Bought OH a jumper for his birthday - which he loves. Asked him what he'd like for Christmas - he looked down at his jumper and said, another one of these in a different colour. Well, the only other colour it comes in is a very pale grey (this one is rust). Which won't go with anything else. Just spent half an hour searching online for something similar - a close knit ribbed fisherman's type jumper and coming up short. Then it occurred to me - he has other similar jumpers in the wardrobe - was he just being lazy by saying the closest thing to him, ie the jumper he happened to have on!
We went to the C of E Christmas Fair in a village 10 minutes away. It was very bright and busy. OH bought an Asda Christmas pudding and I bought pressies for a couple of granddaughters and several packets of English Christmas cards at English prices, solved my card shortage problem. I bought 5 tickets at the bottle tombola and won 2 bottles of sparkling wine and 1 of rosé. We both guessed the weight of a cake. We had coffee, OH had 2 of the mince pies I'd made at the coffee stall. I was glad to see my spiced apple fruit cake was finished by the time we left. There were several people I knew there, from the gardeners' club, the walking club and church. Quite a lot of French people were there too.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
It was extremely cold and frosty this morning when I ventured out - very carefully! Not too bad underfoot though except for one large patch of pavement which always gets iced over. Was expecting a Yodel parcel delivery by 11 am but when I tracked it later, it has gone back to the depot as "we need to chat to you about your address" ??? We recently put up another house number plate which is more visible from the street so not sure why they couldn't find us. It was my Xmas presie from OH.
I refilled the birds' water bowl and put out a small quantity of dried mealworms - gone in 5 mins, blasted magpies took the lot! Plan no.2, mealworms underneath upturned hanging basket pegged to the ground. Any ideas for Plan no. 3?
Your festive fare sounds really yummy @Dovefromabove. I hadn't thought of making the pastry in advance so that's a good idea.
We didn't go the GC Xmas do after all, it was already -2.2 by 6.30 last night so far too cold for me. Enjoyed the GW programme instead in the warm and dry.
Thank you @coccinella for your kind comments. Yes, she's a healthy specimen!! I will relate your comments - still only 4.30am in Melbourne, so I'll probably talk to her this evening and relate yours and Dove's comments. Hope is always helpful in these circumstances - cancer is such a damning word.
Temperatures have dropped here - not as cold you are - but 2°C and being in the teeth of a howling northerly makes it feel colder.
Had a lovely lunch with a friend today - quite unexpected. Nice cosy restaurant - no frills - good conversation. We walked around the Foie au Gras - this is a Christmas market selling dressed poultry, foie gras and other local products such as honey, truffles, wines, salamis, olive oil ...... I bought some cep salt and trompettes de la mort salt in a gift pack as an offering for a relative in Switzerland who is putting on a dinner. I thought it was a different sort of offering rather than the proverbial bottle of wine. An an aside - I bought a little jar of cep salt for me - to sprinkle on my poached eggs, chicken or fish. The smell is divine - prefer that than truffles.
Time for a glass of red - just about. I think I have some anchovy stuffed olives somewhere - slim pickings tonight after such a lovely lunch!
We've had a big leaf clearing session this afternoon. OH had the mower which he can manage with one hand. He likes his crutch in the other one. I had the rake. The hazel, fig, Indian bean tree, lime and mulberry tree leaves are now in 2 big piles to rot down. We didn't do all of it at once though!
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
I hope the weather doesn’t scupper plans @punkdoc 😬
Living up to your name again @Busy-Lizzie - I hope you have a hearty supper planned.
Love a xmas market @tui34 - I’ve missed out so far this December as been unwell for 2 and a bit weeks. Perhaps I’ll find somewhere for next weekend. If not, I’ll have a baking day with niece perhaps. I have some festive cookie cutters that I’ve only used once or twice so I must make sure I have ingredients ready for gingerbread or spiced biscuits.
I have noticed that the bold magpies take the lion’s share of the bird food @Lizzie27. I sprinkled some food in a dish up in the Acer as the smaller birds tend to go there.
Posts
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
We went to the C of E Christmas Fair in a village 10 minutes away. It was very bright and busy. OH bought an Asda Christmas pudding and I bought pressies for a couple of granddaughters and several packets of English Christmas cards at English prices, solved my card shortage problem. I bought 5 tickets at the bottle tombola and won 2 bottles of sparkling wine and 1 of rosé. We both guessed the weight of a cake. We had coffee, OH had 2 of the mince pies I'd made at the coffee stall. I was glad to see my spiced apple fruit cake was finished by the time we left. There were several people I knew there, from the gardeners' club, the walking club and church. Quite a lot of French people were there too.
It was extremely cold and frosty this morning when I ventured out - very carefully!
Not too bad underfoot though except for one large patch of pavement which always gets iced over. Was expecting a Yodel parcel delivery by 11 am but when I tracked it later, it has gone back to the depot as "we need to chat to you about your address" ??? We recently put up another house number plate which is more visible from the street so not sure why they couldn't find us. It was my Xmas presie from OH.
I refilled the birds' water bowl and put out a small quantity of dried mealworms - gone in 5 mins, blasted magpies took the lot! Plan no.2, mealworms underneath upturned hanging basket pegged to the ground. Any ideas for Plan no. 3?
Your festive fare sounds really yummy @Dovefromabove. I hadn't thought of making the pastry in advance so that's a good idea.
Think you've got in one @didyw!
We didn't go the GC Xmas do after all, it was already -2.2 by 6.30 last night so far too cold for me. Enjoyed the GW programme instead in the warm and dry.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Temperatures have dropped here - not as cold you are - but 2°C and being in the teeth of a howling northerly makes it feel colder.
Had a lovely lunch with a friend today - quite unexpected. Nice cosy restaurant - no frills - good conversation. We walked around the Foie au Gras - this is a Christmas market selling dressed poultry, foie gras and other local products such as honey, truffles, wines, salamis, olive oil ...... I bought some cep salt and trompettes de la mort salt in a gift pack as an offering for a relative in Switzerland who is putting on a dinner. I thought it was a different sort of offering rather than the proverbial bottle of wine. An an aside - I bought a little jar of cep salt for me - to sprinkle on my poached eggs, chicken or fish. The smell is divine - prefer that than truffles.
Time for a glass of red - just about. I think I have some anchovy stuffed olives somewhere - slim pickings tonight after such a lovely lunch!
Enjoy your evening.
I hope the weather doesn’t scupper plans @punkdoc 😬
Living up to your name again @Busy-Lizzie - I hope you have a hearty supper planned.
Love a xmas market @tui34 - I’ve missed out so far this December as been unwell for 2 and a bit weeks. Perhaps I’ll find somewhere for next weekend. If not, I’ll have a baking day with niece perhaps. I have some festive cookie cutters that I’ve only used once or twice so I must make sure I have ingredients ready for gingerbread or spiced biscuits.