The longest day of the year passed almost unnoticed as we raced around attending to last minute preparations. The 25th has been and gone. Time to reflect.

ANTICIPATING The New Year stretches before me, full of promise if I ignore the  threats of “strike action” and “possible power cuts” which dominate the media right now. I have placed my torches, batteries, candles and matches where I can easily find them in the dark should the lights go off. If it is  a long electricity outage, I guess I shall just walk around to my friend to keep warm by her log-burning stove.

CELEBRATING I have always been a bit ambivalent about Christmas. I deplore the over-commercialism and all that sentimental hype about “the best Christmas ever”. And I never want to hear another song about a white Christmas. . . I don’t think that I have ever awoken to a snowy scene on Christmas Day, not even when I was a child. However I always look forward to seeing my Family and just being with my nearest and dearest. That is what matters.

COOKING Mince pies. Yes, I know that every supermarket has been selling mince pies for weeks now. But I much prefer the mince pies baked from  Jocelyn Dimbleby’s  recipe. i used to make peppermint creams at Christmas but stopped back in 1988 when the UK junior health minister Edwina Curry initiated a salmonella scare over using raw eggs. It is not quite the same to reconstitute egg white from powder. 

EATING My  daughter-in-law sent me home with a carrier bag full of left-overs from our Christmas meals. I don’t need to go shopping for a couple of days. For lunch I opened a couple of foil packages to find roast potatoes and chicken. All I had to do was to cook some carrots and broccoli. And I had cold plum crumble for dessert. Delicious!

ENJOYING This amazing octopus. No! I did not crochet him. He was a gift to my son from his brother-in-law. 

KNITTING One more pair of wrist warmers. This time for me! The pattern that I found uses “basket stitch” but I think that “purl two, knit two rib” works much better. Since I am using up wool yarn from my stash I am working the warmers in stripes, knitting both warmers side-by-side to ensure the stripes match.

DARNING talking of “wool” leads me to the next task:mending my hand-knitted wool socks which I had never actually worn. When I put them on I discovered that moth larvae had had a veritable feast, chomping away and leaving large holes. Right now my wool socks and my remaining  wool yarn are in my freezer and will remain there for a couple of weeks to destroy any remaining larvae.

WALKING It was great on Boxing Day to take advantage of the fine weather and go outside for a walk. “Ham House”  was open so we explored the rooms then walked along the Thames back into Richmond. After all that rain the path was muddy but that did not deter the many families also out for an afternoon’s fresh air.

WATCHING “Death On The Nile”, the 2022 version starring and directed by Kenneth Branagh. Of course i have read Agatha Christie’s book. Of course I have seen a previous film version. However, I had forgotten who done it and even had I remembered, Branagh’s version was so sumptuous with stunningly beautiful scenery.

WRITING Am writing my ‘thank you’ letters with my fountain pen. My handwriting is so  much neater with a proper nib as opposed to a ball-point. And hand-written letters received through the post are so much better than a hastily scribbled email or text.

RESOLVING After all, it is that time of year when we make resolutions which are promptly forgotten a week later . . . I suspect that it is a bit like “wishing”. When you make a wish as you blow out the candles on your birthday cake you  never tell anyone  that wish, else it will not come true. Same with resolutions. Sharing them makes it even less likely that you will actually keep them! This year I have decided to make just one resolution and to write it down and seal it in an envelope to be opened this time next year.

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