Hi Friends!
Happy Tuesday! After last week’s revelation of my five year anniversary I think perhaps it was misunderstood. I am not, and have never been an alcoholic! I was, like many people, a social drinker who decided to stop drinking socially or otherwise. I was curious to see what would happen when I stopped drinking – my mother always said that’s why I had gained weight – she was wrong, I didn’t lose any weight lol. I don’t blog about food and drink, though I used to when I first became plant-based, but I got bored and stopped, that’s why I don’t really mention it here, except this was 5 years. I found this older post from January 2022 where I mentioned I gave up alcohol three year ago and was planning to give up sugar! Well that didn’t work out as planned and here I am two years later trying again with sugar. It is so very hard to avoid sugar as it seems to be added to just about everything. In that post I had apparently thrown it all out of the house but somehow it managed to creep back in! This photo is from that older post, I buy it at Christmas sometimes, it’s an alcohol free vegan Prosecco substitute in case anyone needs one. Anyhoo, if your health is less perfect than you would like, maybe it’s time to give up something that no longer serves you?
In that post I also talked about giving up not only caffeine but also coffee! Well I am back to drinking coffee but only decaf – I blame the coffee machine I was given back in 2022…
This beast makes about 12 different types of coffee but it’s a bit wasted on me as I only drink it black but I have found a good decaf and have been using it a bit more in the last few months. If you have a Sainsbury’s nearby and need a good decaf coffee, I recommend this one. It went out of stock a couple of months ago (along with the liquorice I like) it was a stressful month for me lol. They also do a non-decaf version of this coffee if that’s your thing, I imagine it tastes just as good but with caffeine. It is also one of the cheapest at £2.80 a packet and tastes nicer than the more expensive coffees.
Today’s Art . . .
Today’s art is my January calendar page – about time as we are already half-way through January! As it is a calendar page, I am linking to Erika’s theme over on AJJ.
It’s booster time for Miss P and her booster reminder card arrived in the mail so I thought I would cut it up and reuse it on this page. So everything stuck on there came from the booster card. For the month and days I used some glitter stickers that I coloured with alcohol markers.
Miss Lily heard the V E T word and looked alarmed until she realised that it wasn’t her turn.
My niece has a new kitten. Poor little thing turned up in their garden a few weeks ago, apparently dumped, and they decided to keep it. Isn’t she a cutie – what horrible person could just dump a kitten? Apparently there were two kittens dumped and one got run over by a car. They were only about 6 weeks old at the time.
Currently Reading . . .
My current read/listen is this one by EA Copen, and it’s the fourth book in a spin-off series to the Lazarus Codex I read at the end of last year. I like this character because he’s a foul-mouthed, wise-cracking, chain-smoking Australian wizard and the books have a lot of humour in them. I’m listening to the audiobook so I get all the accents. There are only five books in this series so I only have one left after this one.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
TOTAL for 2024
8 book so far
January Books so far – 8
1. E.A. Copen – Dark Revel – Lazarus Codex #8 
2. E.A. Copen – Dark Horse – Lazarus Codex #9
3. E.A. Copen – Casting Shadow – Lazarus Codex #10
4. E.A. Copen – Lost Soul – Lazarus Codex #11
5. E.A. Copen – Until Death – Lazarus Codex #12
6. E.A. Copen – Fractured Souls – Hellbent Halo #1
7. E.A. Copen – Smoke and Mirrors – Hellbent Halo #2
8. E.A. Copen – Devil’s Due – Hellbent Halo #3
(re-reads if any are in bold)
Currently Crocheting . . .
My new yarn arrived on Saturday, so here it is…
It’s a substitute for the Wool of the Andes yarn I can’t get. This is called Tweed Delight and came all the way from Denmark. The colours are beautiful.
T Stands For . . .
I found this pumpkin spice oat milk yesterday in Sainsbury’s and couldn’t resist. I have no idea why they are selling it in January but I’m glad they are because it was just what I needed and it was delicious. This is actually my breakfast so in the bowl are overnight oats, banana, blueberries and a comice pear.
Let me know what you think in the comments. As always, thanks for reading and Happy T Day!
Ingredients
as above
Challenges
T Stands For
Art Journal Journey – It’s on the Calendar
So much in your post! I’m glad I stopped by and got a little caught up.
I will give up anything except caffeine. I drink coffee 24/7. No decaf in my world. Sugar was easy to give up in my coffee, but I suspect it is hidden in some of the foods I eat. Sadly, I could never go completely vegan because I like my dairy too much.
Your calendar puts mine to shame. It is amazing. LOVE the sparkles and the cat. It’s also perfect for Erika’s theme at AJJ.
That yarn is beautiful. I look forward to seeing how it works up.
What a sweet new kitty for your niece. So sad to learn her sibling met a sad fate. I nearly cried when I read that.
Your breakfast looks delicious. I never eat breakfast, but that looks SO healthy. And the pumpkin spice oat drink sounds great. I think we should have pumpkin spice all year long!
Thanks for sharing your calendar, new yarn, and breakfast with drink for T this Tuesday, dear Elle. And thanks again for the card, dear.
I got what you meant about how you stopped drinking. I hope I didn’t make it sound like I didn’t. And your niece’s kitten is adorable. My heart breaks for the baby that got run over. Thank goodness there are people like your niece who will take them in. I don’t know Maddie’s background, but Mr. Pete and his sister were left in a box at an intersection when they were just about 6 weeks old. Who does that? They both made it to a shelter up here in New Hampshire (he was from North Carolina), and I can tell you Pete is living his best dog life. I don’t know about his sister, but I am guessing since she was adopted by a screened family, she is probably doing fine too. And I like that calendar a lot. Thank you for linking up to AJJ. It’s much appreciated. And finally, the colors of your new yarn are great. I’m always a sucker for color. I hope you had a super T day. hugs-Erika
We rarely drink alcohol although I may have mentioned we do like cider occasionally! We drink alternate decaf and regular coffee.I love your journal page – thank you for sharing at AJJ. Lovely cat and kitten pics! Happy T Day, Chrisx
That book series looks interesting. I don’t tend to give up foods or drinks but have sometimes tried to cut down on various things -carbs, for example. Eating healthier foods in healthier amounts makes sense to me. Happy T Tuesday
Great post. Uhhh yeah it would be difficult to give up coffee with that coffee machine. What a beauty. Before I got really sick with lupus, I was vegan. I also didn’t eat sugar and I found that it was easy to got off of. When I got sick no one, especially hospitals, had no idea how to cook for me. Soooo…… Now I have been trying to get off of sugar and it is very difficult. I don’t know if it is my age or what. Anyway, I do love that yarn. Have a nice day today.
After your explanation last week, I didn’t think that of you at all only that you gave it up just to be healthy which is fab ??. I drink more tea than anything but do have a soft spot for a decaf coffee now and then, I usually make it with oat milk so that pumpkin oat milk would be perfect too ?. Loving your pages and it seems your kitty likes your calender pages, so funny that it’s a comfy place to sit …lol! Your yarn is beautiful, loving the colours and you now have me wondering what you are planning to make with them all? Wishing you a very Happy T Tuesday! Hugs, Jo x
Your coffee machine looks like it could take you to the moon. I love your cup.Calli and Quill had their vet appointment at the end of last month. Necessary, but so stressful on them. They hate the ride in the carrier. Miss Lily has such pretty eyes and your niece’s kitten is adorable. So sad the sibling didn’t make it. The yarn colors are so pretty especially the blues. Happy T Day
Hi Elle, I’m prepared to give up almost everything except for coffee…My last cat, Kitty, was thrown out of a passing car together with others, and I decided to keep Kitty, and she was the best cat ever, ever, ever. Hugs, Valerie
Giving up something is too hard. If I think something is wrong I try to eat or drink less of it, but not an absolute. At the moment I’m having less meat and less of artificial sweeteners.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com