Today was mince pie-making day.

While they don't look too spectacular I trust the proof will be in the eating... and the amount of brandy I put in them.

I see from last years' [recipe included] that I sprinkled sugar on them... I should do that to these.

Incidentally, a topic on the radio today was about people recovering from/dealing with alcohol addiction at this time of year, since drinking is deemed to be the norm. I've never had an issue myself with alcohol (I simply cannot drink much of the stuff, nor find any pleasure in doing so), but I can certainly relate to addiction in general and can relate to the headspace that results and the challenges of dealing with it.

Indeed, food addiction is of course also a thing, and people can be accustomed to consuming things routinely that they don't realise could be the result of cravings from addiction; I didn't realise this for myself until I cut down on carbohydrates some years ago, particularly 'refined carbs'. What people have for breakfast can tell me a lot about what they deem to be healthy, just because it's considered normal (breakfast cereals). Indeed there are many things our society has normalized which perhaps aren't good for us.

While this time of year can be a tough time for avoiding such things, or not over-doing it, with New Year's Resolutions one can take advantage of the time to focus on renewing ones' self for the up-coming year. There is a mountain of advice for this, with various tips and techniques, and you will likely have to figure out which approach will work with you. On the radio a caller mentioned HALT - Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. There are occasions, such as these, that I have come to realise benefit from forward planning, or issues that need addressing. Tiredness, for example, can come about from a busy day at work, and then result in one turning to their addiction of choice. I have then worked to implement different routines.