love those cupcakes

Welcoming 2016

 

Time to light the sparklers, crack open the bubbly and wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.

 

Sliding into a new year

I love this in-between bit.

That time of the season when proper cooking goes out the window, endless snacking is the order of the day and you concoct interesting combinations (Twiglet, falafel and cranberry sauce sandwich anyone?) from all the festive stuff stashed in various parts of the kitchen.

That time when you sit down and have a proper look at all the presents you received but were too busy on the day itself, making sure everyone received the right packages, to really appreciate.

That time when almost every cup of coffee is accompanied by a big chunk of Christmas cake which even you can join in with because you managed to make a vegan version at the last minute.

That time when you crave a walk along the beach but when you get there find the tide is well in and you've been joined by the world and his wife and dog.  But you thoroughly enjoy breathing in that sea air, the Boo doesn't make a show of himself, there's a great atmosphere and you even join the long queue at the fish and chip hatch, because eating a bag of hot salty chips in the car before you drive home is what you always do in the in-between bit.

That time when you rush to finish your current book at bedtime (not a problem with Everything I Never Told You, which was the most  brilliant read) so that you can start reading the latest Patricia Cornwell which, magically, always appears in your present pile.

That time when you visit the local panto (Cinderella this year) which turns out to be far from the best you've ever seen, choreographed with a definite 1980s theme and with clunkily executed special effects.  But you join in all the arm waving and shouting of the responses and, predictably, cry when the two pristinely white Shetland ponies appear and out-act the rest of the cast.

That time when you just lie back, put your feet up and enjoy some rather good telly.

That time when you start to think about the year that's about to begin and how it might unfold and how the hell you're going to make room for all that new stuff.

 

Christmas snippets

Giving Aunty M the best send off on the day before Christmas Eve.

Family arriving to stay for a few days.

The fridge and kitchen cupboards full of Christmas food and drink which will come in handy come the siege. Or famine.

Festively wrapped presents for everyone piled under the most perfectly symmetrical tree.

Briefly wondering when the next refuse collection is as the bins overflow.

Candles, twinkly lights, spicy scents and the occasional whiff of a very ripe cheese.

Special treats to nibble and sip as the celebrating begins.

Scrabble on Christmas Eve and a new board game for Christmas night.

A Boo in a scarf.

A baby sporting a 'tache.

Me in an apron, with an acknowledgement of the source of any culinary skills I might have.

Saying goodbye to a far-from-perfect-knitted-by-me Dave the Dog as he leaves with his suitcase and small new owner.

Laughter aplenty. 

A Christmas cry.   Always.

Weeks of planning and preparation.

Over in a most wonderful flash.

 

Christmas Eve

As the final preparations get under way, there's just time to wish you all

a very merry Christmas.  

Capping it all

You know how it is.  

You're busy, busy, busy yet manage to tick off just one thing on your extensive list.

So you  decide to call it a day and catch up on the latest episode of Masterchef: The Professionals with a welcome cuppa and a slice of sourdough toast .

All of a sudden, you realise you're chomping on something other than toasted bread.

Yep, you broke a tooth.

Cue an unplanned visit to the dentist for an emergency repair with the prospect of further dental work in the New Year.

The smile was wiped off someone else's face, too, after his mother dressed him as a Christmas pud.

Reminds me, I must add cornflour for the rum sauce to the list.

 

Light relief

Just so you know it hasn't all been doom and gloom and cauliflowers here.                 

There have been one or two treats of the festive kind.

Fortunately, the newest and littlest member of the family sees the funny side of most things.  On this occasion, a new sweatshirt seemed to be tickling his fancy.  (Photo courtesy of the Girlie's phone.)

I popped into town one evening and bumped into my current favourite band, locally based Cattle and Cane, who provided a welcome musical interlude amidst all the gift finding.  (Have a listen.)

And The Coat is back. Only for two episodes, but still.  

 

 

Please keep your seatbelts fastened

It's been somewhat rocky here of late, and not of the preparing for the festivities kind of turbulence.

Sadly, my aunt (I previously posted about her here and here) passed away last week.  The plan back in June was for her to receive a couple of weeks of rehabilitation in the care home before returning to her own home with support services.  But, following a (not completely surprising) diagnosis of Alzheimer's and a fairly rapid deterioration,  she remained in residential care.

The last few weeks have been spent sorting and emptying her house and handing it back to the landlord, a social housing provider who, perhaps understandably, was chomping at the bit. There was a mountain of papers (she'd kept every postcard I'd ever sent), documents and photographs, all going back donkey's years, every scrap of which had to be checked, though most ended up in the bin.  To be honest, the majority of her stuff ended up at the council tip, which was distressing to manage, with some of the better bits going to the charity shop.   

I seem to have been permanently attached to the phone. Of course, there's been all the official notifying and informing and closing down which always takes longer than you imagine it will. And various relatives, who hadn't had any contact with Aunty M (or me, for that matter) for a number of years, suddenly want to spend hours chatting about her and generally poking their noses in.

The funeral is taking place a couple of days before Christmas, not quite the lead-up activity I was hoping for but it's that final goodbye that just has to be said. 

There was some welcome light relief yesterday as the Boy and I spent the day in London, a day out we'd planned months ago, which provided the opportunity to read for a couple of hours on the train, eat delicious food, walk by the river, browse the stalls at a couple of markets, listen to the carol singers, talk about normal stuff and just breathe out.

It was a really good day.  

Though I'm fairly sure that's the first time I've returned from a trip to London with a cauliflower.