Tasty honey with extras
Friend PM, her spouse and offspring met us at Hierophant Meadery on a happily rainy Friday evening; when we walked in, the adults were well into a tasting flight and B. had a mug of nettle tea. Many hugs were exchanged, as we'd not seen each other since Christmas. There was only one other table occupied, and we had a lively time making joyful "Wait, wait, you have to try this!" noises at one another, then getting up to pull bottles from the shelf. PM bought eight. "They only bring a limited selection to the farmers' markets on the mainland! You can just drive up and get what you want!" "Witches' Spice for Punks" and "Queen of the May" came home with me, with the "Rose Cardamom" and "Ginger Pear" on the holiday prep list.
"Now we need food! Who's still open?" This is an excellent question, as most places at this end of the island shut at 7. Our local pub is open until 9, so back into Langley we went, actually finding parking (in town on a Friday!) and hurrying in to discover that aside from a happy noisy group at the pool table in back, the place was deserted. The owner came out and offered to take our orders - "It's quiet, I've cleaned enough for the moment, introduce me to these folks with you" - rather than the usual walk up to the counter; while it poured outside, we were warm by the fireplace sharing food (and some of PM's whiskey sour, how did she walk out?).
And then there was dessert! Back to ours for an olive oil cake made with einkorn flour, roasted oranges, and cardamom; PM rummaged through my cabinets for icing sugar and a small sieve, dusted the top and cut wedges for everyone. She left two sizable pieces for us in exchange for some of the chocolate chip cookies I'd baked the day before. She also agreed to add things I wanted to the Boots run she's planning when they're in Glasgow next month: "Oh, the things on your list are also on my list!", primarily "I will burst into flames if exposed to sunlight"-level SPF products that aren't exported to the US. B. told me about the fan webcomic she's doing with characters from Delicious in Dungeon and showed me a few panels, which were really quite good.
Today is much sunnier and quieter, with cooking and laundry about the extent of household activity. This week we should at last finish the first campaign of Critical Role, and will work through some of the one-shots before jumping into The Mighty Nein.