A SCRUBBERS LAMENT !

Finding myself in the usual new Years Eve limbo and being rather superstitious about beginning a new job at the end of an old year I bethought me that the oven could do with a good old after Christmas clean. To be truthful if should have been done before the holiday but I was constrained by lack time.

I assembled all the usual adjuncts to this less that welcome ask. Scourer, clothes, metal scourer, biological washing powder(this shifts burned on grease faster than any oven cleaner on the market) glass cleaner and drying cloths and working from top to bottom off I  went,

The filter on the extractor fan was most unsavoury and this I cleaned first while a coating of damp Biological powder did its stuff in the oven. At the same time the gas rind parts were soaking in a solution of the same gunk along with the wire racks and the grill pan.

As I scrubbed away I pondered the much improved lot of the modern woman compared to her counterpart of a hundred years ago. This was not a good idea as I am firmly of the opinion that the myriad gadgets which even tecnophobs like me possess enslave women rather than set them free.

For example. Suppose that you have a pot over and open fire on which to cook, primitive, yes but at least no on is going to expect you to produce cordon blue standard meals (as seen on TV)! I have heard people say that open fires are too much trouble and yet we spend endless hours cleaning an endless amount of gadgets which are supposed to make life easier.

I was given a nut and seed grinder, prior to acquiring this article a used to grind my seeds using a mortar and pestle which were easy to rinse clean afterwards, not so the grinder. This has numerous small parts some of which come off to clean, some of which do not. The cleaning process takes ages and endangers ones finger ends alarmingly. Failure to get out even the slightest trace of the previous item...let us say coffee will result in the strangest tasting ground almonds, walnuts, sesame seeds etc. I now use the mortar and pestle once more and occasionally dust the grinder!

Dishwashers are another bug bear. By the time you have scrapped off every trace of food , spent and age bent double carefully loading the machine and then unloading it I doubt if very much labour has actually been saved. Add to that the dreadful smelly and disgusting mess that these machines can get in to and I wonder that there are not more outbreaks of food poisoning. I once watched the sump of a dishwasher being emptied and the smell alone was sufficient to deter me from ever using one in my own home. Any odd bits of food are,after the washing and drying process welded so firmly on to the crockery or glass ware that it takes an age to soak it off.

Yes I have heard that one is expected to clean the machine out each time but who does? Do you? Nobody of my acquaintance cleans their dishwasher that often and if one did it would certainly take the gilt of the gingerbread of not having to wash up by hand.

By now I was scrubbing the metal shelves with wire wool to remove the burnt on grease,a poxy task to be sure, almost as bad as ironing........but not quite. With my mind still wandering I began to reassemble the now gleaming oven and hob and could not help wondering how long its pristine state would last? Only I expect until someone I shall not name names boils a pan of milk over and neglects to clean it properly,and now we arrive at the nub of the matter and the cause of this lament.

We women spend an inordinate amount of our lives cleaning up the mess made by others. We do this for the sake of a comfortable home and because we do not wish to be considered slatterns. We may very well detest house work ,never the less we carry out these tasks even if as is often the case these days we are engaged in full time employment.

Men often wax satirical about a woman’s attitude to house work but they do not understand why we can be so touchy about it so I will explain.

Since time immoral housework and cookery have been considered women’s work and even in the face if women’s lib this is still more often than not the case.
A woman who does house work,cleaning .ironing etc. is doomed to see her life’s work ruined every day of her life by the very people for whom she cares the most. No wonder she gets tetchy now and again.

Then there is the poor soul who keeps and impeccable house and works full or part time. This woman is not having it all.....she is doing it all and there is a vast difference. If a man helps with the washing up he expects to be praised and rewarded for his efforts after all he as worked all day. For a woman it is expected that she will deal with these tasks no questions asked and no rewards given.
Then there is the hardy soul who says “Sod it.” and lets the dust settle, after all the plaque in the kitchen,if you can find it bears the legend , "Only boring people have tidy houses”

She is hailed by some as the woman of the future and reviled by others as a slut neither of which is correct and yet when one sees n of ants is making off with everything in the kitchen cupboard and there is bright blue mould growing out of the dirty pots on the draining board one is obliged to wonder if Darwinism could possibly be at work

I fall into the category of the reluctant housewife , yes love cooking but I would love it even more if it did not make such a damned mess which have to clean up. I detest house work so much that I would prefer to spread manure over the garden by hand that do ironing or cleaning of any sort. I a n told that my home is lovely yet to me it always looks untidy ,a housekeepers life is hell if she is a perfectionist but there is consolation.

If my home was always tidy it would mean that there was no one around to make a mess, no Pa, no son, no visitors with dirty shoes or a dog in tow. I would rather have things as they are thank you and yet I wish I had a man’s ability to ignore dust, dirt and general untidiness , that would make life much easier I am sure.

And now it only remains for me to wish you Happy and Prosperous New Year, may all your dreams come true and may the dust never settle on your glass dinning table!

A CURE FOR DARK DECEMBER

After a succession of dark,dank and dismal days and the usual post Christmas blues I decided to cheer us all up with a week of fun and games,fireworks and food,a winter festival in fact.
As I mentioned before my son returned to work on Boxing Day which rather out a damper upon our celebrations in spite of all our efforts. His generous employers have given the workforce New years Eve off but as they have to work on New Years Day they will not really be in a position to enjoy the festivities whole heartedly.

On Monday morning my son begins his off week and I have plans. Of course On Monday,having been working all not he will be tired so the celebrations will begin in earnest on Tuesday with a feast of roast duck with all the trimmings followed by a rich chocolate pudding. Also on Tuesday we shall begin a games marathon to decide who is the best at such things as card games.,dominoes, chess, ludo and pother childish pursuits.

On Wednesday there will be waffles for breakfast with hot strawberry sauce followed by an day with the scalextric set. We each have our own car and the set is very extensive as we have added to it over the years. My son who like me refuses to grow up loves games as much as he did when a child and come to think of it Pa too is fond of most games.
This will be followed by a dinner of home made pizza followed by iced cream with fudge sauce.

On Thursday the Christmas decorations have to come down so I have planned a few fun distractions such as mulled cider and hot cookies. Although dinner has yet to be decided on Afterwards I have a firework display planned. We have two huge boxes of Fireworks left over from a party and these will make a great display to which I shall invite our neighbours, Hot dogs will be served and hot mince pies. If that lot does not rid us of the winter blues I shall be very surprised.

While Friday Is always a cleaning day I have arraigned a favourite dinner for the boys with a film to follow.
Saturday is a gaming day for my son and I shall spend the day baking treats for the following week

Sunday is the finale , a party for my sons Dungeons and dragons group with lots of home made hooch and plenty of good things to eat.

I shall not have time to feel blue while preparing that little lot and I hope that by Sunday not every one will be feeling much better.

For myself I am full of hope for the New Year, I shall be back in my garden again before long and today while on a trip to the hospital I found a small tree smothered in golden catkins,it made my day. It is strange how so small a thing can produce so much joy and how glad I am that so many of these delights are to be found in my small corner of the world.

THE CALL OF THE KITCHEN

Having done very little baking for a week of so, with the exception of course of bread making I fell the urge to get back to the kitchen and do a little baking. I confess that during the week before the holiday there were a few times when I thought that if I saw a baking sheet next March it would be too soon....I did not last a week!

I decided on a large batch of chocolate chunk cookies for today as these have proved on of the most popular of late and as the cookie jars were all empty I baked a round five dozen of these delectable little biscuits.

Pa had popped out to the shops and I had the warm kitchen all to myself, outside it was cold and grey yet there was plenty of life and movement there. In the front garden Twiggy was casing the dead leaves as they blew about in the wind,occasionally turning somersaults and then hiding from imaginary enemies before pouncing wildly upon nothing at all.

I am lucky to have three windows in the kitchen through which I get a great view of the bird garden and the kitchen garden,today there was plenty to see. Hanging upon the wall near one of the windows is a tray filled with bird food, today while I watched it was favoured by Willow Tits, Great Tits and Blue Tits with the odd robin and the occasional Nuthatch. Starlings squabbled with Parakeets of the fat feeders and My Lord and Lady Blackbird visited the table feeder in great state. Wood pigeons grazed upon Ivy berries while the wren blew in and out of the garden like one of the leaves which the cat was chasing earlier.

I was glad that she had confined her play hunting to the front garden as many of these small birds would stand no chance if she took up hunting in earnest.

By this time the kitchen smelled deliciously of hot chocolate as the batches of cookies were removed tray by tray from the oven and set to cool and being rather partial to warm cookies I ate a couple with my coffee,diet be blowed! I used to be far too thin but those days are I think gone for ever, still at my age aim entitled to middle aged spread and no spoil sport dietitian is going to rob me of it. We spend far too much time worrying about the state of our health and while I do not advise an orgy of gluttony I see no point in making ones life a misery with this or that diet, living is what kills us so we might just as well live it up while we can.

I look at it this way, I am fifty eight, riddled with arthritis and have dodgy kidneys, I have no wish to end my days dependent and stuck in a wheel chair or worse,in bed! Two years of being house bound taught me that much. Niether do I intend to end up at a great age with altzhiemers, I have nursed two relatives with that diabolical disease and have to tell you that should I become afflicted I shall certainly bail out long before I become a burden to my son or any one else for that matter. In the words of Henry Hobson “Life has to be worth living before I'll live it.”

Enough of this gloomy topic and back to the kitchen. Once the cookies were done I made some beef burgers for dinner and this is what I did.
BEEF BURGERS
1lb steak mince
4 oz fresh bread crumbs
2 oz sun-dried tomatoes chopped
1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary chopped
1 teaspoon of fresh thyme chopped
I small onion chopped very fine
salt and pepper
I teaspoon Dijon mustard
6 small squares of cheddar cheese about half an inch square
Mix every thing except the cheese in a bowl and then divide in to six small or four large burgers. While shaping push a piece of cheese in to each one and then form the burger making sure that they are flat on both sides
Cook in a little oil on a griddle or in a frying pan. They can be grilled but I find that the become rather too crusty for my taste. The will need between five and eight minutes each side depending upon which size you make

Serve on toasted buns with caramelised onion rings and a salad.
This mixture makes very good meat balls if you leave out the cheese.

Pa returned from the shops feeling chilled so I made some hot coffee and added a dash of Rum, it worked wonders. Yesterday I tackled the ironing although I forbore to mention it as I am sure that I bang on far too much about how I hate the job. Today I feel very virtuous on both counts.

Today I checked on the winter and spring cabbages which I have grown this year under a mesh tunnel to prevent the wood pigeons for grazing them down to the ground, unfortunately the mild weather and the extra warmth provided by the tunnel has meant that slugs still abound in the kitchen garden and are still taking liberties with the cabbages. Tomorrow I shall hoe the up and throw in some sawdust. Slugs hate the stuff and with luck the cabbages will recover in a few weeks time.

Having spent yesterdays blog preaching tolerance for the Grey Squirrel I feel bound to confess that I can find not reason why slugs should exist at all, I hate, loath and despise the blasted things and the only reason I do not slaughter them whole sale is that such action would also kill the snails of which I am fond, so you see In the end I too have feet of clay!

SUIRRELS, LOVE 'EM OR HATE 'EM.

At this time of year,indeed at almost any time of year our feeding stations are visited by Grey Squirrel and yes they do eat quite a lot of the food we put out for the birds. This fact however does not move me to wage war upon these undeniably cute and extremely entertaining creature, after all who am I to decide who eats and who starves?

I spend a great deal of my time in the kitchen and the antics of these talented performers can keep me amused for hours and I know a number of elderly people who treat them as friends and look forward to being entertained by them each day.
To be scrupulously honest I also know one elderly lady who shoots them from her kitchen window to the detriment of her bird table and her son has to buy her a new on every Christmas.
I should also say that she is a rotten shot and has never managed to hit a single squirrel, to her continuing chagrin!

What ever your persuasion I hope that you will agree that the trapping and killing of these animals in public areas should not be allowed. It is often carried out in a most inhumane way by people who gain pleasure from the suffering they cause.
There are gardens in our area who's policy of destroying squirrels has been so successful that there are now none to be seen there, Traps have been found in the past with horribly maimed animals inside, still alive and suffering.

You may be surprised that those who run this garden profess an interest in biodiversity and yet these same managers have systematically removed Ivy , low growing shrubs and a good deal of other habitat in the pursuit of the “Municipal Park” look which is so much cheaper and easier to maintain. One man sits on a mower for a few hours a week...job done.

I have heard it said that squirrel damage trees, well so does the Local Authority yet no one is suggesting that they be hunted and destroyed........but that another story.

Back to the Grey Squirrels, while it may well be true to say that they are in part responsible for the disappearance of the native Red Squirrel that is by no means the whole story.
Red Squirrels are by nature far more retiring than their Grey cousins and are far less able to adapt to the environmental changes which have been bough about in the past couple of centuries by.....us...people like you and me!

Red Squirrels need deciduous woodland and lots off it, guess who's been cutting it down to build towns, cities, roads etc? Red Squirrels need to be able to move freely between these forests, Guess who has caused the ancient woodlands to become small isolated islands in a sea of urbanisation? Wee it was n,t the Grey Squirrels that much is certain.

To blame the Greys for what we have done adds insult to injury and if we persist in our vendetta against them we are likely to end up with no Squirrels at all.

Of course every one has their preference but surely to profess a caring attitude to one species while exterminating another cannot be right. Here we feed the birds and the squirrels and have always done so because that is what we like to do.

I have at the moment a squirrel which has had its tail cut off and its ears removed,this mindless cruelty must stop.

I do not ask that you love the little perishers but have another look,they really are irrisistably cute and a few peanuts is a small price to pay for such acrobatic antics, life would be very dull without them.

THE STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF TWIGGY

One

of my Christmas gifts from Pa was a lovely faux fur jacket,very light an warm and perfect for wearing when I am on the buggy. Ever since I unwrapped it on Christmas Day my little cat has not been herself and with all the bustle I had not realised that the coat was the problem...............until this morning.

I had to go out to pick up some potatoes and a swede and I decided to wear the new coat, I laid out my clothes upon the bed and went to do my hair. It was the growling and hissing from the bedroom which alerted me to the problem and when entered the room there was Twiggy having at my jacket with teeth and claws and howling like a banshee in to the bargain.

Of course the bed is hers and the fur jacket she considered in the light of an interloper, I brushed it down ,hung it on the wardrobe door and returned to the bathroom to finish doing my hair. More growling ,more spitting and the worst kind of cat swearing I ever hear. I hurried back to find madam hanging from the jacket, her claws firmly embedded in the fur, my she did look fierce .

I shooed her out of the bedroom, a foolish mistake as she now felt that I had ousted her from her place in favour of the despised coat. She prowled about on the landing still swearing horribly and as I emerged from the bedroom wearing the garment she attacked again with vigour and I was forced to retreat at once.

Having at last distracted her I managed to get out of the house and went to do my shopping,on my return she was waiting in the bedroom fizzing like a firework. Still wearing the jacket I quickly grabbed the cat and gave her a cuddle,this was not easy as she wriggled like and eel but at last she subsided a little and I put her down on the bed, took off the jacket and laid it beside her.

I expected more trouble but after walking all over the coat and sniffing every inch of it she sat down on it and I have been unable to dislodge her since, The ways of cats are passing strange!

BUSY DOING NOTHING

Although I have often heard it said that Boxing Day is an anti climax I have always found the calm of boxing day decidedly pleasant. The bustle of preparing for the big day is over, the main cooking event of the year has been accomplished so the cook is off the hook,altogether a much more relaxing day.

This year unfortunately my son must return to work tonight, the price he pays for working in the news business and so for us, for now Christmas is over...but not for long. We shall begin again in a weeks time when my son is once again at home for the week. As he must work tonight my son was left to wake in his own time and so we had a rather late breakfast of sausages and scrambled eggs on hot buttered toast and very good it was too.

Realising that I had been indoors all day yesterday I took the buggy out for a spin along the river,the tide was exceptionally high and still coming in fast. On the slipway a swan obviously not at all well was surrounded by a group of people, we decided to call the RSPB and they agreed to come out to collect the poor thing. One kind soul undertook to stay with the bird until they arrived as not only was the tide getting rapidly nearer but a large dog fox had I was told been seen taking an interest .

There was a public house handy and they too took an interest as being on the river they were used to these kind of occurrences. I headed for home having stayed out rather longer than I intended.

Having to work on Boxing day is bad enough but when there are no tube trains it can be well nigh impossible to get there. Fortunately a friend fro work came to collect my son and one or two other stranded workers, This meant that we had to have a very early dinner as my son had to leave home over two hours early. This caused no difficulty what-so -ever as we we
had planned top have a meal of cold ham , turkey and salad and every thing went well.
It also meant that I met at last one of my sons friends from work and swap hugs.

It seems a shame that our much longed for and long planned holiday has to end so soon but of course my son will have next week off and we plan to enjoy lots of games and more special meals. In the mean time I am enjoying a break from all the cooking and a little peace and quiet,a commodity which is rather scarce I find. I have Lots of new DVDs to watch as the Television programmes are up to their usual appalling standard at Christmas.

I have loved every minute of the holidays and the preparations too, only a few short weeks ago it looked as if I would be to ill to be much use and I feel very lucky to have made such a good recovery. I shall be back in the kitchen tomorrow I have no doubt but for tonight I shall relax, eat chocolates and enjoy being lazy for once, starting right now!

CHRISTMAS IN OUR VILLAGE

Even without any snow or even a little frost our village looked very pretty this morning. I looked out over the garden and across the lane,not one single jogger,cyclist or dog walker was to be seen but there was plenty going on. In the front garden an orderly queue of blue tits had formed upon a low branch above the bird bath and these polite little birds took turns to bathe in spite of the chilly morning air.

Our tame robin darted from one large rosemary bush to another shouting a warning as it spotted the cat Diamonds stalking beside the hedge, on the fence the hen blackbird, resplendent in her sables watched as the male rummaged for worms in the dormant flower borders. So much life and all oblivious to the significance of the day.

I snuggled back in bed for and hour remembering all the times when as a child my son would get up at four on Christmas day bursting with excitement and longing to open his presents. Pa and I would be exhausted by lunch time but it was worth everything to watch our beautiful child filled with the excitement of Christmas.

Soon the bell-ringers began their Christmas peal so long rehearsed and of course perfect on the day. The lane began to fill with people heading to the church and my son awoke sleepy and heaping calumnies upon the heads of the campanologists. We had coffee together and watched “Wind In the Willows” the film this time. I love it so much especially the part where Mole is homesick and he and Ratty go in search of Mole End. Years ago when I first lived away from home I was quite unable to read this part of my favourite book for fear of the floods of tears that my own acute homesickness would produce. I longed for home so much that it took the form of actual physical pain and I understood Moles dilemma completely.

I vividly remember being totally overcome while listening to a friend rehearsing his audition piece. It was Shakespeare’s “How Like a Winter Hath Mine Absence Been ,recited to the strains of Dvorák’s New World Symphony. I was never so miserable in the whole of my life.

Now safe with my own family it all seems a long time ago and yet even now I still miss my childhood home at Christmas the smell of wood smoke from the great fire in the parlour lit in honour of the day and of course my Father and Grand parents long since gone.

I baked our bread and some for our neighbours and then we opened our gifts ,lovely gifts some unexpected, some eagerly anticipated,all welcome. We hugged a lot, laughed a lot and even cried a little. Even Twiggy was not forgotten and received two large tins on Kookamonga, an extremely potent form of cat nip!

After breakfast we cleared the kitchen table and played games of cards and Ludo, ate too much chocolate and drank home made liqueurs,then each of us spent an hour in their own room finding homes for our new acquisitions. I have a new throw for my bed of the softest shiniest faux fur which will keep me snug all winter long. I was given some lovely scarves and some very pretty jewellery, Pa had lots of railway books, DVDs and railway bits and pieces and our son the usual mass of books,computer games and some new togs.

All after noon the lane was busy with children trying out their new bicycles, scooters,skate boards and roller-skates. Tiny little girls proudly pushed tiny little prams while small boys ambushed each other with what appeared to be some kind of guns. There was even a young man flying a model helicopter in the park, I should have loved to have had a go.

As darkness fell we sat down to our Christmas dinner of cold ham,turkey, assorted cheeses, fresh bread,pate and toast, pork pie and salad. It was an occasion to open the home made chutneys and the fruit jellies which are such a wonderful accompaniment to cold meats.
We broached the Christmas cake and pulled crackers and I was jolly glad not to have any cooking to do for a change. .

The lane is dark now, just a low light from the street lamps, few cars and fewer people.
The darkness of midwinter has settled like a cloak over the field and trees,until only small specks of light showed where there are people just like ourselves enjoying their Christmas day.

I thank my Gods for another Christmas with us all together and I pray that nothing changes in the coming year.
I hope that you have had a Merry Christmas, in whatever way you celebrate it and if you are away from those you love I hope that another year will bring you back to them or they to you.

My love to all. X

OUR CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER

After wrestling with an eighteen pound ham yesterday cooking a ten pound turkey for our Christmas eve feast was e breeze. Wed had a good breakfast of porridge to start the day and the everyone pitched in to help prepare the feast.

The turkey, a free range bronze had with it some lovely giblets which went in to a pot at once with an onion ,a stick of celery, a carrot, a small bay leaf, a dozen peppercorns and some salt. While these simmered away I pushed herb butter under the turkey skin and the barded the whole bird with good streaky bacon then I poured a pint of water in to the roasting tray and sealed up the bird in a foil jacket.

Stuffing balls had been requested and so I made some apricot, walnut and sausage meat ones and some pork with onion and herbs and having rolled them in a little flour I set them aside to be cooked later. We were to have the usual sprouts sprinkled with toasted pine nuts and baby carrots, garden peas and I added some sweet corn cobs because I like them. Roast potatoes and piped potato stars would complete the meal with a thyme,apple and lemon sauce, all very simple to do.

Wondering if perhaps after all that Christmas pudding might just be surplus to requirements I had some individual sized ones handy to microwave if needed but in the end we all preferred iced cream with hot chocolate sauce and a sprinkling of chopped nuts. These days none of us drink wine with our meals and so another flagon of cider adorned the table.

Out cat Twiggy, who adores turkey was beside herself with excitement all day from the moment I put the giblets onto boil until the turkey was on the table when at last she was helped to a cat sized portion. She had an agonising wait while the meat cooled a little and then she made very short work of her Christmas dinner coming back for seconds and thirds. Some years ago we had a beautiful tabby cat named Thomas who was both bold and intelligent He always had a place set at the table and presided in state over many a meal daintily taking small morsels from his plate with his paw.. His table manners were impeccable and he never, ever climbed on to the table of helped himself, if he wanted more he would ask with a polite mew. Thomas believed that he was human and at times so did we!

Shortly before dinner I watched as I have these past few nights the sun set,the sky was dove grey and pale apricot making more beautiful than ever the delicate tracery of winter lime branches charcol smudged against the last light of this Christmas eve.

We pulled crackers and groaned at the awful jokes,wore the silly hats and shared out the gifts that were inside. My son had a dice I a hair band and Pa a bottle opener and then....................the washing up. As soon as I have posted this blog we shall watch a film together, a very silly Sci Fi and if it turns out to be as bad as the last one we watched together there will be even louder groans than the Crackers provided.

Good night, and a Happy Christmas Morning to every one. X

HAMMING IT UP

Once again we all overslept this morning and as I had a rather large ham to cook I made a quick coffee and then went to work on the ham. The butcher had sent me a wonderful perfect diamond shaped whole ham with which I was delighted, I was less delighted when I discovered that he had neglected to tell me how much the blessed thing weighed!

Everyone knows that a ham should be cooked for 20-30 minutes per pound but this information is useless if the weight of the joint is not know. Then I had a brilliant idea, I could weigh it on my sons luggage scale my kitchen scales being useless for the task. Much searching later and I had to abandon the idea as time was pressing.

Another brainwave save the day and I popped round to see my neighbour to borrow a meat thermometer so that even if I had no idea how long the meat would take to cook I should at least know when it was cooked....does that make sense?b Being now reasonably happy with the situation I made a belated breakfast of pancakes with lemon and sugar which we all enjoyed mightily.

By the time we had finished breakfast the delectable smell of roasting ham was beginning to scent the kitchen and during the afternoon it wreathed its way upstairs and our poor little cat was so tantalised by the hams rich aroma that haunted the kitchen like and anxious little ghost throughout the entire cooking process! The ham was to be served OT for dinner with glazed root vegetables, garden peas, duchess potatoes onion sauce ans bakes sit crusty dumplings and gravy and I spent an hour or so preparing these adjuncts to the meal.

From time to time someone would drop in with a card or a gift and oddly for et time of year empty jam jars. This is the second large batch of these items I have received since yesterday and although I shall have no use for them for months I know from experience that I shall be glad of them in the summer. It seems that no matter how many jars I have a the beginning of the jam making season I always run out of them well before the end.

I have thought to have a trip on the buggy today but the rain looked uninviting even for me and I decided against it. Instead I washed my hair and made a list of the things I have to do tomorrow, for it is on Christmas eve that we always eat our \Christmas dinner, yes I know that sounds odd but there is a good reason for this.

When my son was small it seemed silly to spend the whole day coking a huge meal and miss out on all the fun of playing with my baby and so at that time we decided that on Christmas eve we should have our Christmas dinner and on \Christmas day cold meats and cheeses, pork pie and pate. This has remained a family tradition and the only cooking I do on Christmas day is the baking of fresh loaves and soft rolls r=for the cold meats feast. This also means that there is always plenty for any stray guests who arrive and over the years we have had a few odd ones.

A few years ago a young couple were having a walk in the lane when the young woman went in to labour. We took them in of course and called for an ambulance which took for ever to arrive and I truly thought that I might have to deliver the child myself. The poor husband bless his heart was frantic with worry and then he remembered that they were supposed to be at her parents house for Christmas lunch so we telephoned them and they arrived well before the ambulance witch had got lost in the country lanes. The labour pains stopped and it was considered to have been a false alarm.

We shared our Christmas dinner that year with these unexpected guests in the form of sandwiches all round and as the pains had stopped even the young lady managed to eat a little.
The labour pains had begun again by the time the tardy ambulance arrived so they couple left in the ambulance with the parents following behind. The child was born eighth hour later, a girl, it was sweet of them to let us know and it certainly made for a different kind of Christmas.

Back to the ham which did eventually cook and judging by the amount of time it took I should say that the weight of the joint was around the 18lb mark,it was juicy and delicious having been rift skinned and then given a mustard and maple glaze followed by a crusting of brown sugar. The skin would by the foxes portion of the feast so no one was forgotten.

As this was one of our special meals we had crackers and candle light and we drank a flagon of pear cider with the meal which was followed by chocolate pudding with fresh cream .
After that we had no room for cheeses and so we ended the meal with a home made orange rum liqueur before tackling the dishes.........their is always a fly in the ointment. Still together we soon finished and decided that we would have a quite evening watching a film as we were all too stuffed to move.

I enjoy the challenge of cooking at Christmas and I am looking forward to cooking the turkey tomorrow and I hope that by then every one it hungry again.

PLAYING TRUANT

Some days are special, some days linger in the memory for ever standing out like beads of gold thread amongst dull stones. Today has been one of those.

It began in an ordinary way with coffee and an episode of “Wind In The Willows” watched by my son and I while Pa had a lie in. We breakfasted on hot fruited piklets with maple syrup and cream and during our meal our Bronze turkey arrived along with the giant ham ordered for Christmas weeks ago. This caused much excitement and even the delivery man stayed to watch us open the box, he is a familiar face and we made sure he took some home made chutney before he left.

The ham is huge and visions of all the lovely meals that this will make after being served hot tomorrow and cold on Christmas day whirled around in my head,along with the question of what the heck I was going to boil it in. I put it to soak at once to remove any excess salt and left the problem of cooking it until tomorrow.....laid back or what?

We had decoded upon a very simple meal for tonight as tomorrow the feasting begins and so I prepared some soufflés , the twice baked sort which I would finish later and serve with salad, soda bread and apricot sauce. This done I had intended to do some ironing …....the sun shone, the sky was blue and I realised how little time I had spent out of doors during the past week of two and that as they say was that.

I dressed warmly, grabbed ,my camera and drove off quickly before my conscience had time to smite me, I drove into the park and went all around the lake and in and out of the many small pathways, I have not visited this spot for almost ten years. The sun was low but bright and slanted golden beams across the lake and between the trees gilding the grass and turning the dead beech leaves to a glorious coppery red, the beauty of it all took my breath away.

Here and there coots, moor hens, swans and geese went about there business and in a twisted old yew tree a sleepy Tawny owl leaned against the tree trunk waiting for night fall and a chance to hunt unmolested. As the sun began to set it became very chilly and I made my way towards the light and warmth of the garden centre to pick up some last minute bits and pieces and to say Merry Christmas to all my friends there.

I trundled home down the long drive and all the way I could see our little cottage snuggled in amongst the trees and bathing in the glow of a glorious sun set. It seemed to radiate happiness and peace and I felt glad right through to my heart that I was going home to this lovely cosy place.

No one minded that I had played truant for a few hours, in fact my good son had done the hoovering by the time I returned and Pa had steam cleaned the kitchen floor and then it was almost time for dinner .

It was a lovely meal and after the fresh air I was more hungry than I have felt in days so I really did tuck in to the soufflé and the iced cream and hot fudge sauce with followed.
At this time of year darkness falls quickly and yet for me the lack of daylight is made up for by the glow of lamps and candles which at this time of the year we always use, as we celebrate the winter solstice by bringing light in to the darkness both inside and outside of the house.

Now with the days work done and the prospect of a cosy night at home I feel that at this moment I have never been happier, I have my family about me, a snug and cosy little home and everything I need to make life sweet. With all my heart I wish such contentment for you all for tonight and for always.

LOTS AND LOTS OF VISITORS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF LAUGHS

I had thought that today might be a little quieter than of late and so I decided to bite the bullet and make the two chocolate logs. This annual nerve racking business is bad enough when I am making only one cake,today I had two to do. It was far too early to fortify myself with a stiff drink and so I made do with some strong coffee,gritted my teeth and off I went.

Both cakes passed through the sabayon stage without incident and both cooked perfectly. Then came the turning out and the rolling in sugared greased proof paper, both were soon safely rolled and cooling nicely but by now I was a total wreck!

Having made enough butter cream icing to Ice a thousand cup cakes and finding myself covered in powdered icing sugar I decided to go out for a change of air, to blow away the sugar and to deliver the last few Christmas cards to friends. On my way around the village I met a very good friend working on her allotment and asked her round for hot chocolate when she had finished. This done I delivered the cards and returned to the fray much refreshed.

Almost as soon as I arrived home a fried called and I was able to give her the bottle of lemon vodka which I had made especially for her. She has been very kind to us and often helps us to get the rubbish bags to the front of the house, a kindness which we appreciate very much .

Decorating the chocolate logs I in one way the easiest part of the job but oh boy is it messy?
Soon both I and the kitchen were besmirched with the blasted stuff and I knew that I should be cleaning it up long after the cakes were finished, and just as I had finished my friend arrived and it was hot chocolate all round topped with pink and white marsh mallows. We laughter d and talked and my son who is now a fully fledged member of our conservation group displayed the new blog site he has set up for our organisation ,complete with twitter.

Our friend was putting on er boots when there was a tapping on the window , one of our neighbours from further down the lane. I had not seen her for some time as she has been out of the country and I was pleased to see haw well and happy she looked as she has been unwell for some time. She is both young and pretty and is a very talented artist, I have watched her grow from a shy little girl into a lovely and gifted young woman.

While she sampled a little of our home made raspberry vodka I packed the usual hamper of goodies , jams, chutneys and so on , this has become a tradition as she and her family spend Christmas with relatives in the north of England. She had brought for us a wonderful gift. A large bottle of olive oil from pressed from olives grown by their family in Italy. It is wonderful stuff and it is impossible to purchase oil of such fine quality.

She also gave to me a small painting which she had done recently. It as been about a year since I saw any of her work, this latest painting showed how she had grown as an artist and it made me very happy. She used to be unsure of herself, a problem common in artists, but as my own training was originally in Fine Arts I could see in the beginning that she had a rare talent. It is wonderful now to see how accomplished she has become,yet hers is a talent that will continue to grow and one day that young lady will make her mark upon the world in no uncertain terms I am sure.

After she left we realised that we were all starving and that we were very late with our evening meal so I began to griddle some panchetta and eggs and to grill the oat cakes and fry the tomatoes. Half way through this another neighbour arrived to pick up some mail tat had been left with us and also to collect the other chocolate log so recently completed. I turned down the heat and asked him it he would like to stay and eat with us which he often does. This time though he had a meal waiting at home ans so having accepted a breakfast invitation he set of with his cake and his parcels in to to dark drizzly night.

We sat down to our meal with a sigh of relief and for a while we were so busy eating that no one spoke, and then we all began to talk at once which made us laugh.

This bout of baking completes my Christmas cake making and I shall give the kitchen a thorough scrub tomorrow in readiness for the cooking of the turkey and the other Christmas meats.

I think now that a bath would be a good idea and then with luck an early night. The house has been a happy place today full of friendship and laughter, light and warmth, almost as if the spirit of Christmas had arrived as a guest too, I know that I shall remember today always and fondly as one of the nicest days ever. In fact this whole week has been a joy, something to shine out in the memory for always.

A VISITOR AND AN UNENEXPECTED GIFT

We were all very sleepy this morning and not one of us felt at all like getting up but with a grocery delivery due and a hospital appointment for Pa it was a case of needs must.
Our breakfast of cheesy oatcakes was lovely and very filling, the first breakfast of the holidays is always fun and tidy was no exception. With the whole of the holiday stretching out before us we cracked jokes and giggled and inevitably chivvied Pa along as he was inclined to dawdle over getting up.

After Pa had gone I did the p[reparation for tonight’s dinner, roast pork with roasted vegetables jacket wedges with tarragon dip and garlic sauce. A knock at the door announced a visitor and my son let him in , he had brought with him a beautiful table centre of poinsettia, ivy, and planted in a basket and all tied with a big red bow, a present he told me and a thank you for the cake I made for his birthday.

I was surprised and delighted,it looked so lovely in the centre of the kitchen table and it solved a problem for me. You see each year a few days before Christmas day I go in to the woods and collect a little holly to make our table centre and to decorate the kitchen. This year I knew that for the first time I should be unable to do this as at the moment I am having difficulty walking even on a flat surface so the uneven log strewn woodland floor would be dangerous for me. Truth to tell I had been a little sad about this, I know that of course my son would go out and collect some holly if I asked but you see ever since I was a tiny child this has been my job, and one that I have always loved.

I adore the fresh cold air, the smell of damp earth and toadstools, the blackbirds scolding as I disturb their holly feast and above all the feeling of kinship with all the people who have over the centuries collected holly to decorate their homes at Christmas. Some how the arrival of the flower basket and the goodwill with which it was given cheered me and as we drank our coffee I thought how lucky we are to have such kind friends.

Later I did go out and took some photographs of holly and ivy for my blog, thanks to a good zoom I got some descent pictures and my enjoyment of the fresh air was as great as ever. Life has its compensations to be sure.

Dinner went well and we finished the meal with iced cream and some of the raspberry sauce I made yesterday with our own raspberries from the freezer and white chocolate flakes. A glass of home made cherry brandy finished the meal with a flourish.

The cat Twiggy is enjoying the holiday, she loves to have us all at home as that means there are more people to stroke, feed and generally wait upon her every whim. My Lady feasted on pork this evening after which she washed her pretty whiskers and then went to sleep under the Christmas tree on a pile of presents. If there is one thing that cat knows it is how to look cute!

We all want an early night as for some reason we seem to be extremely tired but this is no problem. Tomorrow the fun begins again and I hope that we shall have time to get out the Scalextric set my son and I brought a couple of years ago, he like me refuses to grow up and good for him. He spends a lot of his time having to be serious so at home anything goes, and why not?

Now its off to bed for me and the cat who will not be happy until she has warmed her chilly little paws on my nice warm skin...there is nothing like being made a convenience of after all!

THE HOLIDAY BEGINS AT LAST

Pa and I had breakfasted by the time,e my son arrived home this morning after his party. We had a guest to breakfast and so it turned in to another small party. I was happy to hear that last not went well and apart from a regrettable incident with the taxi things went without a hitch. I did receive a garbled and angry call from the cab controller who informed me that he would see to it that we should never have a cab from them again. Fortunately I am friendly with the owner and I emailed him to find out what was going on.

I had to pop out this morning to deliver a loaf,a cake and some cookies and to collect a special balloon for my son without which Christmas cannot begin. It rained hard and I got soaked but it was worth it . I was give another gift today. The lady for whom I bake bread presented by with a butterfly house, a most beautiful one with a copper roof. This will provide a place for both over wintering butterflies such as the Brimstone and also the pupae of butterflies which hatch in the spring since a part of our conservation group effort is to release hundreds of butterflies and moths each year this will come in handy and will help the cause .

I baked a special ginger cake this morning for a young friend, it is an iced ginger square decorated with silver and pink balls, this will be collected on Friday when we shall be having another breakfast party.

I iced two Christmas cakes during the afternoon, one with royal icing and the other with marzipan set full of nuts and glacé cherries. The kitchen was warm and cosy while out side the rain pattered against the window pains adding to the general snug feeling.
I love this time of year so much, everything sparkles, people are happy and the house smells of spices and roasting meat, this later is driving puss to distraction and she is refusing all her usual favourite cat foods in favour of the savoury treats she prefers. Who can blame her?

For dinner I melted some boxed Camembert and served them with new bread, apricot sauce and tomato sauce, very simple and very tasty on a clod winters night. There are so many types of cake and biscuit in the house at the moment that afters takes cared of itself, Pa favours mine pies with fresh cream. My son loves chocolate cookies and I like shortbread, I observe that the mince pie tin is almost empty, tomorrow I shall bake another batch.

I received a call from the owner of the cab company who almost messed up my sons evening by getting hopelessly lost and then telling the night controller that my son had been very drunk and had run away without paying. Fortunately I have know the owner of the company for years and he was very upset at what had happened and well he might as we use the cabs three of four times a week to take Pa and I to various hospitals in the capital and my son and his friends always use them. I accepted the apology but I have to say that it will be difficult to trust them again after this.

I cannot believe that the holidays are here at last, the boys have asked for roast pork tomorrow and a breakfast of cheese oatcakes,I shall of course oblige, if the weather is as bad as today it will make a perfect meal with roast vegetables and jacket wedges and dips.

I have been given a set of reindeer antlers with bells on to ware on my head, I am wearing them now and I do so wish that you could see the cats expression, I believe she thinks that I have lost my marbles......she could be right!

A CHRISTMAS PARTY

I am feeling very very Christmassy today,I had carols playing in the kitchen as I put the finishing touches to a Christmas party for some very special people. My son is lucky enough to work with the nicest, kindest and most hard working group of people that you could wish to find and he counts each of them as a friend rather than a colleague.
Speaking for myself I love each and every one of then for although we have never met my son speaks so highly of them all that I feel I do know them. There constant hard work often under very difficult circumstance makes my sons live much easier that it would otherwise be and I love them for that too.

This morning it seemed as if Father Christmas had come early for when I awoke there was a bag of lovely gifts and the most beautiful Christmas card waiting for me at my bedside, an all sent sent by my sons friends at work. I must admit to a tear of two for the gifts were so beautiful and exactly the sort of thing I love, and the many names on the card and the kind sentiments meant a great deal to me.

I have loved planning their party and enjoyed the baking too, for me it would not be Christmas without the fun this gives me and of course we eat some of the goodies too , Pa has has a great time this week trying this and that to make sure it passes muster. There was only one disaster this year and that was the millionaires shortbread, I used chocolate digestives for the base and I think that this may have caused to base to be rather too crumbly. I shall try again next year,if not sooner.

Pa treated us to fish and chips tonight which was a real treat for me and I really tucked in and enjoyed myself.
Tonight after I have bathed in my lovely new lavender bubble bath Pa and I shall drink our special hot chocolate from our lovely new mugs before turning in for the night, I might even pop a marshmallow in and be really decadent.

Tomorrow my son begins his week off and we are all looking forward very much to a few lazy mornings, late not card games and special Christmas meals. As a family were are all potty about Christmas and enjoy every part of the holiday. It is fun to have an excuse to do all the silly things Like playing hide and seek in the dark. A few Christmases ago we played this game every night for a week and had a hilarious time of it. Once I hid in the cupboard under the stair and got tangled up in an old sleeping bag, then a futon fell on me and buried me completely. It took the boys ages to extract me from my predicament and we roared with laughter the whole time.

We have to be a little more careful these days as our various infirmities have taken hold but we still lark about rather a lot for a couple of oldies with a grown up son. My mother, who is in her late eighties often asks my when I intend to grow up. I tell her that while I have to grow old I shall never grow up, at my age I think perhaps it is far too late to try.

Now I think I shall have that hot bath I mentioned earlier, and after that my snug bed awaits me, life is sweet.

LEBKUCHEN, AND SAVOURY TARTS

First thing this morning I was back in the kitchen,breakfast came first and then savoury pastries and more cookies. The kitchen was bright and warm, the perfect antidote for a cold grey day and I would far rather be at home making Christmas treats than in a supermarket buying them.

At various time this week the air has been sweet with drifting icing sugar, spiced with the gorgeous aroma of fruit cake and today deliciously savoury with mini quiches and savoury tarts. My little cat has been interested in the baking today , and accepted the occasional snippet most graciously.

We always decorate the kitchen for Christmas as we all spend more time there than we do in the living room when the tree lives. This year we added streamers and the whole effect is very festive. Twiggy like the rug under the kitchen table where she sits keeping a sharp eye out for tit-bits.

Pa popped out for a couple of hours to do a little shopping and so I had the kitchen to myself which is what I like best. I make a pot of strong coffee which I keep hot on the stove and off I go. After the savoury tarts were done I decided to make a batch of Lebkuchen, to replace the Millionaires shortbread which unfortunately did not come up to standard. It tastes great but unfortunately the base proved far too crumbly and it did not cut well. Luckily my neighbours come round to eat up any mistakes of experiments so it will not go to waste, besides Lebkuchen is much more Christmassy .

While working on the party food I decided to re-write Slade’s “Merry Christmas” so here it is,as they say!

Are you working Boxing Day for not much pay.
Are the twerps who drive the trains causing delay.
Are you going to a party, in a dreary crypt again,
When you work for Messrs Scrooge it;s such a pain

Chorus

Well here it is Merry Christmas you deserve to have some fun.
Don't let then get you down they 're just a load of stingy bums.

Repeat

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Pa broke his all time record for tardiness by returning from the shops a ten past four this afternoon having left at twelve thirty, I do not know what he has been up to I did not ask.

One thing I do know I that I asked him to pick up a nice Christmas card for our son, he picked up a lovely card fine until I read the verse which ended by saying “A Merry Christmas to you both” No comment!

I am almost done with the weeks baking, tomorrow all the puff pastry items at to be made along with some loaves of bread and some bread rolls and that will be it for a few days...until I make the dreaded chocolate log,well logs this time as my neighbour has asked me to make one for him. I said yes,I must be potty!
Another neighbour arrived just as the Lebkuchen were cooling. He and his lovely wife and children have recently moved out of the area and I shall miss having them close by,they have been good neighbours and it has been fun to watch their children grow into talented young men and women. He told me that they were up to their ears in boxes at the new house so I sent him home with a bag of home made cookies to cheer them up a little.

I am having trouble eighth my legs again and was kept awake last night by muscle spasms, a little like cramp but worse because they go on for ages. I made some coffee and watched The Ghost Train ,took a load of pills and finally fell asleep at six this morning.

How lovely the world looked, glittering with frosty sparkles as the sun shone bright as can be. My dear son brought me some coffee and toast, he is very good to his old mum. We chatted as we ate, we value this time on working weeks as there is so little time for us to be together.
Pa joined us a little later and I felt rather like a Georgian Monarch holding a levee in my bedroom.

Twiggy will be a happy little cat on Christmas morning as we have managed to track down some Kookamunga, this morning two large drums arrived in the post. This stuff is amazing, it makes cats go totally dippy, they roll around in the stuff for hours at a time, I tried it myself once but nothing happened!

Tomorrow is my son's last day at work before Christmas and then the fun can begin in earnest. He will be back on the treadmill on Boxing Day but we shall not let that spoil our holiday, we have such plans for fun and games. Enjoy your weekend folks,and keep safe.

BULGING AT THE SEAMS.

Increasingly I am finding it very difficult to find homes for each new batch of baking and the kitchen looks as if we are expecting a siege. From time to time the occasional visitor makes a slight dent in the mountain of cookies and cakes but we are still buried in the stuff! Today it was mince pies and oatcakes.

The day did not begin well as Pa was feeling unwell having spent the night feeling queasy,the result I suspect of an overdose of toffee! However he managed to eat a lightly boiled egg for breakfast and then went back to bed for a couple of hours.....not to self...makes sure that in my next incarnation I come back as man!

I soldiered on in the lovely quiet kitchen and soon there were some lovely mince pies cooling on wire racks on the kitchen table. Then Pa remembered that he needed a prescription collecting and as I needed a breath of fresh air it seemed like a good idea to nip off before beginning a new task.

Out in the fresh air I felt better, I have been rather muzzy headed of late as the new medication I have to take has the side effect of making it difficult to concentrate, on matters in hand, it;s a bit like being high. I trundled down to the pharmacy which these days is like a drop-in centre and a fine place to go if you have lot of time to kill. If like me you are in a hurry it is upon my word the most infuriating place .

Today was much as usual and the three counter assistants chatted away to all and sundry while the poor pharmacist and I quietly tore our hair out!
After I had been in the shop for about fifteen minutes a chap came in and asked if his prescription was ready, he had left it with them an hour ago? It was not ready and I was beginning to panic when one of the assistance discovered the prescription was still in her pocket, history shall not record the poor man’s remarks at this revelation! Pa's prescription was ready and I grabbed it and ran.

Back home and Pa was feeling a little better so he went out to feed the birds and I got on with the oatcakes. While the batter was rising I finally got around to writing out the Christmas cards...I had been hoping for volunteers but in vain! I have lost my Christmas card list and with a fog in my brain at the moment I have struggle to remember everyone, I expect that there will be umbrage taken by the odd poor soul that escapes my clouded mind...oh well it cannot be helped.

I made a very easy dinner tonight. A variety of sausages with jacket potatoes and lots of grated cheese to put in them,there were no complaints.

More baking tomorrow,I love it , but not before Pa and I have had a good breakfast of oatcakes covered with melted cheese.............lovely.

TIME DOES NOT MARCH ON, IT GALLOPS OFF!

Pheeeeew! What a day, there is rather a lot happening at the moment and it seems that every day passes more quickly than the last,so far things are going reasonably well, but there have been a few minor hiccups.
Rising early this morning I washed my hair before venturing down to the kitchen to bake the days bread,two split tins two baguettes a tray of bread rolls and a cottage loaf smothered in poppy seeds. Unusually I made white bread today with the addition of lots of different seeds such as flax, millet and sesame, I suppose I felt like a change.

While the bread bake I made a breakfast of pancakes for Pa and I during which more parcels arrived...all for next door. Pa set off on the buggy to replenish our stock of food for the garden birds as the forecast is for very cold weather for the next few days. I stayed in and did still more Christmas baking, millionaires shortbread and a batch of fudge sauce to pour over our iced cream, Home made is so much nicer than the stuff in the shops and costs pennies to make.

Pa returned with a mountain of bird supplies, enough to last until after the holiday and with a surprise. While he was shopping one of the ladies for whom I bake bread gave him a carrier bag which contained three large bags of squirrel food, A very kind thought an typical of this lovely lady who cares for animals as much as we do. It will be a fine present for the ever hungry tribe of squirrels who visit the feeding stations daily, a truly wonderful gift.

I had decided to make a large batch of oatcakes for the holiday only to discover that we were almost out of oatmeal....we have been eating a lot of porridge of late.....and so as soon as Pa returned I set off on the new buggy to but some. I did not get far, just far enough to make gett8ng home both difficult and tiresome,in my haste to be gone I had not noticed that the buggies battery was almost flat and poor old Pa had forgotten to mention it.
How grateful I am that it was all down hill coming home or I should never have made pit at all. The buggy ran a t a crawl and finally conked out right outside our front gate.

I switched buggies and set off again, this time a managed to buy both the oatmeal and a cake base for a ginger cake which I am making for a friend. Now I have to rush as I had done nothing towards the preparation of dinner(chicken in the pot ) and I still had the kitchen to clear and my sons packed supper to make and although I went like a bat out of hell dinner was a trifle late.

Thankfully I was forgiven and as the meal was a favourite and there were fresh bread roll to eat with it all was well in the end.

The kitchen is filling up fast with cakes, cookies and sweets to the point where it is becoming difficult to find places to store everything, still it looks very festive and there is something comforting about abundance at this time of the year. Soon the cakes and cookies will be off in all directions as a friends call to collect their cakes and so on, Christmas is great fun.

Now that the business of the day is done I mean to relax this evening with a pile of cards and my list in the hope that by the time I am ready to sleep all will be finished...I can hope.

Goodnight all.

WONDERS WILL NEVER CEASE

For over two years I have been attempting to obtain grate to have a stair lift fitted as both Pa and myself are disabled and also a walk in shower. Those of you who are regular readers will be aware of my struggles and frustrations. Just when I was on the verge of giving up the entire project,behold action. I the space of a week we have been put on the link for emergencies and today two people came to see about fitting both the stair lift and the shower in the New Year, after all this time and effort I simply cannot believe it.

I dare say that until the jobs are done I shall remain in disbelief but oh my ,what an amazing Christmas present for all of us. No longer shall I spend hours seeing Pa is safely bathed, no more worrying about him or myself falling down our very steep stairs. Our lives have been such a struggle since Pa became ill and this will make a huge difference to the quality of our lives.

I shall be able to go to sleep a t a reasonable hour. I shall no longer have to throw the laundry down the stairs of wait for my son to carry it back up again, but I must not count my chickens. Until the job is done as I suppose there could be problems, but for now there is hope,I am so happy.

Today I did some more baking , cookies again,special ones for a party later in the week. The stained glass window cookies which I made for the first time a few weeks ago came out much better this time as I knew exactly how much the cookie dough would rise and how big to make the centre. Next came some star cookies decorated with pink shimmer sugar and finally some shaped like holly leaves with cherries for berries, the cookie tins are filling up nicely.

Dinner tonight was maple glazed bacon chops with home made hot tomato sauce,hash browns, eggs and garden peas, this went down well with the boys along with quite a lot of bread and butter. Afterwards we all helped with the washing up and clearing away and I was grateful for the help being by now very tired indeed,due to a disgustingly early start to the day.

Grey skies seem to be the order of the day for the present, dull yes but even today there was so much beauty in the silver grey Beeches now totally bare of leaves and the black boughs of the Lime trees in the lane stark but stately against the pale grey sky.
Squirrels abound just now and the feeders are regularly raided by these furry little mites, they are so cute that I cannot find it in my heart to chase them away, and besides they are such fun to watch, it is worth a few peanuts to be so well entertained while washing the breakfast dishes each day.

I have found an on line supplier of live meal worms and as they will send a set amount on a weekly basis I should love to order some for my robin. The problem is one of storage as a;though we have three freezers we have only on refrigerator and these little grubs need to be kept chilled. In a sealed container they would of course cause no trouble, all et same I should hate to be around when either of the boys discovered that I was keeping such livestock amongst the cheeses and the butter!

I have enjoyed today, all the lovely bustle of a kitchen and the preparations for Christmas suit me very well and although I am very tired it is a satisfying sort of tiredness and the rapidly filling cookie jars are a great comfort at this time of year as they make a nice gift nicely wrapped in cellophane of in a pretty box. The kitchen smells of spice and sugar and the house is warm from the days baking, I can think of nothing more homely and pleasing at this time or any time of year.

THE PARABLE OF THE CHICKENS.....AGAIN!

Perhaps you will remember that back in July I told you a story about a rather inept farmer and his unfortunate chickens,well it would appear that far from learning his lesson he is at it again.
It seems that the farmer had two hen house the first contained many chickens but unfortunately they did not lay many eggs. The second contained far fewer chickens yet these birds laid a great many more eggs than the others, in fact it would be true to say that these few hard working chickens made much more money for the farmer than the many in the first hen house.

At the end of the year the farmer counted his money and discovered that he had some spare cash. “I shall reward my faithful chickens,” he said “I shall build them a new hen house,”
Now it transpired that the farmer did not have sufficient funds to build two new hen houses, of course a sensible farmer would have built the new house for the chickens who kept his business afloat....a no brainer? Wrong, the farmer decided to spend the money building a palatial new residence for the chickens who's out put was pathetically poor.

Having done this he then told the industrious chickens that their house was to be given a lick of paint and that they were lucky to get it. This was both unfair and short sighted and showed how little the farmer really knew about his business.`

Now this was as you would expect very bad for the moral of the poor hard working birds and they felt that their efforts were not appreciated. Had they been less diligent they would have gone on strike for equal rights, instead with broken hearts the carried on carrying the whole farm on the strength of their efforts.

You will not be surprised to discover that the farmers name was SCROUGE!

And now the moral of the tale, the stingy old farmer should remember that these much abused birds may well decide to become free range and as their hen house is in such a tatty state there is very little to keep them where they are; and after all there are other farmers in need of productive hens especialy in these times!

I imagine that many people reading this will wonder what the devil I am waffling on about and from those I beg a pardon. To any chickens out there I say boycott the old hen house if you cannot gate crash the new one. To the farmer I say this, having already been the cause of much misery to these poor hard working creatures you might at least show an even hand when dealing out treats. Doing something just because you can does not make it right!
Here endeth the lesson. Admonished, march out!

After that sad little story I need cheering up and so I shall tell you about a funny thing which happened this morning. While washing up I noticed a rat munching happily at some bird food which had blown from the feeding station,suddenly our tame fox came stalking across the path unseen by the rat, next came my cat stalking the fox every bit as quietly. The fox pounced upon the rat at the identical moment when the cat pounced upon the fox. The fox dropped the rat in alarm and it took advantage of the situation by bolting down a hole..

Much chagrined the fox rounded on the cat which ran of in to the orchard and promptly climbed a tree whereupon the fox ran about beneath in frustrated fury. Meanwhile the rat returned to the food and once again munched happily away. The fox became bored and sloped off, the cat climbed down the tree and came indoors and I shot the rat five minutes later. Soon after it was eaten by a magpie. Thats life.

TESCO FIASCO ,COOKIES, CATS AND FOXES.

Very much against my better judgement I placed an online order with Tesco, I did this as I am at the moment not well enough to go fossicking about the store in person. This morning the delivery arrived and the number of massive cock ups far exceeded my worst fears.

Their was, the claimed one substitution, actually there were seven and some of them very odd.
I had ordered a bottle of Pa's favourite Port, what they delivered was a bottle of Cockburn’s,a brand which we would not normally have in the house as it is more like cough mixture than decent port wine. Having ordered large cartons of double cream I was at loss to make sense of the one small carton of single cream which actually arrived.

The large box of Toffifee ordered as a gift was replaced by two very small boxes, ans a number of Light versions of the full fat products which I had ordered were sent . These however were mild annoyances compared to the fact that a good many of the bags in which the groceries arrived were awash with some kind of cleaning material, anti bacterial spray I think.

Unfortunately I was out when the delivery arrived ,early and Pa was in the garden, so my son,who answered the door stark naked was obliged to received the goods. Having in mind his state of undress I can quite understand why he did not check the order for errors as is very necessary when dealing with Tesco, who's strange substitutions can be mind boggling . I once ordered chocolate digestives and was sent a packet of plain ones with a bar of milk chocolate...I kid you not!

My son, not best pleased at being dragged out of bed was in no mood the be trifled with so I refrained from comment and sent him back to bed. Since he had unpacked quite a lot of the shopping before returned then had to check all the cupboards for further mistakes or soggy products, after all no one wants pancakes made with antibacterial flour, this took ages and soured my temper ever so slightly.

I then telephoned Tesco customer services to give them a broadside, non of what I have to say about this conversation is fit to print, suffice it to say that the person on the other end of the line was every bit as dim as the twerp who sent me a Victoria sandwich when I had actually ordered a bath sponge! After letting rip with some rather old fashioned cursing I felt a little better and returned to the days chores.

The bread I had made early this morning was cool and ready to be out in the crock and then I set about making a hearty winter soup for dinner, rich with many different vegetables and cream, a real winter warmer. A large fruit cake was next of the list , a special recipe which is lighter than a normal fruit cake yet very moist and rich.

I next baked a batch of very special cookies,the recipe seems to almost yell Merry Christmas, here it is.

Blueberry and cranberry cookies
8oz butter
4oz caster sugar
8oz plain flour
1teaspoon vanilla essence
2oz blueberries
2oz cranberries
3oz pine nuts
Pinch of salt
Cream the butter,sugar,salt and vanilla essence together until pale and creamy then add the sieved flour, pine nuts and cranberries and mix together until well blended. Roll the mixture in to walnut sized balls, dip one side in the pine nuts then place on a greased baking tray with the nuts facing upwards. Press down lightly with your fingers. Bake at 185oC for fifteen-twenty minutes. When the cookies are just turning brown remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack , and that's it.

All through the afternoon the sun shone casting a golden light on everything, small birds flitted busily around the feeding stations and even my little cat found a warm sunny sheltered spot in the orchard and sat sniffing the air for an hour or so.
My mother telephoned for a chat and after that the calls came thick and fast,something I could have done without to be sure.

I have come to the conclusion that I need to be much less accessible if I am the finish all the jobs I have in hand this week and to that end I mean to switch off my mobile telephone, bolt all the doors and be incommunicado until Christmas eve, some hope!

Our tame fox appeared outside the kitchen door this afternoon, I suppose he had smelled the baking and came to see if there was a treat for him. He has such a sweet tooth and prefers strawberry jam sandwiches to chicken, he happily munched a couple of warm cookies until chased away by the cat which was a funny sight to see.

My son returns to work tonight so it is back on the treadmill for all of us but with all the lovely things to bake and make and all the fun of preparing for the Holiday the week will soon pass,and then Christmas, hooray!

LATE

We all managed to oversleep this morning and it was nine thirty before any of us surfaced,and in an instant the house was transformed from peaceful sleepiness to total panic. The cause of this transformation was the fact that my son was expecting guests at eleven. Poor old Pa was shaken awake by my son while I put the kettle on for the fastest cup of coffee ever.

As usual when one is in a hurry everything went wrong, we collided with each other on the stairs, bumped in to each other on the landing and tripped over each other in the bathroom.
My son hurried to the kitchen to start breakfast while I tidied up and Pa got dressed during which much cursing could be heard from all directions!

Now if there is one thing I detest it is having get out of bed the moment I awake and if there is one thing I hate even more it is having to hurry breakfast and so it was a grumpy start to breakfast . Soon however the effect of hot buttery crumpets, honey covered muffins and good strong tea lifted everyone's spirits and we were ourselves again. Even so the meal could hardly be described as leisurely and soon we were all rushing around again,I cleared the kitchen, Pa tidied the living room and my son when to his room to change, the guests were expected at eleven................by eleven thirty they had not arrived.

The realisation that we had hurried to no good purpose did nothing to lighten the atmosphere but thankfully the errant guests appeared one by one and at twelve thirty the set off with my on for their Sunday game, leaving Pa and I absolutely shattered. We revived ourselves with rum and coffee before returning to the fray!

I had promised to deliver some information about ivy to a friend who is having trouble with her landlord who wants to remove the ivy from the wall of her house and the wall which surround it. I downloaded the latest survey done by Oxford University in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society . These august bodies have recently proved that ivy is in most cases actually beneficial to walls and buildings. It reduces frost damage to old brick work, prevents acid erosion of stone and actually reduces the loss of heat in an ivy covered property by 16% in winter and in summer such properties can be up to 34% cooler.
These findings are of great significance to environmentalists who have been campaigning against the removal of ivy from walls and buildings for years.

Back home and with baking and ironing to do I got busy with both, first baking some shortbread and then ironing a huge pile of T shirts...hateful job, and then feeling very virtuous I spent a happy hour playing with the cat. She has a new toy which is stuffed full of cat nip and at the moment she adores it, she still plays like a kitten although she is at least seven years old .

What a grey day it has been and yet I think that it seems to make the lights indoors brighter and the cottage more cosy somehow. All through the afternoon we could see car after car leaving the garden centre each with a Christmas tree strapped to its roof of poking out of one of its widows. The lane was full of excited children on there way to see Father Christmas and partake of the roast chestnuts and spicy punch which the garden centre has been serving throughout the weekend. It made the day seem special somehow and the excitement was contagious.

I have a very busy week in prospect but it is the sort of work I love. I shall be making lots of Christmas cookies, cakes and pastries for a party later in the week and I have still to bake an iced ginger cake and two chocolate logs, one for my son and the other for a neighbour. There is wine to be spiced, cards to be written and many other Christmassy tasks. This sort of thing is not work, it's fun and I live it. Having exciting ingredients to play with is a cooks delight and I intend to enjoy every moment of the run up to Christmas day.

Unfortunately my son has to return to work on Boxing Day as in the world of newspapers there is always something to do. We intend to make our Christmas fun in spite of this and shall be celebrating for a whole week before the day,we try to let nothing spoil our fun.

For dinner tonight I made some chicken skewers for my son and I served with wraps , salads and sauces and for Pa a big bowl of oxtail stew as he is not fond of chicken these days. My son returns to work tomorrow after a wonderful week off and I hope that he remains cheerful during hi last week at work before Christmas. He tried on his costume for the party today and it suited him very well I think. He has such a great sense of fun and does not mind dressing up , he once went to a party dressed as Rasputin ans he scared me witless even thought I made the costume, he has the ability to loom in a most alarming fashion.

I have waffled quite enough for today and shall now do a little mending before bed...shirt buttons again...what fun!

PA'S BIRTHDAY DINNER

The day began with coffee all round and a grand present opening ceremony which took place in my room with Pa sitting I a big comfy chair to receive his gifts. From our son he received a twelve months subscription to his favourite Railway Magazine on especially for modellers in N Gauge. From me a watch and a bottle of his favourite port and from both of us a fine portrait of Twiggy looking very imperious indeed.

There followed a birthday breakfast of bacon and egg sandwiches, a delicacy much favoured by Pa, with orange juice and lots of cups of tea in which we gave the birthday toast.
With breakfast over my son got ready for his Saturday game I set about preparing the feast. The meal was to consist of a fore rib roast of beef with my special roast Yorkshire puddings mushy peas and gravy,this is the way Pa likes it as indeed do we all.

For afters a made a large Pavlova, another of Pas favourites, this was decorated with blueberries, wine berries. Raspberries, white chocolate drops, milk chocolate drops and dark chocolate shavings. It looked gorgeous and I must say it tasted good too. The beef took a little longer to cook than I had planned but this caused no problems and soon we were all tucking in to one of the great meals of our year.

Until recently we always had a large steak each on Pas birthday but we began to feel that these days the steaks were not as tender as those we ate in our youth. I think pit much more likely that Pa and I are getting a little too long on the tooth, quite literally to be chomping our way through massive lumps of steak and as I was not able to obtain a piece of brisket with the bone left in Fore rib roast had to do!

Pa had been given some Stilton earlier in the day and this went down well with a glass of port ,all in all it was a lovely meal for a lovely man.

My battle s with the estate are still raging , today another tenant and a friend of ours told me that the estate manager planned to remove all the ivy from her house and cut down some rather lovely trees in her garden. The newly formed ISCAG swung in to action and before dinner the letters were written and the protest registered. I am glad that others have joined us in0ur fight, on the past there has been altogether too much forelock pulling around here and Duke of no the law is the law.

Now that the busy part of the day is over we have all settled down to relax in our different ways. Pa with his model railway magazines my son with his computer and as for me, as soon as I have posted this blog I shall take a bath, choose a film to watch and I hope fall asleep as soon as Pa is safe in bed. So for now it's goodnight from me, and it;s goodnight from Twiggy.

THE HOLLY AND THE IVY

Winter has finally arrived, morning frosts, cold winds and shorter days, the extended mild Autumn has been beneficial to many species after the cold wet summer. Our ivy flowers were rattling with bees of all types and numerous wasp species and hornets have made the season,very lively indeed as they stored away the rich pollen for winter use or hunted for sleeping moths. Now the same ivy is thick with ripening berries ranging in colour from green to black. Ivy berries are almost always the last to be eaten and are vital to blackbirds and thrushes as they provide rich pickings when all the other berries are gone. Ivy only flowers and fruits when mature and the heady scent of its flowers are for me one of the delights of the season. It is a great pity that we are loosing so much adult ivy due to the (neat and tidy )attitude of some local authorities

The unduly mild weather has meant that the birds have not needed the berries yet ,there being still plenty of bugs about and of course no frost means that thrushes and blackbirds can still feast upon worms while the ground is soft. This has meant that there is plenty of berried holly about, quite unusual at Christmas in this neck of the woods and the crop this year has been a heavy one.

In my garden the Pyracanthas are smothered in red and yellow and orange berries, again this is most unusual as normally the blackbirds strip them as soon as they ripen. I have enjoyed having them around a little longer this year, but I noticed yesterday a few bare stalks here and there.

Honeysuckle berries red and juicy and rose hips too still deck the hedgerows in quantities much larger than usual, there would have been more but for my own inroads in to the harvest, rose hip jelly is a favourite with my family. Along with the vegetables and cultivated fruits in our kitchen garden we surround the perimeter with wild roses, hazels, blackberries,elders and even nettles, these provide both my family and the wildlife in the area with a valuable food resource:even dandelion leaves are good to eat,particularly in the spring time and nettles make great beer.

This has been a bumper year for fruits and nuts of all kinds,I have never seen so much beech mast and for several weeks acorns showered down in the lane, bouncing of car roofs and peoples head. The squirrels and the jays had a field day.

Squirrels are frequent visitors to our bird feeders but for several weeks the year they were absent , and so few blackbirds were seen that I asked around to see if others had noticed they were missing but all is well, this very afternoon a fine male bird appeared in the garden helping himself to the sultanas on one of the feeding stations.

With the Christmas holiday just around the corner it is lovely to see the holly bright with berries although I suspect that a few more sharp frosts will turn the birds attention to this bounty. We have a tradition in our family carried through many generations, on Christmas day our garden birds get a special breakfast a tree decorated with strings of peanuts in there shells, bacon rinds and toast crusts as well as the usual bid food. We decorate the tree late on Christmas eve so that the food is there for the morning safe from foxes, an early meal.

Later when we have opened our gifts we put out more food but the birds Christmas tree has delighted many generations of small children in my family and still does.

The old Christmas carol tells us that of all the trees that are in the wood it is the holly which bears the crown but I believe that it is the ivy which provides the most in beauty and in its abundance of flowers and fruit, not forgetting the good shelter it gives to small birds and hibernating insects. So lets hear it for the ivy.