Happy Christmas

I started writing two posts in the past six weeks, but didn't finish either of them. I may still do so, and then publish them back-dated to when I started to write. Today, however, is Christmas Eve so I will continue my annual tradition and post a picture of this year's Christmas cake:

Not significantly different from previous years' cakes. But I don't think I've put an approximate star shape in the middle before (which was my intention, though it doesn't look very star-shaped). I made it at the end of October, fed it a couple of times with Cyprus brandy and put home-made almond paste on it at the end of last week. This afternoon, I made royal icing in the food processor, so it's done, albeit finished rather at the last minute this year. 

I've tried to pace myself with food preparation over the past week. Our freezer is extremely full. But today was fairly busy and tomorrow will be hectic trying to time everything correctly, and keep things hot. Neither of our sons are able to be with us, but our local friends, with four of their offspring will be joining us. And I can't, somehow, let go of the family tradition of making too much food with a lot of options, both for lunch and for tea/supper. 

But, hopefully, I then won't have to cook at all for the rest of the week.

We'll go to the church service tomorrow morning, as we usually do, which should help to focus on the real reason for Christmas for an hour. 

Seasons greetings to all who read this, and wishing you every blessing for 2025.  How strange to recall that, quarter of a century ago, we were all feeling concerned about the 'millennium bug'...

Christmas Eve

Christmas on Wednesday seems ideal. On Sunday, I went to a carol service at LCC which Tim was organising and leading. It only lasted an hour, so we were home in time for me to ice and decorate the Christmas cake before lunch. I didn't feel inspired to do anything fancy, so this is what it looks like:

I didn't do anything much in the afternoon, other than updating another local church website, which I run, and also uploading our annual newsletter to our family website.

I designated Monday for cleaning the house. The usual dusting and mopping that I try to do weekly, plus some window-cleaning which was long overdue. I cleaned upstairs and changed our sheets too, something I usually do on Wednesdays. I had vaguely thought I might get everything done in two or three hours in the morning; in the event it took most of the day, alternating with various other things I wanted to do. Tim made some peppermint creams in the afternoon, and in the evening he assisted in the production of another 40+ mince pies.

Richard and I also went to the fruitaria on Monday, to buy large quantities of potatoes and carrots and broccoli and various other things we're going to need on Christmas Day.

And then, really, there wasn't much left to do.

This morning we went to Metro to pick up the turkey we had ordered; it turned out to be rather smaller than we need to feed twelve people, but happily there were some 'spare' turkeys, so we bought one of those too. And a few other items, but I didn't buy up half the supermarket, as some people seem to wish to do when it's going to be shut for - shock horror! - two whole days.

So Tim has now taken over in the kitchen. The first turkey is cooked and carved, ready for re-heating tomorrow. The second one is currently in the oven, with the smell driving the cats wild. I took the opportunity of putting about 100 photos in albums, when I realised that although I ordered some in October, I had done nothing with them. They date back to December last year, so it was quite a task. But that's now done.

I then found all the gifts we had been given by my siblings when we visited the UK in October, plus a few that have arrived in the post, and put them under the tree:

Now it's 5.15pm and the last thing on my pre-Christmas to-do list is to write this blog post. We're having our favourite local fast-food tonight ('Souvlaki Express') since the oven is fully occupied, then going to a carol service at the Greek Evangelical Church, in which Tim will be singing.

So let me take this opportunity to wish anyone who reads this a very happy, peaceful and blessed Christmas.