Tuesday 18 October 2011

The return of the indoor hat wearing

I don't think we live in a particularly drafty home, I think we have a drafty life. Indoor hat wearing time of year is now upon us. I don't mind it really, I quite like hats and an opportunity to wear them in the house just means more hat time, which is all good I guess. I've a nice new hat too, courtesy of Mr F, isn't it lovely - looks quite fine here in the kitchen with Cheery's home made bunting doesn't it? I often wear hats in or outdoors, I quite like them and when I don't lose them (or set them free if you like), I have a nice collection. Quite often I set them free though, lets hope this one is more of a stay at home hat.
Its blowing a gale here - first week of the Ocotober holidays, we're rather unusually staying at home for various reasons giving us lots of opportunities to wear hats indoors. Which is fine, as it also means lots of home cooking for brekkie like crepes, a firm favourite of the chaps here. I won't bore you with a recipe, to be honest I can't bore you with a recipe, I'm more of a lob it all in and hope for the best kinda indoor hat wearing cook. But it works. Yesterday my new hat made crepes with me, which I think it quite enjoyed.

I don't flip them, I'm really not that brave or skilled. Neither is my hat, it would seem.
 We eat so many crepes (well when I say we, I mean 'they' eat so many crepes, I'm not a huge fan of baking or cakes, so I often don't indulge) anyway, they eat so many crepes we've even a crepe pan, which puts a lovely little flower pattern over the crepe as it cooks. That I do like, very much, flowery crepes.

 The are generally scoffed before they hit the table, this crepe was caputured using sport photography, with a very quick shutter speed, milliseconds later, it evaporated. The new hat was impressed at their agility. It really is survival of the fastest in this house, you snooze, you definitely lose!
Having worked up a sweat in the kitchen, (I blame the hat entirely), its time to venture outdoors in the windy land of Orkney, having provide delights indoors, its time to brave it outdoors and to begin to tackle the pampas mountain at home. On days like today being in the garden takes a bit of committment as the wind cuts right through you. Therefore I often put on the wee garden fire and I know I have to stay out there for a bit. We've no fire in our house, so having one outdoors is a nice treat, good use of scavenged wood too!
The task for today is to divide up the pampas and get it ready for either planting outdoors, or to be fair I am more likely to plant it up in fishboxes and tuck in in somewhere safe for the winter - plant it out next spring. I've a fair bit of it, I don't want to ruin it, so I need to get it cut back and divided, gloves and secateurs needed, its very sharp and tough.

Not a lot of garden planting goes on in Orkney in the autumn, we go from autumn to winter in a blink. Whilst pampas is tough as old boots, I don't think I'll risk the effort I'm putting into getting it, to being blasted out of the ground in the winter, it won't grow much so it will just sit there, sulking through the worst of the weather. It will weather it out in a fishbox I think, just to be safe. What a busy day that new hat has had both indoors and out.

Now after all that work, the fires dying down and I'm a bit cauld to be honest, time to go for a quick bike ride up the track with Mr F and the mutt. As we return down the track to the house, we're lucky to have a nice sunset looking out from the edge of the garden  - reward for all my hats good work for today! And the rains now started, deep joy! Retreat inside, quickly!
Time for more hat wearing indoors again I think, the wind and rain are now battering the house, noisy as you like, at least the hat protects my ears from the din too!

8 comments:

  1. Ooh beautiful sunset - thanks for that! xx

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  2. Very funny. I wear a hat indoors too. It is hereditary, I got it from my fathers side, my nan, she always wore a hat indoors when it turned chilly.
    Lovely last shot, really lovely.xxx

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  3. My Orkney hat collection doesn't get worn so much now...we had been known to wear them to bed in the depth of winter. Very cosy!

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  4. Glad you all liked the sunset. Trish, good for all of you!

    Janet the glamour of island living abounds eh? I wear mine in bed too, much to the amusement/horror of my family.

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  5. Yes...it's that hat in the house time in Ireland too!

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  6. Of all the ways to keep warm in a house, I've never considered a hat before! What a good idea!

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  7. Beautiful sunset - and tasty looking crepes too!

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  8. what a wonderful post! i haven't worn a hat indoors but i've definitely worn socks and cardy to bed.

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