Sauntering Vaguely Downward

My last goal check-in was almost exactly a month ago. I stopped doing it because I was on holiday but now I reckon the advent of the pandemic has rendered most of the goals irrelevant. For a start, there’s no way for me to go to the gym for the next few months, and no way I’m going to get through this without the liberal application of booze. When examined in the cold light of covid-19, should any of them should be retained?

( Individual assessments behind the cut. )

In summary, the only goal I’ll be keeping is the one about reading more than ten books that are new to me. I don’t expect this to be particularly challenging, given that I have at least ten on my bedside table and I won’t be going anywhere for a while. So, sayonara, weekly goal check-in posts. Maybe I’ll give you a whirl in 2021.

This was the view over the River Tywi at around mid-day on Saturday. We were up on the hill above it for all of ten minutes and were soaked to the skin when we returned to the cottage. You can see the silvery river snaking through the centre left of the photo.



This is (almost) the same view 24 hours later. The river hasn't so much burst its banks as engulfed the entire middle section of the valley in a torrent of brown.



( Goal Check-in 7/52: Mixed success )

I got through January and didn't fail at every goal! \o/

( Goal Check-in 5/52: all success )

In pickling news, I have made my first attempt at gherkins/American pickles. My recipe* involved the following:

• Tiny cucumbers, sliced
  
• Garlic granules
  
• Two bay leaves
  
• Enough coarse sea salt to form a thick layer on the bottom of the jar
  
• Tablespoon of peppercorns
  
• Water
  
• Fermenting jar (1.4 litres)
  
• Time (1 week)

I tried them after seven days and they weren’t quite right, so I dumped in more salt and waited three more days. They taste almost exactly like the gherkins you would buy from the supermarket, even without the mustard seeds, but I feel as if something else is missing. Could it be sugar? If you have a favourite gherkin/American pickle recipe, please share it in the comments.

( 366 meme questions, 15-21 Jan )

* recipe does not contain any actual merkin. Please do not google with tea in your mouth.