ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER HOBBY.......

One thing during this lockdown period is that it has me trying all sorts of things I’d never done before. Some I’d thought of, others I never dreamt of doing.
Today for example, with the possibility of mandatory face masks on the horizon I decided to make some using up all my fat squares I had lying around.

A friend put the idea into my head so I have Christine to thank for this. I enjoyed putting them together. I will pass them on to family or friends as requested. 

Candles was one project I’d always planned to do so what better time than now. I sent off for a starter  kit to begin with. 

I was quite happy with the results so then moved on to preparing all the ends of candles I had been saving. Had there been no lockdown I wonder if I’d ever got around to using them up! I chopped it very finely, into flakes, then melted as I had with the purchased wax. Thankfully it was quite successful. I need to practice the pour a bit as they fell in the middle when I used the larger glass container. On googling I found a slower pour should cure this issue.

This week a Tesco online order brought me way more fresh ginger than expected 😂. Froze some, easy to grate straight from the freezer with no need to pull. I gave some to a very grateful neighbour who had been unable to find some in the shops at this time. 

And finally I made stem ginger in syrup, which I then used to make ginger biscuits.

When I went to get a plate to put the biscuits on I decided on a plate grandchildren had bought me several years ago. Made me realise how much I’m missing them. I’d love to have them here helping with my new hobbies. They love helping me out in the kitchen. I keep myself going with the thought they’ll be here again soon and we’ll be happy doing stuff together once again. 

My ginger biscuits recipe makes 24. I usually half it but guess my mind was somewhere else today and made the full amount!  Not to worry a couple of neighbours benefitted from the extras. 

Another and unable to buy vanilla essence I solved the problem with vanilla pods I had in the cupboard and vodka! Yep vodka. Just put some vodka into a bottle and pop in vanilla pods.  After a few weeks the essence will develop and if things get too bad you can always drink it 😂 

The strange thing is that there is no reason why all the extra things I’ve been doing haven’t been done before, well apart from the ginger, I’ve made that before. I have plenty free time normally. I could have been making candles anytime. Masks of course relevant to the situation we find ourselves in. 

Once this is over I am not going to put things off. I’ll keep discovering new things to do and enjoy the freedom of being able to go out and purchase what I need. 

Tomorrow I’m thinking a rainbow 🌈. I haven’t got around to doing that yet. 

Keep busy, or not. It’s whatever helps us through these strange times. No rights, no wrongs, no judging each other. Be as happy as you can be and keep positive. This all will end and a new normal will begin.