Christmas Plum Pudding

    I have been in two minds whether to make a plum pudding or not this year, since it's unlikely that we will be celebrating as a family. However, I have been prevailed upon by the grandkids to keep up the tradition even though we won't be able to enjoy it together. 

   One of the main ingredients in most plum  pudding recipes is ground beef suet, giving it its distinctive flavour. However, that has been difficult to find recently and I went on a hunt for some last week - no luck! Fortunately one butcher cut me a chunk of beef fat but that posed another problem, how to process it into the fine ground suet I require. That took quite a bit of effort but, along with soaking the fruit in brandy, that was eventually accomplished. 

    Yesterday was "Pudding Day" and having everything ready beforehand made the job easy. It steamed for 3 hours, was allowed to cool then wrapped up well to "mature" for the next 5 weeks. Mission accomplished! I just hope it lives up to expectations despite the problem with the suet.

   On Christmas Day (or just before) I will send a good portion to the family and when they flambee it at their house, I will do the same with my portion and we can enjoy it together over Skype!

Two Gone, Three Still Here

    Lucy arrived safe and sound in Vancouver this morning and was so happy to see her mom (my DIL) there to take her to her new home in Victoria. I think it was quite an ordeal for her, not knowing what was going on, but she will soon forget once she has settled in. Thanks for all your kind thoughts and prayers.

   Now just the other guests to send on their way although it may be some time until they depart. I am quite happy to have the company as we head into another lockdown.

Blaze and Duffy waiting for their dad (my son) to get home from work.

A Final Departure

     If you have been following my blog you will know that I have had my Son and DIL staying with me for the last two months while they sell their house and get ready to move to Victoria B.C. 

   DIL left about a month ago to supervise some renovations on their new home. Their dog Lucy was supposed to go with her but the airline wasn't happy with the crate they had purchased and wouldn't allow her on the flight, so she has remained here. But today, finally she is to depart and will arrive in Vancouver tomorrow morning. There she will be reunited with DIL who will take her on the ferry to Victoria. I am praying she has an easy time of it as she is travelling alone. Son has to stay here until the house renovations are more or less complete and it is cat-proofed. She was not a very happy puppy when he left her at the airport!

Working Out

    Tuesday has been a tennis day since May but today I had to resort to the rowing machine for my daily exercise. I managed 20 minutes at low speed with a break in the middle but only used 92 calories. I may have to sytep things up in the future but "easy does it" for the present time.

   It is extremely cold today with a bitter wind from the North Pole. Only 4C and we are set for some negative numbers overnight and tomorrow. Luckily I found a new (to me) and very cozy winter coat at Value Village yesterday so it had its first outing today. I also found a couple of jigsaw puzzles as I am getting heartily fed up with my current selection.

I had a trip to the bulk food store to buy the makings for the Christmas Plum Pudding. The only thing I couldn't find was ready-to-use beef suet but the local butcher cut me a chunk which I will have to cut up and process myself. My oldest grandson declared it wouldn't be Christmas without setting the plum pudding ablaze!