Saturday 19th December 2020 - Sid Helps Out, Preparations and Tipples

Well, so far so good. Sid has ignored our table top Christmas tree but as I only put it up on Thursday; it’s early days. He did take an interest this morning, while I was on my hands and knees in the conservatory making our door wreath. I had laid out an old towel which was covered in foliage from our garden and some ivy berries cut from the hedgerows. Sid decided this could not be ignored. He patted some leaves across the floor and then decided to burrow under the towel, before eventually getting bored with the whole process, leaving me to continue in peace.

I am well into Christmas preparations. Not so much to do as we won’t be having family staying with us, but still plenty to keep me occupied, especially in the kitchen. The top of the cooker is looking a bit of a mess with splatters from where I have been frying meat for various dishes, some to eat this during this week and others for the freezer. I have vowed not to clean it until I have completed all the messy preparations, which should be tomorrow, after I have cooked a Keralan chicken curry and a Greek lamb stifado later today. I am not the only one in the kitchen, Barney sits in the doorway in the hope that I will drop some meat trimmings and Peter has been filtering his Christmas tipples; blackberry vodka and sloe gin. Different shades of red, I could not resist taking a photo of the bottles and in the evening neither of us could resist having a taster!

While I write this, I can hear in the background, Christmas tunes being played as the Overstrand Christmas boat makes its way round the village. Due to Covid-19 this is a greatly scaled down event compared to previous years, but as one of the participants said, it should bring a smile to everyone’s faces. I am sure it will.