Wednesday 20 December 2023

Cranberries and Carols

 


If I overlook the mountain of ironing I worked through this morning, I have enjoyed a relaxed and stress free day. Simply the fact that I didn't wake until after 6am was proof of that. My brain has clearly tuned itself into holiday mode.

I've also spent some much needed time catching up on some blog reading, and it is  lovely to be up date with everyone's news. Although I'm having a few issues leaving comments on some posts and I think some might also have been sent directly to spam. I will keep persevering. 

This afternoon I made some cranberry sauce and the kitchen was filled with the most amazing aroma, as it simmered gently on the stove. I've put some in the freezer alongside the apple sauce, ready for serving with our Christmas Dinner, and the rest is going to be stirred in with our baked Camembert on Christmas Eve. As I don't really enjoy roast dinners, I'm sure you can probably guess which will be my favourite way of eating it. And I've still to bottle the blackberry vodka. Perhaps I'll do that tomorrow. 

This evening, Lily and I went Carol singing in the village, accompanied by a wonderful community band. We were meant to be on the village green, but sadly the inclement weather put paid to that idea, so the event was held in the church instead. It was just such a lovely evening, filled with joyful singing and punctuated by terrible Christmas Cracker jokes. Also, we were asked to participate a little more than expected during The Twelve Days of Christmas. It was a good way of keeping us warm, at least. 
The evening was fairly well attended, I thought, and I even saw a couple of dogs who were very well behaved and sat beautifully throughout. 

Tomorrow, I think I shall be doing the Christmas food shopping. Wish me luck!

J. X



14 comments:

  1. I’ve neglected my blog reading and feel very bad about it; family things have taken over just lately!

    I bet your kitchen smelt divine. I love all the smells associated with Christmas.

    I hope that you have a very happy Christmas… oh and good luck with the food shopping! Sal 😁

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    1. It's lovely to hear from you, Sal. It can be a busy time of year trying to get everything done, so I hope you're able to take some time for yourself now and again.
      Wishing you a Merry Christmas. Xx

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  2. Apart from the ironing your day sounds lovely. Home made cranberry sauce sounds delicious, sadly mine comes out of a jar. A church that welcomes dogs is nice, they are God's creatures after all. Christmas food shopping for me today too, not looking forward to that, good luck xx

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    1. I hope your food shop went well, Eileen. I changed my mind and went into town to get the remaining items I needed from there, so I'll be visiting the supermarket and farm shop today. X

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  3. Your evening carol singing sounds delightful, brings back memories of the carol singers in our village when I was a child, very festive.

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    1. It was a lot of fun. I'm glad we went. X

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  4. I've never made my own cranberry sauce. It looks delicious. Glad you enjoyed carol singing even if you had to change venue. Sounds like a very welcoming church you have in the village x

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    1. Cranberry sauce is very simple to make, Beverley. And it makes the house smell amazing while it's simmering on the stove. X

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  5. Wonderful to hear it was a stress-free day, it sounds ideal - doing what you love (not ironing!) and sharing holiday music with others. I did my Christmas dinner shopping today, and while there can be tension in the stores, I was happy to find the crowds were small and everyone was in the holiday mood- here's wishing you the same experience!

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    1. So far, there hasn't appeared to be the usual shopping frenzy one might expect at this time of year. It's the huge quantities that people buy that always amazes me. X

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  6. Your evening of Carol Singing sounds great, it's all part of the wonderful season that is Christmas :)
    Hope your shopping goes well.

    All the best Jan

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  7. Sounds like it was a lovely day (other than the ironing!) :)

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