Next steps; grip-relaxing bimbling, and avoiding the temptations

Watty1

Sorry about your aunt, but, what a fabulous age to get to and to have both her daughters there is a blessing.   And the stories, I loved that, think about writing them down because one day they will be lost, and someday someone might just want to find a notebook with them.

Suffolk_lass

A couple of days break and I am back, start of the week, with a list of "do this by..." things agreed with Mr Sl. Not much on this week (thank goodness) I want to get the tree in and decorated, and shop the retail park shopping so we are not involved in the "weekend before Christmas" car park gridlock. Apart from that and writing my cards before Wednesday, all good.

I had got the sourdough starter out on Friday, not remembering I had a busy Saturday, so by yesterday morning, both my cooking portion and the starter, had been fed twice, giving me three portions to bake with. I made one v large loaf (think SM size) which is out, plus a medium and two small loves and a large batch of rolls - all now frozen. Our Saturday was all about socialising. Brunch at the local with pee bee pals, then on to my bee study mates, where Mr Sl was shown their land and how they use it. Her with her bee business and he with his motorbike training. They bought a derelict place twenty years ago for not much money, kept their original house and rented it out to pay its mortgage, and lived in a caravan for three years while the derelict was made habitable. The land is great, with over 2 acres. After that it was home, cup of tea, walked the dog and dropped him to the sitter, then out to the bike club meal. Good company, sitting with some very entertaining people who tell a good anecdote, good food, and just a lovely, relaxing day.

Yesterday's relaxing lunch with the kids (his description of the almost middle-aged off-spring and partner) was almost scuppered by their high stress levels and a row in the car on the way here. He is on 12 hour days (he's a postie), she is caring for her Grandma with advancing dementia, sleeping (if you can call it that) at Grandma's to help with the guidance she needs. The hospital discharged her and immediately discarded her dementia assessment, and eight weeks on, two family members have shouldered the load with Grandma and they are worn out, waiting for the follow-up from Social Services. Anyway, after an hour apart, she came back, humble and calm, and I loaded her up with some food from my larder, so she had less shopping.

Speaking of shopping, I visited a local Farm Shop and bought half a sack of potatoes the SM would not take. I can see why. They are massive-smassive, mis-shapen or damaged, but good for £4 for 12.5 kilos. DS'sP was happy to take a good third, and I said they will be fantastic for roast, boiled, mashed or chipped, just not Jacket potatoes. We were both happy.

Meanwhile Mr Sl supervised grumpy son, supervising him to do the up the ladder stuff, and they got all the outside lights up and on. We leave them on at night now until 12th night! They look very festive, with warm white woven through bright white in little garlands.

In the end, lunch was lovely - a large Shoulder of pork I bought for just over £2.50/kilo at the beginning of the year. Those potatoes made lovely roasties with the last of the goose fat I had in. Then we shared the chocolate fudge yule log I bought last year (for £2), reduced from £4 (they are £4.95 on offer [normally £5.50) this year - just a 25% increase) and it has been in the freezer ever since. Each slice in the microwave for 30 seconds, reaching fudge melt point before adding ice-cream and a dash of runny cream. What a treat. The second half was split between us and taken home with half the pork and cold roast potatoes (them) and Mr Sl polished off the chocolate share last night. I reckon that dinner cost just over £12 all in with all the veg and the ready-made ice cream and cream included. And there is enough pork left for us to have either a generous sandwich or cold with pickles and mash.

I weighed myself last night and today will be soup, to stop the rot! 

Back to today. Mr Sl is giving blood this afternoon and I will need to wait for him to get home before I go out as we need dog cover. This morning, he is going to treat the remaining apiary (for mites) and take fondant out to them, in case they need top up feeding.

I have just done the money check and the bills account that the CC was taken from is in the black, with the VED taken. Even sufficient money to pay the butchers' bill on 23rd. Phew. My main task today is to write my cards. I might offer to walk the dog too, as he has more on than me. I'm going to suggest we leave the tree and indoor decorations until tomorrow, so we are just picking away at the list and not working flat out. I could make pastry, and make the mince pies, ahead of time, but however much I put it off, those cards need writing first. Time to get on...

foxgloves

Am assuming you mean 'bee pals', @Suffolk_lass, or that's a hobby we don't know about! 😉

Suffolk_lass

foxgloves said:

Am assuming you mean 'bee pals', @Suffolk_lass, or that's a hobby we don't know about! 😉

Oh how funny! Thank you @foxgloves! I have amended it to "Brunch at the local with pee bee pals", so my mis-type is there for posterity   

Suffolk_lass

I have written about half the posting cards, and we did hammer the Dubai list yesterday. I have postponed my shopping trips until later in the week but must now go and collect new Bras from M&S in town over ten miles away. I shall combine it with Sainsbugs - not much in each but not postponing it until the weekend as the retail parks set up will be gridlocked then. Why would I be buying them now? When you find a hole in the one you are wearing (albeit under the supported appendage), but it suggests it has run its course and I have binned two recently - so new bras in time for Christmas.

I had a soup lunch and supper yesterday, in an attempt to stop the weight spiralling. After a big roast dinner, two portions of pudding and four eating out episodes since last Thursday (don't think it is always like this - that was all the socialising we have been invited to!) my weight was 4lbs more than last Monday! So a light day was called for. I shall do the same today, although sampling of mince pies will feature. 

A bit of a faff with my mince pies. I want to do muffin sized pastry but my cutter is for patty tins, so I cut them, then roll them thinner and bigger to fill the muffin tins, then top the mincemeat with a teaspoon of crumble mix, then a star of egg-washed pastry to top. No sticky mincemeat boiling out onto my tins!

I did make pastry yesterday, thinking a double batch in the mixer would save me time. It didn't, because the pastry was horrible and tough. So I have (unusually for me) binned it and started again using the mini food processor. Normal service has been resumed. 

Right, the cards and mince pies await me. No prizes for guessing which one I do first! 

Suffolk_lass

Just saying...

Suffolk_lass

Needless to say we tried a mince pie each (plus our gardener) and they are back to normal standard. We like them. It is the one Delia Christmas recipe I don't mess with; her mincemeat, except I probably add less sugar as I don't weigh it. My pastry is traditional unsweetened short crust, just extremely thin. The crumble is traditional 6-4-4 (less than 4 of sugar) with a pinch of salt. Not too sweet.

Cards - all those written, including the too-late foreign ones were posted (airmail; £3.40 each!!!!) and we have fewer than 20 left between us. They are the first job of the day after lolling in my nightie (I love a good loll!), then I need to go to collect my new bras, and do any M&S and Sainsbugs shopping. Not buying our veg from these so buying a day before Veg wars start (anyway, Sainsbugs are going for 15p, while others are 8p) to avoid the traffic gridlock that the retail park is well-known for. 

I also withdrew a bit of cash to pay the gardener and give him his Christmas box.And on Monday I managed to (literally) chase down the road and catch the dustmen (they sprint their route and are brilliant), and doubled their Christmas box to £10 each. I have donated £136 of our reinstated heating allowance money and Pensioner Christmas bonus (£100 and £10 each, respectively) to 3 charities (Salvation Army, Crisis and St Mungo's) and have given another £70 so far, with the postman, window cleaner and milkman to go. I shall also give a bit extra in the butcher's as a little thank you when I collect the Christmas meat and cheese there on Tuesday. They are so good and will always bone out of whatever I ask, all year round. This is the thing about Christmas that I love. The saying thank you, or sharing a bit of what I don't need all of.

I'm going to buy some locally produced wine today. It's more than we usually pay but it's a treat, to share with friends and loved ones. 

Right, the last posting cards need writing and despatching!

foxgloves

Pies look fab! 

dawnybabes

The pies look fab, I made some recently where I popped a tiny bit of marzipan in the bottom before the mincemeat, was lush ! 

Suffolk_lass

Mr Sl isn't a fan of marzipan but I like that idea @dawnybabes. They do look rather homemade but they taste fab.

Posting cards on the list have all been written and posted, with some arriving yesterday, despite being posted the previous afternoon, second class. Flipping excellent from the local Delivery Office. Unlike the two other delivery companies I am waiting on. I have a bad feeling about both of them. One is the Swiss Hill resident, talking to his neighbour and round here they are notorious for lying, posting pictures of random doors and thefts of goods. Unfortunately this is Mr Sl's Christmas gift. From America. Without this, it is just new underwear and a beanie hat.

The other is with that noise from pursed lips company. Their so-called tracker said Royal Mail Tracked 48 two days ago. Now it says delivered on 10th of the 12th. It is three important, valuable books. I have messaged the seller today. I bought them on 29th November and I bought from a seller via a selling intermediary with a Woodford Green address and UK in their name. Clearly they are not from there. They could have walked them here in the intervening time if they really were in stock there. It all feels completely wrong but the delivery information from the seller says by 20th December, so I suspect that will be the reply.

So yesterday I pottered over to the local wine seller and bought three bottles of pin fizz (we tried it last year at a wine tasting fundraiser) from the closest winery to us (next village) and then on to M&S for my underwear and a bunch of non-perishable groceries. It was already packed and heaving. Lots of Christmas treats and a few groceries, we are now well stocked with coffee (and coffee bags) and I bought some of our favourite (treat) stem ginger biscuits and two modest tablets of chocolate. I did buy oranges, but should have waited for Sainsbugs. They are lovely but more expensive and a bit bigger (do I need bigger?). Then, after around 20 minutes getting out of the car park (making myself feel virtuous as I let people into the queue from side lanes) I went to Sainbugs with my list from there. Suffice to say I didn't get everything on my list, I did get things not on my list, and I still need all the stuff for the main event on Christmas Day but will be going to Morries for that. It is three hours of my life I won't get to live again and I had to sit quietly for 30 minutes when I got home. At least I know I do not need to go that way again until the middle to end of January! The Trussell Trust (food bank for anyone who doesn't know) helpfully posted a list of the veg prices all the SM will be selling for. I'm still going to Morries. 2p a kilo more than Aldo's but I'm feeling reckless!

Enough about shopping, in other news, Mr Sl's truck, which he loves but has rust underneath, has been inspected by a recommended mechanic who got underneath and bashed it all over with a hammer, and pronounced it sound but in need of a good clean off, then coating by something that will stop it deteriorating for 3-5 years and if we intend towing a braked trailer, the towbar needs cutting out, a section replacing and a bit of welding to be done. A bit of a relief as our regular garage said they hadn't got time to clean it off and feared for what was underneath.

Right, well that is enough sitting. The Christmas Tree entered the building yesterday but is still in its net condom. I need to remove that (with Mr Sl's help and get the fronds out. Then my normal practice is to do the rest of the lights and hanging things, leaving the tree for 24 hours before securing and decorating; so I can see where I need it against the wall and how much the branches hang out. We always tether it to the ceiling, using a wire between two beams that is hidden by lights and a star, after two years (yes, 2!) where Mr Sl did mad things with it in buckets of water and was surprised when it crashed over, breaking things important to us. He is still alive but a bit like the holiday aftermath, where he booked one bit of our accommodation that turned out to be 500 miles from where we were supposed to be, he no longer gets to do that on his own.

Right, have a good day everyone. Keep your purses closed (if you buy fresh today, it won't be in tip top condition in a week's time!)