Celtic Cook Goes Home

 It’s here at last. Can’t believe I’ve managed to blog my way through it. Todays post is like the last door on the advent calendar no more to open for a bit at least. Thanks to everyone who has been following my ramblings  you can take a rest from it now………. Today was the big day for preparations. Ham in slow cooker covered in apple juice and cider with cloves and cinnamon sticks. Didn’t take long for it to fill the air with a delicious aroma.  Before I could really get started I had to do a Sainsbury's run for a neighbour who is shielding. I didn’t mind as I had an hour sitting with Oliver while Carrie and Matthew went for PCR tests. They’re headed for Dubai on Boxing Day. Thankfully test came back negative. So from there headed to Sainsburys. Not too busy so got everything on the list to be delivered to neighbour.  Soon the kitchen was filling up with pots and bowls and Robin was in utility room doing the veg. I prepared pigs in blankets and put them on spears of r...

 A wet and miserable day again but it wasn’t going to be a problem as I had today marked out as the start of Christmas Day preparations. I was going to start some cooking. Cranberry relish, thanks to Delia Smith. I’ve been making it for more years than I care to remember and as I no longer use the cook book I think I may have strayed a little from the original. But main ingredients are all in there. Cranberries, of course, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, orange peel and juice, sugar and of course a splash, or two of port toward end of cooking.  Soon it was bubbling away and the kitchen was beginning to smell a lot like Christmas. The red cabbage was next. I always think it tastes better after a day or two as the flavours all fuse together. Easy to heat up too in the microwave on the big day. I just stir in a tablespoon of cranberry jelly to give it a nice shiny appearance Something else I don’t need to worry about on the day  Red cabbage and red onion, dash of red vinegar to se...

 Nearly there! Bit of baking this morning to fill the tins, again, and a trip to town for lunch. It was quiet for this time of year and restaurant also quiet, although had started to get a bit busier as we left. As it was now pouring with rain we just headed straight home.  By the time we got to the car we were soaked and chilled. Couldn’t wait to get home and into dry clothes. Yes, we had gone out without raincoats, but added to the issue was that it was sleety rain. Not pleasant at all.  We were no sooner home and into dry clothes than we were enjoying hot drinks and choosing our daily movie. It has become a daily ritual this week. I think as I was so organised with nothing much to do it just seemed the perfect way to pass an afternoon. Today we chose Love Actually. Love it, even although I’ve seen it so many times. Luckily we’ve been able to find a movie that we both enjoyed. Let’s hope we can find another couple over the next two days to take us to Christmas Day....

 Two positives today. The first being we have now reached the shortest day of the year and from now on the days will start to get longer. Won’t happen quickly but it’s a start. The other positive is that this Christmas there are no sudden decisions meaning we can’t be together with family on the big day and for that I am most grateful. Last Christmas was a very difficult one for a lot of people so I hope this year people can make up for the disappointments.   Today was cold and miserable. We took the dog for a walk on Glasgow Green. I needed some fresh air and a good walk and was wrapped up well but it was damp and no amount of clothing could keep the cold out. Took me forever to warm up even when back in the warmth of home. Hot tea and mince pie was the order of the day.  However even in the dull grey day I managed to get some nice photos. No blue skies and sunshine but great reflections in the river. Even the pigeons were reflecting in it.        ...

The turkeys in the bag! Well fridge actually. A trip to M&S today to pick up an order so decided to have a wander round to see what was sell by dates were on the products. For the most part they were after 25th, and many to end of the month, so was able to buy the turkey 🦃 and put a few extra treats into the trolley while I was there. So we are now well and truly ready for the big day. It feels so good to be this organised  I even ironed the table cover today. Not my favourite job. But now it’s done. I am aware that everything is on a bit of a knife edge at the moment and keeping my fingers crossed that we all stay healthy.  Hoping too that all our friends manage to enjoy a Christmas that so many of us missed out on last year.  Keeping social contacts to a few people and testing regularly  is our way of life at the moment. Who knew this would become part of the Christmas preparations, let’s hope it’s one that doesn’t become a long term tradition and we can go ba...

 Strange to think a week today we will be eating Christmas leftovers and enjoying our Christmas gifts.  I’ve had a lovely day. Son in law, grandson and granddaughter popped in en route to football. They weren’t here long, but long enough to put away a loaf of bread and free up room in the fridge by enjoying bacon and sausage sandwiches. It was lovely to see them, and to see them looking so well. We’re all keeping fingers crossed that we all stay healthy to enjoy Christmas together.  After they’d gone and I’d tidied up I was able to sit and relax and finish off my book and enjoyed a nice cuppa and a couple of mince pies.  Robin dipped in and out of the football. We even broke out the tin of quality street 😂. Yes Christmas has arrived at Blairtum.  So all in all it was a lovely lazy Sunday. No cooking, reheated lasagne and salad for tea. No last minute rushing around to get everything ready. Bit more cooking and baking to do through the week. Need to do something...

 Today didn’t quite go according to plan. A visit from family didn’t happen as we are being careful, as we’ve always been, about this new covid variant and none of us want to end up isolating and not being able to spend Christmas together. I was really disappointed but looking that it wasn’t cancelled but merely postponed. Let’s just keep fingers crossed we all keep healthy until Christmas next week 🤞🏻 The weather did nothing to cheer me up as the fog never lifted all day. It was grey and miserable. A day for staying at home for sure. A Christmas film was the order of the day. Watched The Coopers and have to say enjoyed it even though I’d seen it before   This photo was taken at three in the afternoon and had been like this since we woke up and just got worse. By the time Hamish was having his last walk we had to light him up to be seen. He’s never too happy about wearing anything apart from his collar and lead but it seemed like even he realised that he needed something to ...

 Took a trip into town today. Had tried to book a nice lunch but everywhere we tried was fully booked. However given the new covid outbreak we were spoiled for choice when it came to lunchtime. Very sad to see the place so quiet a week before Christmas. Seems there had been lots of cancellations and no shows due to people trying to keep themselves safe before Christmas.  We started with a coffee in Princess Sq. It’s always very festive so enjoyed decor while enjoying a nice  cup of coffee   A walk around the town, browsing but not shopping made it so obvious that the city was quiet.  When it was time for lunch we finally chose The Spiritualist. They were doing small sharing plates and that really appealed. For a bit we were actually the only two people in the place until another couple came in.  We enjoyed a delicious selection of small plates. A smoked salmon tostado, a quirky pig in bao bun which was delicious and something I may well copy over the festiv...

 Cannot believe I am now “Christmas ready”. Last parcels wrapped today all cards went out yesterday and house is fully decorated so all to do now is enjoy. It such a good feeling knowing no last minute trips to shops required. Apart from fresh food supermarket shopping also done. Maybe I shouldn’t be feeling so pleased with myself it might come back to bite me 😂 I always like to make up some hamper gifts too. A mix of homemade and bought foodie gifts. It’s so easy to do and nothing need to be homemade if you don’t have the time, or indeed the inclination. A small basket or container, a cellophane bag and a ribbon is all that’s needed. Before returning home from Shanghai I stocked up on bags, ribbons and bundles of bags so I’m sorted now for many years to come. I’m so glad I did.  It’s fun putting them together and can be filled to please the recipient. I’ve done coffee hampers even adding espresso bubble bath and coffee smelling candle. Italian ones with good olive oil , past...

 Final house preparations finished today. Yeh!  Guest bedroom now awaiting family to use at the weekend. Looks cosy and I’d be happy to sleep in it 😂.  New lights also arrived for our bedroom so got those put up too  some tidying and ironing kept me busy for a good bit of the day but thankfully can now sit back and relax knowing all that’s to be done now is keeping it tidy and dust free, if that’s even possible. After having achieved what I set out to do today I thought a treat might be in order with my afternoon mince pie, so what better than a glass of festive sherry. Yes it’s definitely Christmas now the sherry is out. Might need to think about making some shortbread too.                                                                             CHEERS!

 Today was a productive day. Trip to post office to start with then home to make some soup for lunch. It was a soup cooking class as Robin is keen to add this to his skills. It’s one of the easiest things to make because no real recipe required,it can be added to as you go along. Starting with basics, onion, garlic and ham stock from the freezer. We added tomatoes potatoes and lentils. Potatoes release starch so help thicken a soup. We decided to add some smoked paprika for more flavour.  With S&P we ended up with a nice tasty soup and lots left over for tomorrow. A successful class.😂 I then wanted to try out a new recipe for a pork terrine. Easy to put together but an hour and a half cooking time plus allowing it to cool in the oven means it was a long cook and as yet haven’t tasted it. But it looks and smells ok so hopefully with a nice crusty loaf will make for a nice lunch tomorrow. Some will be frozen too to be used when needed.  After lunch I got back to wrappi...

 With only 12 days left until the big day I’m feeling happy with the way things are going. Pretty organised and feeling relaxed about it all. No last minute rush, although I’m sure there will be something I’ve missed.  We put some lights up in guest bedroom. I brought these back from Shanghai and had thus far never managed to hang them but today was the day they were lit up. So after 3 years lying in a box they are finally twinkling as intended. I have another set for other bedroom but they are rather tangled and taking a bit of sorting out. Hopefully we’ll get there on the end.  I’m very happy with them and from the outside they look great. A welcome glow as we approach the house. The tree and other decorations all face the garden area so not visible from the from the front of the house but this has certainly brought a bit of festive joy to the entrance of the house .   I had a friend popping in this afternoon on route back home to Yorkshire. I had mince pies I made...

 Today was a good one in terms of getting Christmas ready. First job of the day was to write our Christmas cards. The days of sending masses of cards has gone. People are in contact all the time now via FB, email or through other means. Also everyone is more aware of environmental issues leading to an increase in e-cards which can be fun. So now my cards are for people I really want to send cards to, the important people in my life.  I enjoyed the hour or so it took to write them and for the cards that were going to people I don’t see I was able to remember the good times and fun we’d had together. Always the possibility that one day we will meet up again.  As I wrote the last card I felt that was one of the enjoyable tasks done and looked forward to wrapping gifts.  But first I had mince pies to make. The first ones I’ve made this year. I have made mincemeat buns and madeleines but it’s not Christmas without a mince pie or two. I used my homemade PX sherry mincemeat...

 Today was on the calendar as the final day to finish festive decorating. Really all that was left to do was put the tree up. It always takes way longer than I think it will. One of the things I love most is reminiscing with all the ornaments as they are put on the tree. Remembering where I’d bought them, who was with me and of course remembering the people not with us now. I treasure all the memories.  One by one the ornaments were put on the tree. Slowly it all started to come together. I thought I was just about there when I found another box I’d missed. So I then I had to find spaces to put them all. Nothing can be left behind. I had a few repairs to do. Out came the glue gun and a butterfly wing was reattached and a handprint from my youngest grandchild, Oliver had to have a finger glued back on. Repairs done they then found their place on the tree.  When the last adjustments were made, the lights switched on and I was able to stand back to check everything looked ok...

 Can it really be ten days into the month already? Time is passing quickly. Today we had a lunch date on the calendar. We headed to Linlithgow in beautiful winter sunshine to meet friends for a pre Christmas catch up. We arrived a bit early so had time to enjoy the loch and Linlithgow Palace, a place where Mary Queen of Scots spent some of her life.  It was looking amazing with the blue skies and sunshine. With a little bit of time to browse the local shops I couldn’t help buying some butter knives and dessert forks. Neither of which I needed but loved them so much. An early Christmas gift? A couple of hours catching up and chatting about what’s going on in the world, what we’re reading, what we’re cooking, eating and drinking. Raising a glass to the fact we’ve all stayed healthy and appreciating how lucky we are.  All too soon it was time to go our separate ways. It will be 2022 before we meet again. Looking forward to it.  Our hope is that it gets better for everyo...

 Today I had a coffee date with a friend who I got to know while living in Shanghai. She has now also returned to live in Glasgow so it’s great we can meet up again. Never short of something to chat about. We met in Tinerbox, a coffee shop in Princess Sq. There is always a lovely tree and decorations so perfect for our pre Christmas meet up.  After coffee, and of course a muffin we had a wander through the shops. No actual shopping but lots of ideas for another day. Too soon we had to go our separate ways but look forward to meeting up again in 2022. Didn’t do much in the way of festive activities once home. But the missing parcel from yesterday turned up so much improved mood today.😂 Robin was out tonight a deep long relaxing bath was my plan. I also managed to finish a book I’d been reading. So a good night. Decided I’d make a Christmas cocktail for us to enjoy once Robin arrived home. He does love a negroni, a bit bitter for my taste, but with a recipe for a winter negroni...

A relaxing morning at the hairdressers. So now all ready to party, if only………….Still have some lunches out will spend time with friends which will be lovely  looking forward it   On returning had a text saying a parcel was delivered 5 mins before I got home. No parcel, no note posted through the door and a photo of “my” signature. Checked with neighbours, no luck, tried same address but Drive instead of Park, not there either although one delivered there a couple of days ago was retrieved. Find it strange it wasn’t t brought to us as it is very close by! Anyway trying to contact DHL was, and still is proving difficult. So now my relaxing morning had given way to a stressful afternoon. An afternoon that was set aside for card writing was soon spoiled, the mood wasn’t great, at least not for card writing. I knew there wouldn’t be many festive activities going on here today. I made a small addition by putting out seasonal toiletries in bathrooms and brought out the festive washin...