Get a grip woman!

Watty1

Happy to have a mince pie    Seems little point in making them for just me but might buy a box for after the carol service Christmas Eve!  Thanks for the idea

Pollie

You can freeze them ready cooked.

beanielou

Where do you get your energy!! 

Suffolk_lass

beanielou said:

Where do you get your energy!! 

It feels like plodding, @beanielou. All the tasks are spread out. I have in fact, made two batches of fudge, and it is now boxed and in the fridge. It was a little more soft-set than I would have liked with the first batch, so I chopped that up and stirred it through the second. The marzipan on the cake remains exposed, as it is very thin and I don't want it "melting" into the icing. 

Fortunately my neighbour whose dog we walk, popped in with a little thank you and I was able to fill a 2L ice-cream box with mince pies for him to take!

High point of the day was the call from the hospital and DH is going in on Wednesday for a day of tests and assessments.

I did indeed do the butcher-run at 07.00 yesterday morning and the dear little turkey (5.2k) is in the toolshed fridge. I got everything on my list but in the meantime, while moving bits around, I forgot I had stashed a jar of that hot salsa on top of another jar in my larder and the wretched thing slid off and smashed on the floor. I am not going out just for that so we will do without. 

I realised last night that we have an obscene amount of chocolate in the house, including (but not limited to these, bought and stashed in September). I made a roasting tray full of tiny roast potatoes, popped them in a wooden bowl on kitchen paper and sprinkled them with salt and took them over the road for when the bar opened - there were about 40 people there to sing carols and have a pre-Christmas chin-wag.

Ahead of today, the big clean up day, I already removed lots of cobwebs as I was putting the Christmas lights up; indoors, I go for a string across both window-walls, a garland with lights twisted through it attached to the fireplace bressumer beam, and nets where there used to be walls, separating the reading nook from the rest of the sitting room, with the tree in there, with one set of twinkling lights and two sets of candle lights. It looks like a grotto. The tree is only adorned with porcelain bells (one for every year since 1997) and the crystals I meticulously cleaned and hooked a few years ago. It looks quite classy, in a Christmas, slightly tacky sort of way. DS and DH did outdoors on a mild day, over a week ago, and we resisted the temptation to switch on until the day before yesterday. I only use bright white in the dining room, around the edge and cris-crossed on the central ceiling beam. In getting the first set out, the plug fell on the floor and smashed. DH had just gone out with the dog, so leaving the back door unlocked off I went in the car, to the nearest town. Screw-Fix? nope, Argos, only the reverse transformer with the cable and male part of the fixing, then the local QD Stores that sell Christmas lights. Of course they had some, but they were 5v and mine is 24v - most are now low voltage LED and these are a good few years old. Back at home I phoned the local electrical wholesaler (nope, advised me to buy online) I queried the critical elements from the description (the part number is irrelevant, the output ie 24v vs 5v and the mili-amps are the critical part, along with the connection size) and I have ordered two via big river (delivery 28th). Then I remembered we had a similar connection on the old blue light net that I partly cover with cards, so I have pinched the transformer from that and redeployed it to the dining room. I had one net still in its box (for the motorhome!), which is now up, covering the absence of the blue lights. Sorted!

Did I mention we are putting up a stranger over Christmas? A cousin relative of my neighbours at the Hall is arriving tomorrow afternoon (by rented car) and there were no bedrooms available there as his daughter is hosting a big family get-together, and also, not really anything within about four miles in the way of accommodation, so I offered. He's a 29 year old Australian musician (no, I did not know this before I offered!). Anyway I think we have him for two, maybe three nights and I hope our cosy-cottage home (def not boutique Airbnb) does not disappoint. At the social club last night, one of our new neighbours proudly told us he is hosting someone they have only known for 36 hours, a woman he met at a social event who was due to be on her own, he offered and she accepted. Also driving here for Christmas Eve and staying with him and his husband (lovely!) - before I could say anything, he was told we were hosting someone we have yet to meet! Hopefully both scenarios are helpful and fun for all - I do think they are indicative of the lovely community in which we live, and try to make our respective contributions to. Right, ironing bedlinen next (mistakenly bought non-easy-care cotton!) and a bit of washing, to clear the decks.

foxgloves

Oh, the oddest thing has just happened to my post! I didn't press any key, but watched as the font altered in front of my very eyes, before disappearing completely! I was just adding my positive vibes for good medical news. These things are such a worry, especially the waiting. 
I know what you mean about supermarket bottlenecks at this time of year. Our route into Lincoln involves passing 4 supermarkets & while we are usually early enough on our trip in to miss the traffic, our way back is just one long wait as vehicles pile out & add to the traffic stream. I get so impatient, we have developed a partially supermarket-free route back home to cut down on both all my moaning & wasted petrol.
I have some home made mincemeat left too, as only made a dozen mince pies plus 2 testers this year (just to see if the snowflake-shaped lids stayed put). Last year, I found a recipe online for mincemeat muffins & we were surprised how nice they were, so I shall make either a batch of those (they freeze well) or a Crank's belgian cake which I usually freeze in little lunch-box/snack-sized squares.
It does sound as though you have a lovely community where you live. We don't really have that in our village.....well, I don't doubt that it exists, but I think a fair amount of it is school-related & we don't have children, so have never been part of that, also the church, which again, as non-believers, we are not a part. 
I miss singing at this time of year, as I was in various choirs & an opera group for many years, but I have been doing plenty of kitchen karaoke along with my festive baking.
F

Watty1

Positive vibes being sent for Wednesday and how lovely to be part of your community. It sounds so joyous especially at this time of year and hosting someone you have never met.   That could be really fun.

themadvix

Glad to hear DH is being seen soon. 

Hope the hosting goes well and you have a lovely few days. Merry Christmas! 🎄 

EssexHebridean

Kudos to you for hosting a stranger - definitely something that is not for me but I’m in awe of those who are brave enough for it! 

Kudos also to you for the roast potatoes - it’s always a wonderful thing to walk into a pub and find they have roasties on the bar - yum! 

Hoping your Christmas Day is wonderful! (And all those mince pies get eaten!) 

rtandon27

Merry Christmas SL 🎄🤶🎅 - Wishing you and Mr SL a very festive season!

KajiKita

I have *finally* read your thread! 🥳🎉🤩

Bees: I used to think I knew quite a bit about keeping them as my dad started keeping them when I was 12 and I helped him. Reading your diary is making me realise my skill level is very low, here is probably not a good location for them and I wouldn’t have the time! 😊 Re cross breeding with local bees creating quite aggressive colonies, my dad finds this happens quite a lot too and he replaces the queens with ones from Buckfast Abbey. He’s had some amazing years - his biggest was 720lbs (that really was too much tbh) but 2022 was only 40lbs. He lives above the River Lune Estuary where there is masses of Rosebay Willowherb and there are six huge sweet lime trees in my parents garden - the mix of nectars gives his honey a really unique taste. He sells it mainly via the local coffee shop - they sell it for an incredible price but it all sells! Never had any significant issues with regulations apart from Trading Standards insisting he add the metric measurement for ‘1lb’ to the hand drawn labels that an artist friend of my mother designed decades ago - a friend of mine who does graphic design helped with that and ‘photoshopped’ the metric measure in to the artwork 😊

Hoping your DH’s appointment goes well 🤞 and good luck with your exam results! 

I hope to comment more now I am up to date 😊

KK