Saturday

Good morning, everyone.  It was a damp and dismal day yesterday but don't the twinkling lights make a difference?  They are very cheering: at the moment, the first thing I do when I get downstairs is switch on the Christmas tree lights and the last thing at night is switch them off again.  I'm very glad the tree is staying up until Twelfth Night.

I was going to do the last early morning shop this morning but after my very early start yesterday, by six thirty I thought 'Why not?' and set off.  Now it is all done and I doubt I will need to see the inside of a food shop this side of New Year!

The turkey is here too, sitting happily in a roasting dish in the fridge.  I'm in two minds whether to brine it or not . . . after all, it is a Norfolk Bronze with great flavour and easy to carve anyway.   Decisions, decisions.  Thankfully it is not too big.

Yesterday was fairly busy in the morning but, in the afternoon, Beth, Jane and Liza turned up and we had a happy chat over coffee, biscuits and fudge.  It was lovely to see my nativity set (beautiful, old, wooden) being played with again, just as Alex used to play with it and Beth and Dave before that.  It should be played with, handled, loved: it is so beautiful and tactile.

After they had gone, I finished off the ironing and dealt with the turkey which had arrived while they were with me.  As I said above, thankfully, it is not too big this year; in fact it fits into the fridge with room to spare which I am glad about as it's not that cold in the shed this year. 
I don't want loads and loads of leftovers as I will not be feeding large numbers of people on Boxing Day and beyond this year.

On to today.  Originally I was going to cook the ham today but I decided this was a bit too early so it will come out of the freezer today and I will cook it tomorrow.  It's not a big piece so I will just boil it rather than boiling and then roasting.  We like it just as much the simple way.  I will also deal with the giblets for the gravy tomorrow, boiling them with bay and thyme from the garden and a few aromatic spicy bits and bobs.

The other thing I need to do is bake some bread.  Not any ordinary bread but some gluten-free bread.  I found some Dove gluten free flour when I went to a health food place near mum and dad's and decided I really MUST have a go.  If it's a failure, there's still time to pop round to Morrisons to buy some.  It's a very different strategy but, dear me, let's step out of my comfort zone and give it a go!  Watch this space!

I think I have enough stuff for one more load of washing and if I get it in early, it will dry and can be ironed and put away today.  After that, not a chance until the middle of next week!

Once all the niggling little chores have also been done, I shall sit down and watch the Christmas films I didn't watch yesterday because telly turned out to be better than I thought it would be.

So a busy day today but a happy one and I shall enjoy it.  I hope yours is good too.