Late Berberis

I was surprised to find a last few branches of berberis with a few bright flowers - it flowered profusely months ago. I loved how the gold looked against the sky. It was good that I went outside fairly early in the day, as the sun didn't last long and by mid-afternoon it was raining heavily and increasingly wild and windy. 

J had a rather difficult day, with very stiff, jumpy arms and hands upsetting her a lot, but she was cheered up by the chocolate peanut butter mug cake we made (and ate). Mug cakes are such a good source of near- instant comfort, just basic ingredients spooned into a mug (or bowl - most mugs are too small), mixed and microwaved for a minute or so. The mug cake book J persuaded me to pick up, browse and buy years ago is one of my most useful bargain impulse buys.

We also enjoyed a movie night together, watching The Lunchbox, an Indian film from 2013 which weaves a story around the widespread delivery of lunch boxes from families or restaurants to office workers in Mumbai. It was fascinating and poignant story of lonely people in a crowded city, communication which is rarely face to face. and women who spend their lives looking after husbands. We both enjoyed it. It has recently appeared on Disney+, which was originally my lockdown concession to J, our only paid-for streaming service, and has proved more useful (and difficult to cancel) than I ever expected.