Imbolg 2022

Last Wednesday (2nd February) was Imbolg, more commonly known as Imbolc. (Or Tuesday 1st Feb since you can celebrate sundown to sundown.) As I said in my Imbolg Round-up post, I normally make pancakes for this sabbat.

This year I made oatmeal pancakes (American style). I first tried them last Imbolg and I liked them, so I thought they would be good to have again. The recipe is from Don't Waste the Crumbs: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/oatmeal-pancakes/

I used little pots of instant oatmeal, which is easier than buying a big bag or box of porridge oats if you're not eating it a lot! The recipe uses oat flour but since I don't have a blender to make it, I just used ordinary (plain) flour. They were nice, although I think one was a bit underdone! I had them with Flora spread and maple syrup. Here 's a pic:

 

I also had some Fevertree Sicilian lemonade to drink.  

I went to the beach at sunset and took some photos. It turned out to be a really nice sunset, fiery as it got later! Here are a few photos: 

Sunset on Lancing Beach.

 

 

I also took a short video on the beach (my first time trying out YouTube Shorts!). Here's the link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6z_wp-Hy0k

It's not the best quality because it was my first time videoing on this phone but never mind, lol.

When I got back, I lit a white candle to celebrate the increasing light. Here's a picture:

 

Later that evening I made some white hot chocolate, using a recipe from the Llewellyn's 2022 Sabbats Almanac. It was quite nice, sweet but not too sickly. It's similar to one I made in 2018, except this recipe uses vanilla bean as well as vanilla essence. That recipe is gone now but here's a similar one: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/homemade-white-hot-chocolate/

 

So now we've had the first sabbat of 2022 and we're moving towards spring.  I've been noticing the shift, with longer days and just a different, lighter atmosphere. I've seen some daffodils start to emerge, although just the leaves so far (some years they've started to flower already but then died again in the cold). It had been warmer here but it's feeling quite cold this weekend.

The next sabbat will be Oestara/Ostara aka the Spring Equinox (20th March this year), which is the "official" start of spring! I'm looking forward to it because I prefer warmer weather. I'll do a post abut Oestara nearer the time. :)

Hope you had a good Imbolg/Imbolc! (Or Lammas if you just celebrated that!) :)