It can be too easy in life, to rush through, rather than take the time to enjoy simple pleasures.  After a very busy week I have definitely been guilty of that.  So today I started my day slowly and decided to focus on something that is there, right in front of me, that I like, but which I rarely notice. The celery glass.

I like it because my Dad gave it to me and it is his birthday today so I was thinking of him more than usual.  Happy birthday Daddy 🙂

I like glassware and I like objects which have a function.  When we were little, a glass of droopy celery was regularly plonked on the table for us to eat but never in this splendid glass.

This celery glass is Victorian.  During Victorian times (1837-1901) celery was considered a delicacy as growing white, non stringy celery was quite a challenge for the voctorian gardener.  From the mid 1800s onwards, dinner services always came with a celery glass so Victorian hosts could proudly display their celery.

This is a typical example of a celery glass.  Some are more ornate but the shape of the glass and the engraving on it is of its time.  It is surprisingly heavy but then I suppose it has to be, to stop the celery toppling it over.

As well as appreciating the history and the family connection of my celery glass, I decided to make the most of the sunshine streaming in to my kitchen and take photographs of the shadows on the wall.

So there we have it, simple pleasures.  This one with the added bonus of a glass full of celery to nibble on.

Nutritional profile of celery from Nutrition Data:

The good: celery is a good source of Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.  It is also slightly anti-inflammatory.

The bad: celery is high in Sodium, and a large portion of the calories in this food come from sugars.

Apart from a cup of tea, my first sustenance of the day was a smoothie I made with an orange, kale, spinach, a banana and some water to add extra hydration.

I love the colour of the orange against the dark green.

This looks like pond algae!

It was still bubbling when I poured it in to the glass which made it appear to be alive.  I half expected a frog to pop its head out – Ribbett.

It tasted really good.  I whizzed it for ages so it was very smooth and it slipped down easily.The sunshine was particularly welcome today after the recent cold and snowy weather.

We all headed off over the road for a walk.  Yes, we have Beryl again this weekend.

The melting snow has made it very wet over there.

I have never seen the water flowing so fast in this part of the woods.

I was sad to see so many more trees have been cut down recently.  I hope that is all they are cutting as I love these woods and am so grateful they are on the doorstep and we can walk through them without getting in the car first.

It was late when we got back so we had a simple lunch of poached eggs.

2 each on slices of Cranks wholemeal seeded loaf.

Yummy.

We had roast chicken for dinner which was delicious.  It was a joint effort tonight which I appreciated.  Washed down with a delicious glass of Sancerre.

Dylan, you are a big dog and that is a small dog’s bed that you are perched on the top of.  It is Beryl’s bed.

Yours is the large brown bed beside the radiator!

A good day was had by all.  Healthy food, fresh air and exercise and some chores out of the way.  Haven’t had any celery though 🙂 .