Making Lemonade Out of Lemons

Most of the pictures in this post are from one morning...I went outside to do my morning walk and the sun and cloud formation was just incredible.  I immediately when back in for my camera...and for once, didn't feel embarrassed to be walking around with a camera.  This shot may be my favorite of the walk...

Back left clockwise: citrus salt scrub, batch 1 of beeswax candles, fire cider, lime curd, lemon curd.

It's been remarkably warm here...the robins are out and chattering every morning.  On the one hand I love it, on the other, it's disorienting.  It's January for pete's sake.

I didn't realize it until I downloaded this one from my camera but I really like the symmetry of the tree with the clouds.

I'm not sure why this one appeals to me...I would have thought the telephone phone in the background would be distracting and I almost cropped it down...but the more I look at it, the more I like it...

Making lemonade out of lemons.

Figuratively...and literally. 

What is it about craving citrus in the winter?  Is it the taste, the smell or just the bright colors?  Probably a combination of the 3. 

Earlier this week, I finally seemed to be rebounding from the last hit...but what is the saying?   When it rains, it pours?  I took a few more hits this week...some expected that were extensions of the first issue, some not.  And I felt myself sliding back down into the dark place because I'm just not built to let things slide off of me like that.  But unlike last week, I went kicking and screaming this time.  I sat down and thought about what I could do to bring my mood back up.  I'm not sure why citrus made that list but reading Kristie's post on making lemon curd may have had something to do with it.  Those bright yellow jars just made me happy for some reason.  Shortly thereafter a whole bag of lemons and limes found their way into my grocery basket.  And I proceeded to do the following with them:

• One batch of lemon curd (following the same recipe Kristie used but I read the comments and only added a heaping cup of sugar...and I used a microplane zester and not the food processor)
• One batch of lime curd 
• One batch of winter lemonade (excellent -- I know a cold drink isn't typical for winter, but try it...I bet you'll love it!).
• Two batches of citrus salt scrub using almond oil (I've made this in the past and I love it -- but for this particular recipe, I use a different oil to salt ratio...1 cup of mixed salt [half sea, half kosher] with 1/2 cup oil -- i think this is personal preference...a sugar scrub I make, I use a 1:1 ratio of sugar to oil)

So now I have all this curd that is like sunshine in a jar and I'm not really sure what to do with it.  I've frozen some, I've eaten it on greek yoghurt (excellent), and damn near every time I walk by the fridge, I stick my finger in one jar or the other and just savor it (I can't decide whether I like the lemon or lime better...I make a decision then taste the other and nope...both are amazing!).  So those of you who make citrus curd...what do you suggest?

Interestingly, as these things do...that evening of making all things citrus, plus daily inspiration from this winter retreat, led me down a path of 'making' which in turn has kept my spirits up.  A no brainer for me but even knowing this, I so often let work interfere with those kinds of things. So I've set aside time away from work a few evenings this week.  And then today, waking up to pouring down rain and needing a break from work, I have spent the day staying busy making different things.  And despite constantly moving/staying busy, I have felt completely relaxed in the process.  Some of the things that I've been working on:

• Beeswax candles (I've never made candles before...I did a batch of lavender, a batch of patchouli, and a batch of eucalyptus/spearmint)
• Fire Cider (seems to be all the rage nowadays which normally I ignore, but considering the ingredients, it's no stretch of the imagination to think this will be healthy...no idea if I'll like this but I'll report back in a month) 
• sprouting -- again, something I've never done before but had inspiration to start.  First up is a salad mix that my local natural food store sells.  
• While waiting for the beeswax to melt, I've been sitting at my wheel.  Funny that spinning was something I was so looking forward to coming out of the field and yet, even though I'm completely smitten with the fiber I'm working with, I've barely done any since coming home.  This week, I changed that and have been happily spinning away!
• Remember that sock that I wanted on the needles for just a row or two here and there?  I'm in love with it and about to turn the heel of the first sock. 
• I signed up for an online hand-stitching class that started a couple weeks ago (one of those challenges I committed to...with the idea that it may help me break through some of my sewing fear).  The first project was a reverse applique t-shirt and though I haven't started stitching yet, I've gathered all my supplies and drawn out the pattern I want to work with (because I just had to make my own design...I don't know why actually).  Maybe tonight I'll transfer it on to the shirt so that I can start stitching some this week.  It's a technique I've wanted to learn ever since first seeing some of the clothes in Alabama Chanin...dreaming of making this one day...  Baby steps. 

How about you?  What kind of things keep your spirits up during winter...or after a set-back?  What kind of things are you making/creating recently?

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Now playing: Sunrise by Norah Jones

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