Two days of quiet, chilled pleasing ourselves. Sad not to have our daughter here with us and my ma in law. The 17lb turkey was cooked to absolute optimum fineness and was tasty and plentiful - indeed I have just sliced it and frozen it in handy meal packs and with the massive bag of chunks for a turkey curry, it’ll have provided enough for ten meals! 14 if you count the drumsticks and wings expertly butchered off by the HG for Bluebell ( and Freddie when he is here )! I didn’t order a 17lber it’s just what came!
Christmas dinner was a lot less on the plate than I used to do years ago and no one knows how we actually used to manage it all!
Mashed potatoes, goose fat roast potatoes and parsnips, glazed carrots, I did fancy sprouts this year - individually leafed them, chopped streaky bacon fried till crisp, add massive knob of butter and stir fry the sprouts and add chestnuts - lovely! Pigs in blankets, yorkshires which were huge and gravy which was delicious this year.
Typical really isn’t it - house beautiful and clean and tidy, decorations perfect and best tasty dinner in years cooked to perfection - just us and no visitors!!
We ate about 3.15 and nobody wanted a pudding! I walked Bluebell just afterwards in a bid to feel less full! The menfolks finished the tidying and cleaning and I enjoyed a bit of freezing cold air and looking at peoples festively lit homes. I think we watched Corrie and Emmerdale. I can’t really remember !
The fire was lit, I had some baileys and just enjoyed the coziness of the tree lit room.
We all opened some lovely gifts, I had some cute little earrings off the HG.
Bluebell opened her present like a pro after sitting by the tree thinking they were all for her
We ended the day by watching the opening credits of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and the rest through our eyelids!
Boxing Day menu as readers of my decade old blog should know is always cold turkey, home made real thrice cooked chips ( I did crinkle cut this year - fancy! ), peas and gravy with stuffing and left o we pigs in blankets on the side.
We didn’t eat it at lunchtime, however, breaking with tradition we opted for a late brunch of perfect dippy eggs and soldiers. They were so so good!
I then opened up my jigsaw and as the HG snoozed, I sorted it all and completed the edges
before taking Bluebell out onto the field for a run and a play with her new Christmas ball. It was cold but thanks to my new warm craghoppers leggings from the HG I was fine! We had the field to ourselves and had a good 45 minutes before the wind and icy rain chased us home. Mr 23 then showered the mud off Bluebell and we gave her another present box to open.
We had tea ( Nom ) AND a pudding - meringue, mandarins and cream for the HG, warmed mince pie and icecream for me and a mint magnum for Mr 23. Washing up done we settled down and watched the brilliant Dawn French in the Beatrix Potter and Ronald Dahl drama we’d taped on Christmas Day. It was heart warming and utterly charming. Loved it.
We then laid about again until bedtime.
This morning after a stormy night’s sleep ( 4am the wind finally dropped ) thanks to Storm Bella, I got up and processed the turkey. Tidied the kitchen. Sorted my Christmas Flaars
Had a luxury choca mocha coffee and a chocolate for breakfast and fast forwarded through The Mask
And finally just before I go and get dressed as it’s 10.45 ish
The Covid test I ordered just arrived.
As you know the HG was self isolation via track n trace. My best friend contacted me to say she tested positive and even though the only contact since we broke up from school ( I’m lucky enough to work with two of my bestest friends ) she doorstep delivered my Christmas present and I gave her hers, we maintained a more than 2m distance and she didn’t know then. But I felt shivery on Christmas night and started an annoying cough. Probably jumping the gun considering my negative test on Friday 18th but I need to know. I know it’s Sunday but the priority post goes at 12 noon so I wed to do the test and get it posted just before then for accuracy. Fingers crossed it’s just a common cold! The HG declared he couldn’t take another ten days self confinement ! I may suggest he goes stays at his mum’s hahahahaha
He’s got toothache! So that’ll be an emergency dentist visit tomorrow for him - first day of his freedom and we are hoping to see Miss 26 and exchange gifts.
It is absolutely pouring down here.
Maybe it’s Mr 23’s turn to walk the dog!
What are our plans for today?
Lots of love for now
Rachel *lazy mode* Radiostar xxx
I understand the whole perfect Christmas decorations, and meal and nobody there to witness it. Your food sounds so good. I hope your test comes back as expected -- negative and you just have a regular old cold. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteSending good, healthy vibes for 'just' a cold and no worse3, preferably better. I'm so glad you had a love3ly Christmas, even if it was quieter than usual!
ReplyDeleteIt's getting jolly chilly here again now. Brrrrr.
xx
I am full of cold(thanks to George), and sat up to 4am last night, couldn't sleep with a blocked nose and the noise of the storm outside, thankfully the garden is undamaged, so lazy day sat reading.
ReplyDeleteOur chrimbly dinner was one of many 'screens'. My youngest set up a video link up for all the family so that we could 'eat together' from all corners of the country. So we all sat down at 6pm and between us we had six different dinner tables,two in Scotland, three in Lancashire and one in East Yorkshire. A different but still very enjoyable evening meal. We are now eating left overs (and probably will do until the new year!)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had some good days. Hope it's just a cold and nothing worse. I like the look of your frothy choca mocha with whipped cream on top - might copy that idea.
ReplyDeleteWe were reduced in numbers too, just my #1S who came for dinner.. we enjoyed it all. Boxing day was cold duck(we don't have turkey) pork and ham with a cheesy potato bake and a large green salad, lettuce from our garden and while the men had pudding I had ice-cream, my greatest diet failing.
ReplyDeleteI'm in awe of anyone who manages to eat a pudding on Christmas Day. Every year I buy one but it never gets eaten until some time after New Year. I can always manage a Baileys, however :)
ReplyDelete