After The Holiday

    The family were here by 11:30 on Friday and they soon started on the presents under the tree. James was rather disappointed with his gifts but the other two were quite thrilled. Of course they had already demolished the presents at home and were very excited to find they will be going to Disneyland in February - their main gift! I got a beautiful framed photo from their cruise which I will treasure and display prominently.

    Lunch was a success although everything could have been a bit hotter, but I will definitely do most of the cooking the day before next year, it was much less stressful. Judy brought a nice salad which was very welcome and Steve contributed some starters. We will save them for New Year's Day as there was already an overabundance of food. The highlight, as usual, was flambeeing the plum pudding, which everyone had with custard and also a mince pie. After coffee Steve played Monopoly with the kids while the rest of us cleared the table and stacked the dishwasher - Dave's job, he's the expert. Steve left Lucy dog with me as he was going up north, so after everyone left, we had a walk around the block before settling in for the night.

     Saturday was spent cleaning up - unloading the dishwasher (thank goodness for that!) getting rid of all the wrapping paper, making a pot of soup from the carcass and taking down some of the decorations. Lucy and I had a couple of good long walks but, unfortunately, she rolled in something stinky so was rather unpleasant to be around. Steve decided she would need a bath when they got home! He came for her around 9:00 p.m. and I settled in with TV and some chocolates as a reward for my festive duties.

   Today has been quite restful with only some light chores and lots of reading and napping. I still have plenty of leftovers although I put some soup and chicken in the freezer for another day. Tonight I am making a sort of pot pie with the stuffing as a crust on top of meat, vegetables and gravy. I had some leftover smoked salmon and shrimp for an appetizer but the wine is all gone!

    I made a ginger cake this afternoon - not to be confused with gingerbread, this is definitely cake like, done in a loaf pan. It smells delicious and I will have a well-buttered slice for dessert later!

Christmas Eve

    Everything went according to plan today and I was home with all the food by 10 a.m. I put the capon in the oven around 12:30 and it was ready by 4:00. While it was cooking I prepared the sweet potatoes and while it was resting I made the gravy. So now it is dissected and in the fridge ready to be warmed up tomorrow and the roasting pan cleaned. I had some pickings off the carcass for dinner tonight in an avocado and blue cheese salad - it was delicious and quite filling.

   It was another beautiful day - sunny and a high of 13C - but this is supposed to be the end of the mild weather. I did my long ( 4,000 steps) walk this morning before tackling the bird and felt better for it. I think I am all set for the company tomorrow - just few last minute chores in the morning before starting on the vegetables. Then steam the plum pudding and heat the custard and mince pies and we will be done!

Trying to Avoid the Chaos

    Only one trip to the mall today, to get some reading material before things close down for the holidays. Other than that I only was outside for half an hour for a walk around the block.

    I did a last few Christmas chores - tidying the basement, getting the outdoor lights working and decorating the planter by the front door. I also put a garland on the banister going upstairs. So, that's it!

   Tomorrow I plan on an early departure to pick up the last of the groceries and the capon before the grocery stores get too busy. I am going to cook much of the meal tomorrow and just heat it up on Friday. Cooking the whole meal while entertaining company is just too stressful!

Winter Solstice

     Today was the shortest day of the year but it was quite pleasant - mild and rainy in the morning, high of 11C and glimpses of sun this afternoon.

   Tennis with Hendrina, Swan and Lillian this morning. We played for about 1 1/2 hours with a couple of breaks and I wasn't as tired as last week. I stopped in at the liquor store and the library on the way home, had an early lunch and spent a couple of hours napping.  I have almost finished "Girl in the Spider Web" and am waiting for a couple of books that are in transit. Hope they arrive tomorrow or I will be out of reading material. I picked up the third season of "Game of Thrones" which will keep me busy for a week.

   I am still eating the spinach quiche I made on the weekend and had a slice for lunch with soup. Fish in a cheese sauce for dinner with garlic mashed potatoes and peas. Yogurt for dessert, all very yummy and I am well satisfied. I am trying to clear out the freezer before the end of the year and just have some chicken pieces and some sausages in there right now. What with leftovers from Christmas dinner (hopefully there will be some) that should keep me going until then.