Officially Spring

Today officially marks the first day of Spring, but one could be forgiven for thinking Spring has forgotten about those of us living below the equator. As an old meme I was saw said: "Cannot be loaded in your country." That's certainly how it feels at the moment - even if the daffodils and irises disagree.

But there are some good things about winter. Things like cosy sweaters ...

Aguacero Sweater knitted in 5 ply/sport yarn. I undid the hem after this photo was taken to make the back sit down lower.

 and warm snuggly gloves ...

Just one from the two pairs that I made with patterns from Norah Gaughan's Knitted Cable Sourcebook. 

fruit loaf straight from the oven ...

cinnamon rolls ...

Recipe here.

and date swirls ...

(Rather than using butter and cinnamon, I made a date paste and the results were incredible. I can see myself making this again and again.)

But, cosy sweaters and comfort food aside, I'm looking forward to warmer weather. To getting out in the garden more, especially in the evening; to going for walks where I don't have to worry about the wind blasting my eardrums; to not having to light the fire (I'm sitting here cold after my third failed attempt to get it to light); to just enjoying all that Spring - and Summer - has to offer.

Meanwhile, I'm going to have one more attempt at lighting that fire, wrap up in a cosy blanket, and dream of date swirls hot from the oven.

And if someone else also has a desire for date swirls, I used the bread recipe from Sally's Baking Easy Cinnamon Rolls (from scratch) and the date filling from My Lovely Little Lunchbox The Best Sticky Date Buns. Only use half the amount of dates that are listed in the ingredient list as the other half are set aside for the topping - unless, of course, you want to use them for the topping. I iced/frosted mine with coffee icing/frosting which DH loved, but I think next time I would go with an orange or lemon icing/frosting. If you're a fan of cream cheese frosting, you could use that. (I've never been a fan of it which means I don't miss it now that I'm dairy free.)