Saturday, December 18, 2010


Still snowless (and bitterly cold) in Edinburgh – I should be able to get my husband across the city to see his sister this morning. There is much snow elsewhere in Britain. Will James and his family get here (by train) tomorrow? Will Helen and hers arrive (by air) on Wednesday and Thursday? Who knows.

I had one Pollyanna-ish thought, though: if we had succeeded in going to Strathardle in November – we were deterred by the weather forecast at virtually the last moment – we would have taken the Christmas pudding along and left it there. As it is, it’s here. I made it earlier in November.

I made the cranberry relish yesterday. Otherwise, little progress. Beds for expected guests still unmade. This is the state of the wrapping:


The problem is – one of the problems is – that, with the pavements clear, it is a good idea for my husband to get out for a walk every day. He won’t go without me, and in this weather it is not a good idea that he should attempt it. So that takes up an appreciable amount of otherwise disposable time. The visit to C. will count as today’s outing. I can make beds this afternoon if I pull myself together.

During the previous weather crisis, before we went to London, Edinburgh was covered with snow and ice and my husband was completely imprisoned. Bad for him, but I had more time for Christmas-card-writing (still not completely finished).

Here are Cathy’s socks, plural:


They’re not a secret, and not a Christmas present, so I can carry on next week. Maybe even finish…

5 comments:

  1. I was reading of the 5th definition of fey in one of your recent posts and immediately thought of Cold Comfort Farm. This was the sense of the use of 'fey' in the description of Elphine Starkadder - incidentally, the only one I was acquainted with! Must repeat my mother's exploit and actually read the dictionary from cover to cover.

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  2. re Christmas food. Delia has a foolproof recipe for roast gammon which works a treat and is very easy. There is festive rum and raisin sauce which goes with it which is lovely. And how about Nigel Slater? There is a simple recipe for a chorizo and bean stew on the winter section of his website.

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  3. How about a pumpkin risotto with a good quality red wine vinegar instead of red or white wine to deglaze and provide the bite?

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  4. Greetings from Downunder. I was going to offer to send some sun and heat from here but the current weather is wet and windy!
    No Christmas presents have been wrapped. I have an 80th birthday card to make before the 24th. (This involves finding 80 suitable quotations and pasting them onto card.) I have iced the Christmas cake.
    You are therefore much further ahead than I am.

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  5. =Tamar1:40 AM

    Stephanie Pearl-McPhee had a good blog post titled "Enough."
    You are enough, right now.
    The stuff is just details.

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