I had to rearrange things to find a place for the bowl I bought in Paris. There is a lack of available wall and surface space here at the cottage, so if one thing changes or is added, like dominoes, everything shifts. In this case, the potted plant that was in this window moved to the kitchen table. I rather like it there because it adds some height. Fingers crossed that the plant likes it there, as well.
We’re back into our normal routine around here. It’s very nice and we like it, but it’s sure not as exciting as Paris. Don is feeling better, slowly but surely, but I have to remind him to take it easy. You know, you get to that stage in an illness where you feel better and you’re restless, so you want to go and do a few things, but you find out that you have limited energy to do those things.
That’s where he is.
I miss my hot chocolate (which I’ve stopped drinking because of its sugar content) so I’ve been drinking herbal tea and honey in the afternoon. While he’s been sick, Don has been drinking it, too.
It ain’t hot chocolate. I’ve been trying to put a positive spin on it, but I’m fast getting tired of it. I’m not a fan of tea, though I try to be, as my tea-drinking grandmother would be disappointed. But I am what I am, I suppose.
I tried a sugar-free hot chocolate mix, but the sugar substitute, whatever it was, was so darned sweet – and artificially so – that I stopped drinking it after about two sips. I’ve searched for other options and will keep doing so, but so far I’ve been frustrated. Any tips would be welcome. I really do miss having that ritual as a part of my winter late afternoons.
I’m just about to finish Gaudy Night – about 100 pages to go. I’m so taken with Dorothy L. Sayers’ style that I now want to read all of her Peter Wimsey books. This one takes place at Oxford, which makes it all the more interesting. I wonder if my wee local library has any editions? I’d like to read them in order, if at all possible.
In the meantime, I have to read an autobiography to review next week.
It’s cold. The trees have lost their leaves. When I walked back up the driveway from the mailbox yesterday afternoon, I heaved out a big sigh. I miss my gardens. I miss green, though the lawn is still pretty green because we’ve had so much rain. We’re now in that sepia/brown stage that gets old very quickly.
Ah well.
Happy Thursday.
I discovered Dorothy L. Sayers about 50 years ago in the Boston Public Library and started the Peter Wimsey books with Busman’s Honeymoon; I then went back to the beginning with Whose Body. A chronological reading will allow you to see both Peter’s development from a caricature to a character and the growth of his and Harriet’s relationship. The Nine Tailors is probably the best of the series, and one I reread every few years. It’s also worth reading a biography of Sayers, a fascinating woman who was so much more than a writer of popular fiction.
Yes, I meant to add that to my post – that I’d like to read a biography of Sayers. The information I have discovered already about her is fascinating. Thank you, Margaret!
I have a love of hot chocolate as well and gave up sugar. If you’ve never tried it, try the chocolate almond milk.
I take the unsweetened almond milk and add a little vanilla and cinnamon and heat that up for my hot chocolate. I pulse this is my blender to mix the cinnamon in well. Sometimes I’ll add a little honey or even use the sweetened chocolate almond milk as the sugar content isn’t so bad with that. It isn’t the same as other hot chocolatea but I’ve found it to be a good substitute for the season. Maybe you’ll like it too.
I tried chocolate almond milk and didn’t like it at all!
I bought the unsweetened version, so maybe buying the sweetened version might help?
Thanks, Belinda!
Yes try the sweetened version. Add some vanilla or peppermint flavoring if you prefer that. I have found that the vanilla helps a lot with the taste especially when warming the milk. Good luck!
xo
Claudia,
Good to hear Don’s getting better.
We use organic liquid stevia by Omica Organics. I do not get an aftertaste with stevia, but Gary does and we tried lots until he found this one. We just get plain cocoa powder& add it to milk (we make our own, of hemp, almond, or hazelnut) and put a tiny bit of stevia in. It really just takes only drops to sweeten.
NuNaturals makes a stevia that was good, too, but we liked that the Omica is organic.
Good luck.
Eliminating sugar is key to good health!
Good suggestion, Cara. I’ll look for that brand of stevia. Thank you!
I was just going to suggest making your own hot chocolate mix using stevia, too! Though I would suggest using organic stevia (I use Sweetleaf in my coffee), as regular stevia is very processed and has other additives.
Yes, someone else suggested that earlier in the thread. Thanks, Melanie. I’ll give it a go!
I bought a carton of Silk dark chocolate almond milk.
it has 17 g of chocolate per serving. (1 cup)
although I don’t use a full cup. the chocolate is dark enough that I use 1/2 cup of it
then I add 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk. stir well and heat in the microwave.
it’s not bad at all! and I always found any hot chocolate to be way too sweet anyway.
you might try it. I’ve gotten to where I really like it. it’s a nice treat on a cold day!
xo
I’ll give it a try, Tammy! Thank you.
Unfortunately, commercial almond milk isn’t very environmentally friendly, nor that good for us.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2015/oct/21/almond-milk-quite-good-for-you-very-bad-for-the-planet
And the Silk brand is no longer a particularly ethical company , either. It used to be good, but now it’s owned by Dean Foods, a giant conglomerate that worked to promote GMOs and also to weaken organic. I just hear they filed for bankruptcy. Might be a good thing if they break up & the parts go back to their original principles.
https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/new-organic-spies-documentary-boycott-dean-foods-protest-gmo-alfalfa
thank you Cara! I’ll definitely look into it. I hadn’t heard that or read anything about it.
to tell you the truth I only recently tried this. because like Claudia I missed hot chocolate!
but I have never bought Silk products before in my life! mainly because I thought they were soy based.
I’ve also only bought generic almond milk. now I’m even wondering about that.
I started drinking almond milk because of the way dairy cows are treated to provide milk to the masses. it seems there is ALWAYS a money/corporate/ issue behind everything these days. it truly makes my head tired. but I will check out your links. thanks again.
You can also make almond milk at home. There’s also oat milk which isn’t so bad and I’ve heard of some people making banana milk but I’ve never tried it.
Good morning Claudia. I adore Sayers and our library has limited books by her. I did notice though, our library’s Overdrive has more books available. I read from Overdrive at night settling into bed.
We kicked the hot chocolate thing. Now a drink of it is way too sweet. Took a while to reach that spot though and alot of tea experiments to reach satisfaction.
Thanks, Verna. Unfortunately, reading a screen is hard for me and I’d rather have a real book in my hands.
The tea experiments are not going well here. Sigh!
Dear Claudia, I share your love of hot chocolate, but had to give it up. So sad. But I recently discovered a sort-of substitute: Progresso Butternut Squash Soup. It’s thick and creamy and naturally sweet. Just pop the top and heat it up, no need to add water. And such a beautiful color …visual warmth!
I like butternut squash soup and have scads of it in my pantry….but….it doesn’t pass the hot chocolate test! Thanks, Leslie!
I’m going to go with the opposite view and say as you have managed to eliminate sugar from every other aspect of your life, go ahead and have your treat! If hot chocolate brightens your day and it’s only for the Winter months, I would carry on. Honey is still a sugar albeit with some nutritional value .
It’s my day off and I walked into the village this morning but it was so blustery with a bitter cold North wind. Most of the leaves have dropped now and the skies are grey.
Glad you’re enjoying Dorothy L. Sayers. It’s years since I read them. If anyone is interested I’ve just found a new detective story author – Sarah Ward . She’s written four novels. I’m currently reading the second one and I think they’re best read in chronological order. Set in the Derbyshire Peak District of England in present day relating to a crime committed several years earlier. The first one in the series is entitled In Bitter Chill ( which if my memory serves me correctly is a quote from Keats -The Eve of St. Agnes!)
Happy Thursday
It’s white sugar that I’m the most concerned with, not natural sugars like we find in fruit and honey and maple syrup.
I’m contemplating allowing myself a treat every now and then. I’m pretty disciplined about sugar now – I cheated with macarons while in France and upon returning home went right back to no sugar.
Thanks for the new author! I know many of us will appreciate that, Dee Dee. xo
Claudia, have you tried honey or maple syrup in teas or hit chocolate? They are both processed completely different in the body than white processed sugars.
I had to give up sugar because of inflammation in my body. I use maple syrup, honey and coconut sugar sometimes for baking. And of course the stevia as others have mentioned. Hope you can find a substitute for your hot chocolate soon.
Yes, I’ve tried honey in my tea. I just don’t like tea!
I do add maple syrup to my oatmeal every morning. Thanks, Belinda!
I keep my sugar intake low (not as low as you), and I do not use sugar substitutes. My version of hot chocolate (it’s cold now even in Alabama) is to heat a cup of milk, then sift a little Sprouts Market Organic Cocoa Powder over the top and stir it in. It’s enough to get the chocolate flavor, and I think it’s a little less bitter than, say, Hershey’s so I don’t miss the sugar.
I don’t mind using Stevia or something like that. My sister, who is hypoglycemic, uses it. So I might buy some organic cocoa powder and add a drop or two of that. Thanks, Lynda.
I read all of the Peter Wimsey books many years ago and loved them. I think I will look to see if I can find them to reread. xo Laura
She has a one-of-a-kind writing style, Laura. Enjoy!
I know what you mean, I would love to start the day with hot chocolate. Instead I drink MarketSpice’s Red tea, you can go to their online site to check it out. No caffeine, lots of spice and it is great with stevia. At least, to my taste buds. You might even like it without the stevia.
I have all kinds of herbal teas here and I just don’t like the flavor. Every once in a while? Okay. But I have to admit I’m tiring of them, Jan.
i have no suggestions about low/no-sugar hot chocolate, but will check around and let you know if anyone has some ideas or brands maybe worth trying.
glad don is starting to feel better.
that bowl is beautiful; glad you got it … in paris … and it made the trip home alright! :)
cold here and we had close to four inches of snow earlier this week, but the skies have been such pretty shades of blue! :)
hope you are staying well. happy thursday!
kathy in iowa
No snow here yet, just a few flakes the other day. And gray skies, which we’re getting more often than not!
Thanks, Kathy!
What a coincidence; I only JUST returned from shopping this afternoon, looking at all the hot chocolates featured in the stores for the holidays, only to buy none. (One store had lots of gift paks which include a mug, etc. Very tempting.) My nighttime drink used to be hot cider or hot chocolate but, in these days, I definitely have to watch sugar and carb content. The artificially-sweetened/no-sugar brands are gross; yuck. Too many ‘chemicals’. I have a pile of paper to go thru in the next couple of days and I had just recently pulled off some good home recipes for hot chocolate off the web that I thought would work for me, so I’ll share as soon as I find them in my paper mess. I think I have a recipe using cow’s milk as well as plant milk, depending upon choice (vegetarian; can’t remember if you do eggs and milk). For me, since I’m no cook, a recipe has to be simple, so these are pretty straightforward.
I’m with you, Claudia. I love the idea of tea. I love teacups. I’ve gone to high teas. I buy tea tins. I’ve tried tea with milk; tea with honey. I’m a wannabe Anglophile. But my craving is coffee and that’s another problem for me lately, too, as I have to watch the caffeine when it’s precisely its HIT that I need in the morning. I’m such a nicer, happier, more productive person with a couple of cups of coffee in me to start the day. Rats! (Because I like a lot of milk and sugar in my coffee.)
Your French bowl is so pretty.
I hope you don’t catch Don’s cold. Glad he’s feeling better.
Guess what, the reupholsterer just brought back one of my chairs, like a half-hour ago; it’s a good-sized, armless boudoir chair with lots of decorative French Country elements (the wood borders and legs). Wasn’t gonna do it; changed my mind. It’s a lovely, yes, FRENCH BLUE (solid color velvet) and it turned out so beautifully. It’s sure been great that for the first time in my long adult life since I’ve had some hand-me-down furniture come to me from ‘the family’, that I’ve been able now, with careful saving, to get this sofa, armchair, ottoman and blue bedroom chair a new life (after it’s passed down three generations).
Now onto the last; he took the six dining room chairs back with him. (Gave me an awesome-good deal since I’ve kept him busy lately; I’m just so glad to have someone in my locale that’s good at this type of work! Taking advantage of it while I have it! It’s not a common trade/skill anymore, the ‘art’ of reupholstering; like try to find a cobbler, or a guy who sharpens scissors; a qualified watch repairer [because hardly anybody wears a wristwatch anymore but instead just checks the phone in their hand?]. My guy is a wizard with fabric; he showed me a delivery he was about to make where he made Roman shades for the windows in someone’s kitchen/breakfast nook as well as new seats for their banquette seating; beautiful work, all matching. He put in new floor carpet [and reupholstered the bucket seats] for my vintage car SEVERAL years back; he does boats, planes; tiny little shop, very big expertise; I feel lucky.)
This was unplanned (the dining chairs), but I want to get DONE. I’d had the wood refinished and repaired some six years ago; we were just waiting on new seats. Dining chairs aren’t part of the budget but I have my Christmas shopping done for everybody; and my husband and I, for ourselves, go small. I first had these dining chairs at age 28 (re-covered the old seats myself, and it looked like it), then my brother had them for years (as a single young guy with a lot of friends, so you can imagine what they looked like after a few years), now they’ve come back to me again after going thru my parents but dating back to my auntie who’d be well over a hundred years old now, she being the first owner of all this nice furniture (much nicer than I could have ever afforded in my own life). We’re recyclers!
And then, AND THEN, just as the reupholsterer left, the roofer came for a second look and said not only do we now not need to do the repairs his foreman had thought, we don’t need to do anything as the roof has worn much better than would be anticipated, so that’s now an expense in November we don’t have that we’d planned for (see how I justify the expense of my dining chairs…?…shame on me!). He’s an expert, lifelong roofer; I believe him. He’s the one who put the roof on that I’ve got right now, so it’s his roof; he knows. I’ve got 3-5 years yet to save for the full, new, whole roof. Yay.
As I blather on, I don’t mean to diminish the tragedy of the school shooting some 35 miles from where I live; I suppose between the big wildfire in my ‘backyard’ which was just finally put out last week, and now this horrific school incident, I’m the ostrich putting her head in the sand, not wanting to see or hear about anything more ‘bad’; a double shame on me. My husband came in this morning to wake me up to tell me what had been on the news, saying (with a catch in his voice/anguish; the senseless loss of life), “It’s the guns. Will this country ever learn that we can’t have guns in the hands of too many/so many wrong people?!” (And then, because he was stressed and needed to talk it out, he went on to speak to me about how not enough money and expertise is spent on mental health in the U.S., etc.) Like your French vendor said, he wouldn’t come to the U.S. even to visit because we’ve become too violent.
I heard something today, a theory I guess, that one of the reasons the retailers have been pushing Christmas SO HARD, ever since September, is because they’re capitalizing on the American mood, when we’re frustrated and upset over the impeachment proceedings and everything else wrong right now (which we all read about and hear about every single frick’in minute of every day), i.e. Christmas shopping puts people in a happier frame of mind, distraction, and we’re all seeking things to make us feel better and less anxietous. A salve over where we feel wounded or uncertain or worked up. So the retailers are happy to comply with cheery stuff for us to buy, perking us up with pretty colored lights, sparkly ornaments, upbeat Christmas melodies on the Muzak, holiday candy in enticing foil wrappers, racks of flannel pjs and fluffy slippers for cold toes; bright-red cocktail dresses that shimmer and catch the light; cozy blanket throws with reindeer and snowman patterns; Santa outfits for newborns; shiny bikes and toys filling the shelves. Angel ceramics and glow of a tealight or candle, peace & warmth. I guess they’re banking on us to open up our pocketbooks as we ponder hope & faith and what symbols of the holidays can make us feel those things (if we’re not feeling it).
to vicki …
there’s no “double shame” on you for wanting/needing to avoid hearing more bad news … we all need breaks from the bad stuff that happens in this earthly life!
glad you heard good news from the roofer and got that upholstered furniture back … and can get the dining room chairs done, too. i am happy for you!
hope you are having a nice night and can do something fun this weekend.
kathy in iowa
hi, kathy, you know you could have blasted me for writing too much on Claudia’s blog in my nervous chattering, but instead you are your usual sweet and kind self; thank you…
hi, vicki.
thank you. :)
hope you are sitting on that beautiful reupholstered chair right now and having a good start to your day!
kathy in iowa
Your furniture sounds as if it’s been transformed beautifully. How wonderful!! And good news about the roof.
You deserve all of that, Vicki!
Thanks. I just found out today that when we had the Halloween (Maria) Fire just a couple of short weeks ago, and I’d thought the fire was about a quarter of a mile from my offsite storage unit where all my household ‘stuff’ is currently stowed away, the housing development right next to it watched the fire jump the river bed and one person who lives in a house closer on that end (the end where my storage unit is) said the fire burned to 15 yards of their house. Of course they were evacuated as were the onsite managers of my storage unit (they actually live there in an apartment on the premises). But all I kept thinking today was, I gotta get my stuff out of that storage unit posthaste; Number One project!! (I intend to get more details from the storage manager when I go to pay my rent next week; she must have been petrified.)
The saga of one remaining piece of furniture, which belonged to yet ANOTHER of my beloved aunties. She wasn’t quite 5-ft tall and she loved this upholstered, diminutive swivel rocker that fit her size ‘just right’ and, have to say, it fits me equally well (although I have ‘a few'[!!] more pounds on me than she ever did); yet I struggle to figure out where on earth I can put it, and I don’t like the brown thin-wale corduroy (well, it’s not really thin-narrow wale; more medium; odd because wide wale is usually used for upholstery fabric). It’s had such gentle use and is in very good shape with no stains or rips or real wear (for being 40 years old). Have had it out for freecycle thru craigslist; no bites. I’m seeing it as a sign that I’m not supposed to get rid of it; it has really bothered me to see it out at the curb. My husband’s being pretty tolerant about it but I know he doesn’t want to spend any more money on reupholstering jobs. So, hmmm, I’m pondering. I of course have just the ideal fabric swatch for it, and I know the guy to do it! I’m not normally into rocking chairs at all, but I really do like to sit in this one (it’s cozy) and it reminds me of my darling auntie who loved me so well; I miss her.
(I also have her antique organ which dates from about 1830-1850; German script on the porcelain ‘stops’; the bellows are shot on it now and it needs to be restored [where’s the money gonna come from for THAT project?]; was given to her by a lifelong friend and she willed it to me because, knowing how to play the piano, I’d play the organ every time I visited her, which just thrilled her when I was a little girl, especially at Christmas with carols [she loved Christmas so much; for a kid like me, her decorated-for-the-holidays house was a wonderland; and she was a person who never uttered an unkind word]; I have a photo of her holding me as an infant/newborn, seated at this organ, so this is when material objects definitely DO have purpose and meaning, at least to me!)
My little rocker upstairs is like that, rather petite and made for a lady, I think. It was my grandmother’s and I just can’t get rid of it yet. I was just about to a couple of years ago and Don and a friend of ours were going to take it down to the curb with a ‘free’ sign. Our friend said, “Are you sure you want to get rid of it?” And – at the last minute – I told them to bring it back.
That’s interesting. I don’t know anything about rocking chairs. Maybe more than one type of rocker was made with a woman in mind and therein usually a smaller frame.
I told my husband to take the listing of the chair off craigslist. Only one person had called late in the evening and then they didn’t call back after we left them more of a detailed description in a voice message although I thought the photo spoke for itself. This morning, I went to the upholstery shop and I actually got an even BETTER deal because he showed me a remnant he had which was almost identical to my fabric swatch, so this won’t be a super-duper expensive job on the small rocker. He’s coming to pick it up in an hour. It’s still hard for my husband to move/carry with his back, so it’s in the garage (and very much in the way, but I didn’t want to leave the chair out overnight in the damp although I sure don’t have to worry about ‘damp’ right now as it’s currently 92 degrees at 2:45pm with only 20% humidity. [Always so interesting, the variation from coast to coast, with you being cold and here in the West, we’re so darn hot again, with more Santa Anas, and I’ve got the central air conditioning just blasting.])
After I got back home from other errands including my visit to the upholstery shop (and, man, did I get overheated; too much running around in hot temps and a hot car), my husband told me that even after he’d removed the listing for the ‘free’ chair last night, seven people called this morning asking about it. SEVEN?!! Oh well. The repeated comment was that they were interested due to the smaller size. I’m not sorry I kept it!
I thought about just saving the rest of my saved money (for this long-awaited, multi-item, OTO ‘furniture project’), keeping the chair as-is although I’m trying really hard to rid my home of all my parents’ remaining brown/tan ‘everything’. (I’m just not a neutrals person; I have to have color in my life.) But the one thing that isn’t good on the chair is the foam (you can feel that it’s sort of ‘crispy’ inside the fabric form; I mean, it IS old; this chair could be from like late 1970s[?] if my hazy memory on it isn’t failing me; it could use some extra support as I like ‘firm’; and the fabric under the seat cushion is just rotting away because it’s somewhat-ancient ‘muslin’….and all of that will be fixed now but it will have to be ripped out so I don’t think they could have salvaged the old corduroy anyway).
I’ll downsize other things (somehow!) to make room for this chair; it’s pretty little anyway; doesn’t take up THAT much space although, man, like you, Claudia, it’s always a fight for space!
I’m running on & on about this because you’re a gal after my own heart; neither of us can get rid of our ‘lady’ rockers!! I knew you’d understand and relate. I think I have a slight hoarding tendency(!); yikes. But most every large and even smaller things I’ve unloaded in the last years, I parted with reluctantly. If I’d have had larger square footage, I know I never would have gotten rid of them. My grandma’s nightstand; one of my aunties’ small ‘kitchen desk’ with lots of handy drawers; a freestanding redwood clothes closet/armoire I’d bought new (but unfinished wood, which I liked just fine) in the 80s; two cupboards, one metal on wheels and one wood with a swing door; a wicker chair; well, other stuff I could keep talking about but it just killed me to have to let go of any of it as I like to re-use and re-purpose!
hi, vicki. :)
glad you kept and are getting a good deal on the little rocking chair! meant to be yours!
i have some family pieces (sofa, cupboards,
table, art …) and the only way they’re leaving is when they go to other family members!
i am a very sentimental person and i also like a lot of things so my style is a hodge-podge style and i am comfortable, happy with it (i am much more a mix-er than a match-er!).
anyway, i can relate to the difficulty of letting go of family pieces. and not having much space to put things. glad you kept your aunt’s rocking chair.
and if you like the corduroy (and it’s usable, maybe the upholsterer can salvage enough to make a pillow for you …?
good luck with the humidity and winds.
and claudia … glad you kept your grandmother’s rocker, too!
kathy in iowa
Hold on to those family pieces, kathy; they’re special. They make a house a home, and sentimentality is good. I imagine a lot of us are hodge-podgers!
xoxo
Too close for comfort!
Your new bowl is GORGEOUS!!! I have so enjoyed all of your views of Paris. Sounds to me like you two could live there very easily. Have never been there except thru your eyes.
Judy
Thank you, dear Judy!
Orca Chai they sell it at World Market-sugar free and creamy like hot chocolate👍 Also on Amazon it’s my afternoon pick-me-up!:)
Thank you for the tip, Jess!
Hi Claudia. It seems like you removed my recent post in which I mentioned something about Sayres and Christie. I think this happened once before when we were talking books. I just wanted to say I’m sorry if I offended you. I’m interpreting this to mean that you are avoiding anything that may seem negative, even if it’s meant in the spirit of a literary discussion. I was an English major so it is ingrained in me to compare/contrast, etc. It’s never my intention to dampen the spirit of your blog. I admire it and come here because you express your ups and downs but always try to showcase the positive and beautiful. I feel like a guest here who is truly grateful for the grace and beauty and even sharing pain and frustration, and I don’t ever want to transgress. If I’ve offended in some other way, and you feel like pointing that out, I’d truly like to know. Thanks!–Nora
Dear Nora, before you assume I removed something, message me via email.
I never received your comment, so it never went through. I think the same thing happened last time. Make sure you refresh your browser and come back to the blog to see if your comment went through.
I can’t remember the last time I deleted a comment. I don’t do that unless someone calls me or someone who comments on this blog names or is rude or offensive.
Nothing beats Parisian hot chocolate and even “real” American hot chocolate is a good step above sugar free (although I’ll take it no matter what!).
I do hope Don continues to improve but take it easy. And enjoy Sayers. She’s wonderful, isn’t she? I think you’ll enjoy the others, too.
I’m starting with the first in the series: Whose Body? Looking forward to it!