I'm back and feeling better

The first cherries of the season for us.

There was a time when I would rise at 4 am to write, read, think about life and plan the day ahead. After breakfast I'd make the bed, do some washing, get bread on the rise and bake a cake or biscuits or whatever we fancied for morning or afternoon teas. There may have been harvesting, preserving or sewing and mending and I would happily do it because it helped me build a life so simple I valued every day like never before. This was a life where I produced as much as I could from what I already had in the house. It was pure domestic productivity, I had no thoughts of fashion or celebrity and still, twenty years on, I put no value in either. I just want to be what I am, no more, no less.

I've just spent the last two weeks with an infection on my arm brought about by our wonderful dog, Gracie, when we were mucking about on the couch about three weeks ago. I had two courses of antibiotics with the first not working at all and I slowly got sicker and sicker. I didn't want to do anything and I sat in the lounge room like a zombie, watching TV. I didn't know things were so bad on the telly! But thoughts of bread baking or even making lunch some days just didn't register. We even had two days of takeaway pizza!

Cookies going in (above) and cookies coming out of the oven below.

Choki saved me. I watched her love her cats, live her solitary life, cook, bake and preserve, sew her household linens, work on her computer and give meaning to her life by all those simple actions. I love her YouTube channel, I am hooked. I discovered her just after she started her YouTube but flittered away when I got busy. So when I started coming back to myself after a couple of wasted weeks, I watched her make choc chip cookies. And today, as a way of honouring her calm and quiet life, I made a batch of those cookies and now the house if full of that wonderful fragrance. Thanks Choki.

Cookie recipe - it's delicious and buttery

• 110 g soft, not melted, butter plus 110 g sugar and beat together 
• 1 egg, vanilla and mix again
• 180 g flour - I used half plain, half self-raising and a pinch of salt - mix
• 120 g chocolate - I used 200 g choc chips because I didn't want 80 grams of choc chips lurking in the fridge. True story. 😇

Make sure the batter is not melting when you put it in the oven. If it's really soft, put it in the fridge to firm up before baking. Bake 170 C for 15 - 20 minutes

The other person who kept me sane was Grandma Donna. We tried to talk on Zoom today but couldn't connect properly but that didn't matter because I'd already received her messages of concern and friendship and we can try again later in the week. 

Finally, but certainly not last on the list are the memorable comments, emails and messages I received from you, the people who read what I write. I include those people who live near me and who offered to come over and help. 🥰. Thank you for shouting out and being there when it felt like nothing was. 

I am feeling better now but my arm is still swollen and bright red with peeling skin. It's like I've been badly sun burnt. I'll go back to my doctor in the morning, hopefully the last of the many visits I've made to the clinic. It's good to be back among the living. 💖