Men's Tea – not just for men

The photo credit for today's blip is from my friend, Sarah. She was amused by Number 12 in the Advent Tea Calendar I put together. The Christmas package I sent to her took an age to be delivered so she's enjoying her Advent in January instead. Men's Tea is a favourite tea here.

This morning I dreamt that Fred and I were being chased by a bear. Fred was ahead of me and running along, but his rucksack wasn't closed properly so while madly running, I was also stooping to pick up whatever fell (I can't remember what was so important that it had to be picked up while a bear was on my tail). Moments later, I woke up properly with the sound of the toddler upstairs running back and forth. Aha! No bear in sight, thank goodness. Not even a cat – Juno was already in the kitchen waiting for his breakfast.

We went for a walk to Norwood Park and I took only one photo, which turned out rubbish, hence my friend's picture for an emergency blip. I heard a woodpecker in the park, but it wasn't making itself seen. Altogether, the birdsong was much more noticeable today. I think the traffic was far less and there were fewer people out and about. Perhaps folk are now heeding the "stay at home" message.

I spent a time this afternoon planning meals for the next week as we decided to order a delivery from the supermarket, which is something we haven't done for many a year. Fred usually does the meal planning around the veg box, but I've done the whole shaboodle this time. It's not all potato-based dishes. I have a load of vegetarian cookbooks and I have to say that the humble carrot is often just relegated to soup, salad or a side dish. We have loads of carrots and more coming, so I had to search beyond the bookcase and online to find some main dishes to suit. Although we will probably make some soup, too.

We've spent the last couple of hours playing The Vanishing of Ethan Carter – Fred had completed a fair bit of it before I nosed in and wanted to join in. I've helped him on a couple of puzzles and there's one more we need to complete.