WITH cooler mornings this week, it's been lovely to linger over my morning coffee, taking time to soak up the first warming rays of sunshine streaming in our kitchen window.

The older I get the more importance I place on these little rituals.

The ones that calm and centre us, and settle our whirring thoughts so we can plan a good day and face it with courage.

Sometimes life gets wobbly with debilitating illness, the death of people we care about, or financial stress, and sometimes everything at once.

In those moments it helps me to return to the quieting things, the anchors that help me face the hard stuff, take a deep breath, and press on.

It also helps me to do good things.

To focus my attention on projects that make me smile or that will bring us joy down the road.

Home-brewing is one of those things for me.

We aren't big drinkers, but I do like a glass of wine each evening, and it's even more special when it's something Bear and I have brewed ourselves.

This week Bear was busy building beehives for our soon-to-arrive bees, and I tackled our grog supply.

We've had apple wine, apple cider, and plum cider fermenting the past several months.

We've had sips along the way, adding a bit more sugar syrup to add bubbles and sweetness, and this week was time to decant them into new bottles where they will age for the next 6-12 months.

Some will be ready for autumn drinking, but the rest will be perfect for sipping on a cold winter's night.

I'm also starting liqueurs this weekend. We finished off the cranberry liqueur I made over the holidays and it was wonderful.

We drank it icy cold in little glasses or drizzled over vanilla ice cream, and loved every last drop.

This time around I'm making jaboticaba liqueur, using fruit from my friend who grows it in Brisbane, and lilly pilly liqueur, using my own gorgeous lilly pillies.

Liqueurs are ready to sip much sooner than wine, and every bit as delicious.

We hope to ring in autumn with a glass of each.

Do you have a favourite homemade tipple?