Bleak

I'm still posting everything a day late. Sunday felt the coldest day so far, with heavy cloud, mist and damp, seeping cold penetrating all my layers of clothing, Underfoot, the grass, fields and footpaths were like lumpy concrete, frozen rock solid, slippery and unyielding to walk on. I didn't really want to go out, but P encouraged me to walk for a while, telling me it would rain for most of Monday; on balance I was glad I did, despite my painfully cold fingers and toes. I found more to photograph than I expected too, and enjoyed editing the grey day into monochrome images which captured its character better than the distractions of colour.

Later, with the curtains closed against the dark and cold, I boiled up another batch of quince jelly, bright and aromatic; then P made a fire, and cooked a big pan of his richly flavoured miso noodle soup, full of tofu, arame seaweed, shitake mushrooms, peppers, garlic and onions.