Wind in the Willow

We have a large willow in the garden.
It has buds on it already.
But they won't come to anything because this afternoon the wind blew it over.
Tore its roots out of the ground and made a right mess.
A nice man called Steve came with a JCB and pushed it off the drive.
A shame it's gone.
My twelve year old was philosophical: "circle of life, Mum, circle of life" was all he said.
Hakuna matata.

IF only

A few months ago a couple came in who were trying the IF diet - intermittent fasting. They had drinks, looked longingly at the cake display and then bought some carrot cake to take away because the following day they were allowed to eat whatever they liked.
I thought them mad.
And then found that this IF diet thing is everywhere. Everyone is talking about it. Everyone is writing about it. *
So. I read stuff about it.
I've never dieted before but have decided to try it and have been fasting two days a week for the past fortnight. Not proper fasting. I'm allowed a whopping 500 calories a day. 
Which is nothing.
They say it'll not only help me to lose weight but has two other benefits.
One is to improve brain function.
I've already forgotten the other one.
The worst thing about the process is the side effect. Proper grumpiness. Especially when I'm dishing up the rest of the family's food in the evening.


*for "everyone" read "some people"

Done

Not dusted yet. That happens tomorrow when we put all the china, glass, teapots, cloths, cutlery, aprons away, when we defrost the fridges and freezers and drain the water, when we bring all the outside chairs and tables inside. We are officially closed until 27th March 2013.
Today has been utterly marvellous. Not particularly busy but almost everyone who walked through the door was a familiar face who'd come because it's our last day of the year.
One couple even brought me flowers.
I could have cried but I was torn between being happy that this challenging, wet season is over and sad that I won't be seeing these folks for almost 5 months. They wished me a Happy Christmas as they left.

We didn't break any records in 2012.
But we certainly learned a lot.
And I have plans for the closed season....

Sowing the seeds.

Message in the visitors' book on Friday|:
"Got engaged today in the gardens"

The couple in question had arranged to meet some of their family at the tearooms and he asked her to marry him just before they came inside. She had flowers and everything. And then they all had proper Afternoon Tea and took photos. When I asked her if it was a surprise she nodded, and then her eyes filled up with tears. "I'm off again" she said. And that just made me well up too....

Sobering thought

Spent the weekend in Stockholm. I'd committed to a girls' weekend away when I thought the tea rooms would have closed for the season. Do I sound defensive?
In fact we don't close until Sunday (a quirk of half terms around here - some were last week, some this) so I'm in that strange phase of trying to make sure we have enough of everything, but not too much.
Went in yesterday morning and made a batch of chocolate Cobweb Cakes as it was properly Halloween. Not a single one remains. Very pleasing.

My jewellery selling friend, Fi rang yesterday. She's going to come on Friday to set up a table of goodies to sell. We did it last year and it went really well so fingers crossed for a repeat performance.

In Stockholm a glass of wine was £10.
Must sell more tea.

Figures

An interesting conundrum today.
A lady was choosing her cake. Sometimes people ask my opinion, which I'm happy to give. Trouble is I only stock cakes I like, so I find it very difficult to rate one against the other. But this lady had a different question. Which, out of Millionaire's Shortbread and the pecan chocolate brownie, was the least fattening?
No clue.
Nor any desire to know.
They're both delicious and I would hate either to be judged on calorific value alone.
So I stared blankly.
She went for the brownie. I suggested she could eat half and take the rest home for later.
Her turn to stare. That, she said, would mean she'd have to share it with her husband.
Which was not going to happen.

One of the last customers today was an older man wearing sunglasses. He took them off to look at the cakes but put them back on again to make his way to his table.
He told me that 3 months ago he fell asleep while a passenger in a car and when he woke up he'd not only lost the peripheral vision on one side but that sunlight hurt his eyes. I stood in from of him and slightly to the side: "I can only see half of your nose," he said.  Which is plenty from my point of view.
He's hopeful that his sight will get sorted but in the meantime he has to teach his brain how to read in an entirely different way. And of course he can't drive any more.
One of the gardeners at the Court detached his retina a couple of months ago and is on a slow road back to health, desperate to be back at work.
Mental note to appreciate my sight and to stop complaining that, as a well-over-forty year old, I can't stray far from my reading specs.
Another mental note that for some people 2012 was not all about the Olympics, the Jubilee and the rain. Other things go on in people's lives.

Have bought first pumpkin for soup. £3. I think they're more expensive than last year.
But then again, what isn't?