My Christmas dinner:

 

When I got up this morning, I said to myself that I would have a black chicken for my Christmas if someone had left a comment urging me to. So it’s on your head, Shandy. Fred says that they are not otherwise imported into the UK, and can only be eaten at fancy restaurants in France. I do agree with you, Tamar, that a chicken is just going to taste like a chicken, but we shall see. It will come with stuffing, gravy, and a potato gratin. I have also ordered parsnips, and I will add sprouts, maybe carrots, and cranberry sauce.

 

I will miss that happy ten minutes at the beginning of Christmas dinner, when everybody is passing the “sides” to everybody. Bread sauce was my husband’s must-have, as cranberry is mine. I’ll skip the pudding and the brandy butter.

 

Thank you all for bath suggestions. The last occupants of this flat were pretty old, too, and the bath is provided with excellent hand-rails, which do make a difference. We have a plastic stool which my husband used to use, when baths got difficult for him. It would take away all the fun, not go get into the water, but I think I may be past the stage of having fun in the bath. Another problem which must be faced soon is a low shelf of some sort for the cats’ food, so that I don’t have to bend all the way down to pick up their dishes. It’s no use being inspired by Jan Morris and by my friend Sylvia. They can do it; I can’t.

 

And I made my sourdough, all but the baking of it, which will be first thing tomorrow. It is remarkable how instructions vary. I think I am beginning to get the hang of it, but I still tend to cling to my original recipe. (“Always keep a hold of Nurse, for fear of finding something worse.”) I didn’t make a levain this time. I had fed my starter twice yesterday, with rye in the mixture, and this morning it was raring to go and passed the float test with ease. So I just used it as-was. All has gone well today – but one never really knows until one opens the oven at the end.

 

I am well advanced down the cuff of the first Evendoon sleeve.  I hope I’ll finish it this evening.