LET’S HYGGE AUGUST 2021

Add a little hygge to each month

Hello Kristine here, with a few things to make your August hyggelig. Last year I took up crotchet and loved it. It is actually very calming, as you only have to focus on the one hook. The potholders are really useful, as the are thick and a good size. The bread rolls are well tested, as I have baked them for more than 20 years. They are so easy, quick and the best thing you don’t get dough on your fingers… I hope my little list of ideas can add a little smile to this cold and wet month.

These long dark nights call for a little crotchet project. I have done potholders before but could use some new ones at home. I have found an American technique, that makes them nice and thick. It’s a little tricky in the start, but as soon as you have done the first few rows, it’s easier….

Here’s a free pattern and a very useful tutorial:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/double-thick-potholders-2
the thermal stitch: https://www.sewrella.com/crochet-thermal-stitch-tutorial/

Being in lock down has one benefit. It makes it possible to make bread rolls most mornings. It’s such a lovely way to start the day and then lunch is sorted too! The smell of newly baked bread is a great way to get the rest of the house out of bed. This is the easiest recipe – you don’t have to touch the dough with your hands – just mix the ingredients together and leave it in the fridge, covered, to raise, overnight. The next morning you turn the oven on 200 degrees. Scoop 12 big spoons of dough onto the baking paper on the baking tray. Place them in the oven and bake them on for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

If you haven’t watched MY OCTOPUS TEACHER on Netflix yet – you are in for a treat. It is one of the most beautiful movies I have seen in a long time. It’s about a filmmaker that forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world. It’s a movie for the entire family!

This cold weather calls for some hot drinks. I have mixed different dried herbs and spices to make a nice herbal tea. In winter I can’t drink enough water, as I finds it cools me down, but I really enjoy having a big jug of herbal tea next to me, when I work. For my tea blend I mixed: fennel seeds, some licorice root and dried lemon verbena from our garden, which I have dried in my dehydrator. I have made a little logo for our house in Capertee, The Barn. I have a stamp with the logo that I use for everything that comes from The Barn. It such a joy to be able to harvest and gather… This is the scent of summer on a bottle…

I never get tired of listening to the Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi, I Giorni. The album’s title translates as “The Days” in English. He has played in The Opera House several times. I hope to get to go to one of his concerts there one day…

I wish you a lovely last month of winter. If you know a friend that would like some HYGGE in their live – free to share my Journal.

[definition of hygge]

a quality of cosiness and comfortable living that engenders a feeling
of contentment and well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture).