Peter's back was too fragile for us to go to church last night so instead I watched the Midnight Mass broadcast from St George's Cathedral. It had the comforting familiarity of High RC church which took me back to my childhood. While the pomp and ceremony is not the way we have worshiped for many years the preaching was thoughtful and sincere and after all we are all celebrating the Birth of Jesus.
After putting the rib of beef in the oven followed by a leisurely start to the day we gathered to open our presents. Lots of treats for everyone, mainly edible ones.
The boys have been so helpful this year, helping with food preparation and even wrapping up presents for Peter when he was confined to bed. Peter has been up and about today aided by tablets and a back brace. Right now the boys are dismantling/mending some old speakers on the coffee table, things never change.
The present that touched me the most was this selection of chocolate truffles flavoured with a variety of liqueurs including gingerbread cream, toffee cream and raspberry vodka. The boys spent most of Friday night making these after I had gone to bed. What a lovely present. Also much appreciated from Peter was a replacement wing mirror for my little car. The mirror fell out a few years ago and I promptly ran over it. While it is not a legal requirement to have a passenger door mirror it does make life a lot easier especially as I have no rear spatial awareness and usually end up getting out of the car to see how much room there is left behind me.
Today is the first day of my Christmas holidays and I am thankful for the fact that many years ago, without a lot of deliberation, I decided to get a teaching qualification after my degree. That was after I had failed to get the grades to take up my place at vet school, spent 3 years doing a degree in biology and was wondering what to next. Teaching has made it possible for me to fit my work around my family rather than vice versa. I was able to go back to supply teaching once Romas started full-time school. I don't know of many other jobs where you can work different days each week to fit around your children's appointments or be free for the school holidays. Even now I enjoy being in class though there are many aspects of the job that are too stressful so I am thankful also to be working part-time and not be responsible for a class.
Once again I have succumbed to the feeling that Christmas should be all about home cooking and attempted to bake biscuits (cookies). I never remember that this is not my forte and that baking biscuits (or cakes) in an oven that has no temperature control is asking for disaster. There is a gauge on the outside of the oven door that tells me how hot the oven is but then I have to adjust the cooking time or where I put things in the oven. Most years I struggle through a batch of biscuits and then promise myself that next year I will just buy some good biscuits. And then I forget.
I had a go at baking Snickerdoodles. First problem was that all the measurements were in cups so I had to convert them into ounces. Then, although I had looked at the recipe earlier and seen that I needed Cream of Tartar, when I bought some I picked up the wrong tub from the shelf and came home with baking powder which I already have. When I discovered this I simply used extra baking powder which might even have been the right thing to do as the recipe said baking soda(?) and Cream of Tartar. The first couple of batches spread all over the baking sheet and were too buttery so I added extra flour and now I have a tin of biscuits to offer my guests. (There was still a batch cooling in the sitting room.)
I also had another attempt at baking a Christmas cake using a recipe from Woman's Hour on R4. It is a lighter fruit cake being made without brown sugar or treacle and the mix tasted a bit sweet to me but hopefully the cake will be OK. Fruit cakes need long slow cooking so following the advice of someone at work I put the metal sheet, that has always sat on the bottom of the oven, half-way across to reduce the heat. Even with that and the baking parchment collar it still got a little dark on the edges. The only adjustments I made to the recipe were to use extra sultanas and peel to make up for the fact that I didn't have any currants or raisins. Also I didn't have any brandy to soak the fruit in, couldn't open the malt whiskey so used rum instead. I don't think I'll ice it as hardly anyone likes the marzipan or icing. That's my excuse anyway. Just as I was about to start baking the repair men turned up to fix our satellite TV as the high winds had affected the signal. That's what happens when you put the dish on the most exposed corner of the building.
Got up early this morning to see the faintest glimmer of a sunrise. It hasn't felt so cold today but there have been frequent showers and it has been generally miserable. First thing I had an appointment with the physiotherapist who says my muscles have eased up and I shouldn't need to see him any more though he will keep my file open for another month in case I feel I need another session. The visit to the hospital left me with a very obvious choice of the thing I am going to be thankful for. That is, not so much our health care, the standard of which can be questionable at times and you have to be proactive in getting the correct care (but that is another matter), but I am truly thankful for the fact that, along with all the other people in this country, I do not have to worry about the cost of medical treatment. Apart from a minority who opt for private medical care, everyone gets free medical care at the point of need. Everybody who works pays National Insurance to cover the cost of the country's Health Service. The only thing that you have to pay for (unless you are on welfare payments or are a child, student or pensioner), is the cost of prescriptions which are a set price. If like me you need a number of medications then it is good value to buy a prepayment card which works out to £9 a month. Getting my back sorted out has so far needed; x-rays, 2 MRI scans and 5 lots of day surgery. The only cost to me has been the cost of travelling to Exeter because I chose not to continue with my small local hospital and instead go to an orthopedic spinal department which has an excellent reputation. I can't imagine how much worry there would be if we had to think about the cost each time a new treatment was proposed.
Walking through the hospital grounds I was surprised to see this cherry tree with blossom on it - in December!
I had a few hours to fill before I needed to be in school so I went and did a few jobs in town, library, Post office etc. I liked the idea of this driftwood Christmas tree in this shop window, (that's my reflection in the window).
I had to include this shot of Speedy with his head in a tub. Yesterday's bargains had included 2 tubs of fresh baby veg and a pat of butter ready to go in the microwave. One of them made a healthy supper for me and the cats got the buttery tub. Speedy wasn't at all worried by wearing the tub like a helmet and continued licking out the butter until I removed the tub. Then he probably ate the pea that was stuck to his tail. Speedy gets in Peter's bad books when he steals and eat tomatoes, especially when they are the last homegrown tomatoes.
As I lay in bed listening to the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal for the work that St Martin's -in-the-Fields (a grand church in Trafalgar Square), does with homeless people I gave thanks that we have a home of our own. I may grumble about not being able to keep it warm enough but how does that compare to those people who sleep in shop doorways or grimy alleys? St Martin's provides emergency beds as well as daytime activities designed to help these people emerge from the depths to which they have sunk. They manage to get 80% of the people who come to them, into the next stage of housing. When we lived in London we would go out with our church to provide food and other basics to these homeless people who were often very troubled. Some critics say that charities who do 'food runs' are encouraging people to sleep on the streets, that is a harsh view and the people are there and hungry. How could we turn our backs on them? Peter also worked full-time for a charity that helped homeless people to get into accommodation. Thinking back to how the homeless would sleep on layers of cardboard and today hearing descriptions of how cold and dangerous it is I also give thanks for our lovely warm bed and for last year's work which enabled me to save up and change our perfectly good standard sized double bed for a super-king and also to buy a full memory foam mattress to ease our creaking joints.
Today has been very cold, frequent wintry showers with the odd bright spell.
During one dry spell I went up and repaired the little soil dam that diverts the water from the road into the field and away from our drive. I have just about finished clearing Romas' room. There are several boxes of stuff that he needs to sort through when he comes home this holiday and then it will all be done. I had been wondering why the room smelt a little stale and on investigation I found that the down pipe that takes the water from the sink in there and another bedroom, was full of stagnant water. I tried unsuccessfully to clear it from the top. When I dug down it looks as if the drain has been put in as a soak-away. Not that daft as it only runs from 2 sinks until you take in consideration that the soil is solid clay. I dug out some rather stagnant clay and the water started to ooze out. Heavy rain stopped me from carrying on digging so I poured some drain cleaner into the top of the drain pipe. I will have to dig a bigger hole to clear the water out. We are having some major drain work done next year so we will either link that drain into the main system or take the water to where it can soak away.
I have finally decided that Smudge our grey cat is almost totally deaf. For some time I have been trying to decide if he was deaf or just going senile. Today he was yelling at me (with his very loud yell) when I was looking out of Romas' window because he wanted to come in. I went to the front door but he did not respond to my shouts until I went round to where he could see me. Indoors I tried clicking my fingers behind his head to no response, the other cats mainly responded but then got fed up with me. Then I took a tin out of the cupboard and clicked my fingers on it. That produced a 90% response from the other cats but almost nothing from Smudge so I think it may well be his hearing. He is about 11 years old so is getting on a bit but I will not be taking him to the vet for a hearing test!
The bargains, on the other hand were numerous last night. After work I went back to B&Q to buy some more expensive gloss paint and filler for the windows and picked up some reduced neglected heather plants which will fill a few gaps. Then I dropped into the Co-Op on the way home. There I found some reduced items. A few moments later I noticed a member of staff going over to reduce goods even further to 75% off. Back on the shelf went my 50% off items and I stocked up on chicken quarters, bacon, sausages, free-range eggs, pork chops, pizzas and cherry cake for the freezer as well as pastrami, ham, cooked chicken and pate for Peter's lunches and a few other goodies. 3 bags of shopping and only the cottage cheese at full price.
I do dislike the way the shops start putting out their Christmas goods so early. It's still 3 weeks to Bonfire Night.
The cats know how to keep themselves warm.
The weather has continued to get better and better. It was roasting in the afternoon and at school the children were complaining about being too hot.
In the morning I hung some washing outside and even the towels were nearly dry by the time I got home.
The afternoon golden sun was lighting up the tops of the trees and my neighbour's lake even though our house was already in the shade. It shows how important it is to chose a good site when building a house. (That's if you are fortunate enough to have a choice.) There are a lot of wild ducks on Paul's lake but there are not many of the call ducks left. 
I am so lucky to have this view from my PC. I tried to catch a sunny spell but as we are down in a valley we lose the sun quite early even when it is shining.
A little earlier the top of the garden was bathed in light,
which quickly turned to overcast again. It is still very warm with westerly winds so I don't know where the warmth is coming from. (I had a quick look on Google and people in the SE are saying it's really cold.)
Earlier on today, before I went to work, Squeaky and Smudge had decided that the best place was cuddled up to the Rayburn.
Speedy was a grubby sight this morning with grey smears all over his back, face and feet. I discovered this when he came up to the bedroom to snuggle up on my soft cream bed throw. Not a chance of that! It didn't smell like oil or anything nasty, probably he had been playing in the barbecue, but there was so much I thought it best to give him a bath to get rid of the worst of it. He wasn't very keen on being placed in a few inches of warm water in the bath and then being gently rubbed with a little soapy water but it got most of the dirt off. We did have one cat who was such a well mannered cat that he never minded a bath when came home in a revolting state but Speedy would much rather NOT have been in the bath.
After his bath and a rub down his feet were still rather dirty but he was looking much better.
I had planned to give myself a day off today but the sun shone and the garden called.....
The forecast was for rain but apart from a few very brief showers it was hot and dry all day long. I managed to cut back the alchemilla around the pond, weed the path and weed all the pond planting. I didn't have time to do much weeding before my friends' visit so if you're reading this girls, this is how the pond should have looked. I'm sure that if I kept everything really tidy all the time I wouldn't have so much wildlife in the garden but it is good to be able to walk on the path. While I was weeding I uncovered a Great Diving Beetle, bright green and about 2" long. Apparently it is a ferocious predator and it is the first time I have seen one in the pond. I wonder how it got there as the pond is fed by water which drains naturally through the hillside. Did it walk from one of the nearby streams or the lake or was the egg carried on the foot of a visiting bird?
Elora, did you ever identify the creature making those little soil mounds? I have similar mounds in a lawn and today as I was about to mow over them again, I saw something going down the holes. Zooming in with the camera is a great way to identify creatures.
My wildlife book tells me that it is a Field Digger Wasp and that it stores flies in the holes for its larvae to feed on. My mystery solved at least. 
The repair work continues, the kitchen wall only needs a final skim and the hall is ready to start being plastered. Only one problem, Fred has done something strange when replacing the board under the stairs and made a sort of ledge which I really don't like. As it is straight in line of sight as you walk through the door I'm going to have to ask him to redo that bit so that it is the same as it was before. Apart from that everything is going well.
Out in the scree garden the grasses are beginning to flower making everything look delicate and full of movement. It was so lovely to be able to take 10 mins sitting peacefully out in the garden before checking the last few reports. Hopefully that is the last of them because they have taken such a long time to do.
Elwen has just returned home after being missing for a few days. We weren't too worried, guessing that she had gone off in a huff over Speedy's introduction to the cat menage. She's being extra friendly and has been rewarded with some tinned cat food (bought specially for Speedy) instead of the big cats' usual dried food. The weather is starting to get colder again which might also have brought her home. Perhaps it was simply that for the first week I booted the other cats out of the conservatory where they usually sleep at night so that I could keep Speedy in until he got used to his new home.
It has been another changeable day, sunny and hot one minute and cold torrential rain the next. Perhaps our temperate climate is turning into a monsoon climate.
Laughing merrily I chased a dripping cat into the house, wiped the worst off with an old towel and left him to dry off under the coffee table. I don't think he'll be making the same mistake again.
