Tuesday 26th December

 Putting a title to most of my posts seems a bit limiting, as I seem to flit from topic to topic.

What's more interesting? Pictures or words? Words, I think. People have different styles, but I think I personally like reading; anecdotes, reminisce, snippets.

I got up late this morning, so breakfast and mid-morning coffee were combined at about half past nine. Home made mini mince pies; unsweetened all butter shortcrust and Delia Smith (sort of) mincemeat. Himself prefers sweetened pastry and a sweeter mincemeat. Or maybe ordinary sized mincemeat pies, so you get more filling to pastry.

Lunch was steak! Cooked by Himself. It was delicious. We had it with some of yesterday's red cabbage and rosti style potatoes. 

Together we made an emergency 5 minute peppercorn sauce; crush a tablespoon of peppercorns (use the back of a spoon) and add to some melted butter and sizzle. Add a good glug of dry sherry and sizzle some more to drive off the alcohol. Next a hazel nut sized piece from a beef stock cube, and a little boiling water if necessary, finally a teaspoon of dijon mustard. Now, watching carefully because it wants to be hot but not curdled, double cream. Plenty of double cream. We tasted it. I added a shake of dark soy sauce for salt and mellowness, he added ground black pepper.

We sat there in a state of bliss eating our lunch and finishing yesterday's battle of wine. 

Revelation; if instead of a traditional, but unsatisfactory turkey we had some steak, and served it with Christmas vegetables, it would be perfect. Goodbye turkey!

At about four in the afternoon, just before dark, I went upstairs. Standing in the bedroom window I watched one of the local semi-urban foxes calmly sitting in the middle of the drive opposite, completely focused on dealing with an itch on its backside.

first drawing in my new giant diary

Several of our neighbours have barricaded the underneath of their cars with pot plants and fencing and bits of wood, as the foxes are a real pest and eat various bits and pieces to do with the something or others there which make the cars work. They live on the golfcourse behind our houses. Several people in our road are feeding them. You should hear Himself on the subject of foxes; as a lad he used to help his farming neighbours on a hill farm.