Berlin Reified

Late January light

That late January light bouncing off the walls.

Cake mix (Baking on the go)

So gratifying to see your ingredients rowed and know you'll soon fill a friend's kitchen with the warm smells of baking. Buttermilk cake for dinner at Dilek's, buttermilk biscuits for a lunchtime playdate at Caitlin's. What better way to pass these last snowy January days than by the oven? (For a long time I used 550 flour when recipes called for all-purpose, now I'm excited about Bohlenser Mühle's 1050, which worked a treat on these two occasions.)

Spring bouquet on a snowy day

Now the silver sky is full of snow I'm especially glad to have this photo of Tuesday's golden light.

Ceramic shards

And for the first time in a long time I was compelled to throw open the windows. These pottery shards -- chosen out of a basket from my beloved Jutta Altenstein's Ackerstraße workshop -- fluttered in the gust of wind.

Jutta Altenstein Werkstatt, Ackerstr. 18, Berlin-Mitte (map)
Open M-F 2pm-6pm

Saturday sun

Doesn't this light make all the difference? Even this plain corner of our bedroom is lovely. Could you believe it when the sky went all pink and blue at half past four yesterday? My brain feels like those kernels of grain exhumed from an Egyptian tomb, sprouting after millennia: I am full of schemes for trips and travel.

Rosemary sprigs

Easing my way back into language, into the new year, into light. A rosemary and white bean soup is simmering in the kitchen, and slowly the cold flat warms and fills with fragrance. I always mean to tell you when I'll be away but I never do.