Wednesday 5th October 2022

Day three of the week off, and all I have on the agenda is to make the second Christmas cake.

Jools has developed a bad cough, so does not go swimming, and won't return to yoga on Friday. She is, at least, sleeping OK.

Evenings and after meals seems to trigger the most severe attacks. She is sipping hot honey and lemon drinks, which seem to work.

She left for work at seven, I made a second coffee and once supped, I got the ingredients for the cake ready, so I could just mix the cake seamlessly.

That was the plan.

For whatever reason, this second cake came out better, well, rose better than the first, and looked delicious cooling.

There was little else I could do, as we had the first of the autumn storms blow through. In fact, it was blowing when we got up. In the garden, plants and shrubs were battered and torn. Cats looked mournfully out of windows.

Meanwhile, I lstened to podcasts.

For the afternoon, however, I got creative again in the kitchen. I made a tagine to go with the lamb I was going to griddle. I also added a pound of the firecracker sausages, to pep it up a bit.

We were great.

I griddled the lamb, poured the wine, so when Jools came home, we satdown to a proper tasty feast. And there's enough tagine for at least one more meal.

I may have had a glass too many, as come half eight, I was very sleepy, so the second halfs of the football went unwatched.

Cleo was waiting at the top of the stairs, so once I settled, she joined me. Night, night.