the oven only when you’re ready to bottle the jam.
8. From the tray with the pumpkin, leave two small orange slices and remove the rest. Leave one cinnamon stick and remove the rest. Transfer everything (cubed pumpkin and liquid) to a pan.
9. Heat in medium heat stirring occasionally until surface boiling (took 20 minutes). Lower the heat and stir occasionally until you have half the liquid you began with. Remove the cinnamon stick.
10. Transfer to the prepared jars (I used three jars). Cover the jar mouth with a wax disc and close.

Note: I used mashed up walnut in one of the jars. I put walnuts in a kitchen bag and mashed them with a kitchen roll. As I filled the jar with the jam, I mixed in the walnuts and gave them a little stir for even distribution.

I hope you love it as much as me :)

The recipe is also here.

::inspiring Mondays::

Sunshine. 22ºC. More sunshine. Little brother. Parents. Cats. Cuddles. Family. Sunshine. Excellent food. More sunshine. The sea. Sunshine, of course. Can you guess where I’ve been? Home, where all batteries get recharged! Porto, Portugal!

I went home for Little Brother’s birthday. Finally, I could sing happy birthday and give him a cuddle and eat a bit (or a lot!) of the birthday cake. I love Skype, I do, and I use it every day, but nothing beats the real thing. I laughed and chatted and laughed some more. We discussed ideas and strategies and materials and the way forward. I went out photographing windows and cutesy houses with Dad. I went out photographing the sea and then the river with Little Brother. I had girly chats and pasteis de nata with Mum. I saw my little cousin’s belly button and heard about second grade and bike rides. I went out and had nice conversations well into the early hours without falling asleep. I ate amazing food and had excellent wine. And I soaked up the sun until I had a permanent smile on my face which should last for days.

:: Little Brother ♥

:: the parents.

:: birthday cake! Yummy!

:: sunshine.

:: my aunt bringing me brigadeiros to the airport because I asked her to!

:: cat love!

:: the sea. the smell of the sea.

:: Portuguese food.

:: my flight companions giving me their apple juice

:: one more hour in Portugal, courtesy of the hour change this weekend. ta mucho!

It is cold and rainy in Oxford, but I’m ignoring all of it and focusing on the little memory of sunshine I brought bottled up for special occasions. Like today, where I miss home that little bit more because I have just been… funny how that works, huh?

How's this Monday working for you? Hope you are having a lovely start to the week, wet or dry, sunny or otherwise!

going home

Little Brother sent me a beautiful photo from Porto by the river... all the email said was "quem vem e atravessa o rio...". I dare say that every Porto person feels a little tingle when they hear that... especially when one's Little Brother is calling us home. Almost there!

missing Brazil...

Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, Rio de Janeiro by Little Miss Joey

Michael Palin, we need to have a little chat. Who told you to go to Brazil and make this amazing programme about it? Who? This poor Joey is left missing Brazil and her LMrJ even more. I could see myself packing and moving next Monday (just because we all know how much I love to start things on a Monday) throughout the programme and you haven't even arrived in Rio yet. Seriously, Michael, this is no way to treat your fans... Giving them wonderful images and deliciously looking foods to dream about and happiness and laughter and blue skies with sunshine and sea. If you fancy coming over for tea, we can discuss how you could improve things, Michael. I'm free next week, Monday will do.

View from the Sugarloaf, Rio de Janeiro by Little Miss Joey