‘Tis the first of December
and in three weeks and three
All needs to be ready
for our yuletide jamboree
But the cake is still just batter
the presents are not bought
the wreath is still a-growing
but is she overwrought?
No reader she is not.
In the Seasonal Steeplechase we are barely out of the traces and (to mix my sporting metaphors nicely) there is everything still to play for. I hope you will join me for the annual December day by day shambles as I hurtle towards Christmas with the grace and élan of a charging wildebeest, before (hopefully) it all turns out quite beautifully on the 25th.
Of course, no elite sportswoman comes to the starting blocks (yes we are on athletics now, and what of it??) without a degree of training and preparation. In the last fortnight of November, when not trudging round the lake with the hound or trying to get the last bulbs in, I did manage to wrap the advent calendar presents. (I might add that, In a magnificent exercise of self restraint, I consumed barely ten per cent myself (the necessary minimum for appropriate quality control purposes)). By some miracle I also ensured that four lots were delivered before the 1st. Yes the fifth may still be in the garret, but it is wrapped and ready to go if I can get my act together tomorrow. I have also compiled this year’s Advent quiz the first question of which is at the end of this post. The answer will follow in tomorrow’s post with day 2’s question.
*post temporarily interrupted to remove paper lids from baking cakes*
Where was I again? Oh yes, the pre-match prep (we’re on to rugby now). Since summer we’ve been drowning in a sea of produce and, as the weather started to cool, so the preserving started to warm up. Bottled fruit, home made hooch and jam supplies are now at an all time high. As a last hurrah, Keith brought up a massive tray of onions and green tomatoes in an attempt to clear out the greenhouse last week. Whilst he and Lachlan were off at the rugby the coast was clear for chutney making (Keith finds the smell of evaporating vinegar a bit too bracing). Whilst the witches’ brew bubbled away I set about some tea mixing, a recent visit to Oxford having taken in a Korean supermarket with a busting fine selection of loose teas, on which I proceeded to wreak havoc with “interesting” additions. In an act of neighbourly hostility, I shall be wrapping jars, bottles and bags with tinsel and inflicting the results on all and sundry.
Other than the squirrelling away of various jars and bottles for hampers, and a bit of soap and candle making, I’m coming at Christmas from a fairly cold start this year. A moth attack in the spring saw most of my wool stash tossed away and I’ve not had the heart to restock so there are NO Christmas jumpers in hand. I’ve recently pivoted to a bit of needlework in the evenings to justify my audiobook addiction (the latest was Skippy Dies – another corker from Paul Murray), but I’m definitely going to have to take myself in hand and knock out something soon. As for the rest of Santa’s hoard, well its all looking a bit hairy to be honest. I have a raft of unstarted projects lurking sullenly on the garret floor plotting against me. Black Friday passed me by as I spent the weekend on a jolly to Bath with some old friends. In a moment of desperation I tentatively looked at a slipper website this afternoon.
So what was today’s achievement on the festive front?
“bong”
With impeccable timing Alexa’s timer has just announced that it is cake o’ clock. Using Auntie Zee’s old recipe I mustered 3 proper cakes and an assortment of teeny ones for emergency slipper fillers. In a fit of innovation I did two flavours, making one more spicy, with figs, apricots and dates, for the new year. Alas, I did not segregate them onto different shelves and they have turned out looking awfully similar. I might need to nibble a few edges to make sure I get the icing right. Anyway, it still feels like progress. Today they cool, tomorrow they start to drink!
Advent Quiz question 1: What was PG Wodehouse’s Nickname
Plum