yuletide warmth

happy solstice everyone!
whether it be 24 hour arctic sunshine on your longest day or the long night (with the long-johns) of the south, we hope you were warm and happy.
in the republic we warmed some wine to toast the sun's return: a subtle blend of sliced oranges, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, sugar and cheap red wine (don't feel obliged to use cheap red wine if you're following this recipe). we drank from earthenware cups; candles lighted (red, blue, green and yellow) to guide the faeries and garlic planted to ward of next seasons' colds.
other than the sun's tardy arrival into the day you'd never guess it was mid-winter solstice we were celebrating as once again 'twas unseasonally warm; we sunned ourselves on the terrace.
actually, that is how you knew it was the winter rather than the summer solstice: 'tis too hot to have tea on the terrace in the summer...
we wandered aimlessly for a bit on the saturday arvo in the guise of huntergatherers rather than ramblers, spotting olives rippening here, nude appletrees there and a chestnut inbetween, storing the information much like squirrels, for our next outing with bigger pockets/big bags :)
if it's on the ground...
xxx
mama b