Nadolig Llawen

 

A very Happy Christmas All

Hope you have a happy and blessed Christmas.

Chrisxx

All sorted.

 We  have our groceries delivered and all this week we've been adding tasty things to our order, then having guilt feelings so taking them off the next day. But looking at our order yesterday several items had been dropped off our list, out of stock. One item was the cloves, which we need for our spicy red cabbage, so we decided we would have a trip to our local Coop. We do buy all our extra bits there and one of the cashiers, an elderly man used to work for my father as a young man! Small world!

It was refurbished in the summer and is now very modern with upright fridges and much wider aisles and it is a lot brighter too.

Big mistake!  We saw a whole lot of  very tasty bits, which were definitely not on the SW food plan, chocolate covered Florentines being one! They are delicious, we tried one as soon as we got home, but no cloves there either!

We were out quite a while, as I walk up and around all the aisles for my walking activity! By the time we came home I was very ready for the 'loo' I rushed in just in time, and it reminded me of the book, 'Elizabeth is Missing.' Maud her old friend, back from a shopping trip, rushes home for the toilet, but it is just too much for her and she sits on the toilet with her trousers still on!! If you're not an old lady you wouldn't think this funny, but being old myself I know exactly how this could happen!

When we reviewed our order later and checked all was there, no more items had dropped off,  and they then had cloves! So all is well, we have to collect it all today Tuesday, as we failed to get a delivery date, but its all easy and very organised at the Tesco store..So we feel we're all sorted, are you?

Chrisxx

Birthday

 

Today is my birthday and here are my presents wrapped beautifully by my lovely husband! I won't say my age but there was a war going on at the time. We were well away from it, as I was born here, on West Drive, along the sea front. So I was born in sight and  sound of the sea!!

My presents.....A huge box of chocolates, a packet of fudge, my favourite, and a trail camera to film what ever come into our garden!

I like the fact its a camouflage colour! Can't wait to get it set up.

We're off to town for breakfast and in honour of my birthday, it has stopped raining!

Chrisxx

One problem of getting old!

 

I use this toothpaste, its not cheap but it does work. I started using it a few years ago when I noticed my lower front teeth didn't like me eating chunks of ice cream, biting it.

All the packaging  looks the same, well there might be a slight difference because  there is a variety, all the same make but now some say, whitening, or repair or faster repair or repair and protect! I don't mind which it is as long as its paste and not blue jell! I don't like the texture of the jell. Easy enough, but as we have our groceries delivered getting what I like is a problem, because we can never remember which packaging is what!!

This week it turned out to be the jell and I feel I have to use it, because we threw one out a few weeks ago. (Dh doesn't like it) And I've got used to it, but now we've worked out how not to get it again, we've kept the box to refer to it not to make the same mistake...altho now I've got used to it does it matter? We were a bit slow working that out!

This getting old is a problem!

Chrisxx

Good food, good company and getting cosy.

 Late Tuesday afternoon I had a call from our Surgery re:- my blood test, my thyroxin dose is too low! I've been saying for months something was wrong, I was sleeping too heavily and dozing during the day and my weight loss had stopped and I was gaining! So now I shouldn't have to struggle so much to lose, except its Christmas so not following the SW plan..altho I won't go mad.

But we started Christmas  yesterday, because we ate out with the Reading Group. And it was super, delish food, good company and a really nice Christmas Santa present. A jigsaw and a coloring book and Dh had a book about Wales and a packet of shortbread biscuits. 

So a  delightful afternoon. We came home and tried one of Dh's biscuits with a nice cup of tea! 

I've bought myself some new nighties from a firm in Kent so I got changed into one early evening.. the sleeves are a bit long but otherwise perfect for me. This a model on the site. One of the things I like to do on cold, wet, winter nights is get cosy in my nightie, watching the TV, guess I must be getting old!

Chrisxx

Great tv.

 On Monday Ruth Jones was in a programme on TV showing and her friend Steve her home town, my home town, Porthcawl. It was super, seeing the places she loved, that I love too.

They cruised the front prom. they went to Rest Bay and actually went swimming there.

They had ice cream from Sidolis by the harbour and even went on some of the rides in the fair ground.

But no fish and chips and everybody knows you have to have fish and chips when you visit the seaside!

It was so nice watching and listening to someone being proud of Porthcawl and seeing its beauty. So many people living here can only moan about the town. Not me I'm very proud like Ruth of my town and although there are things that could be better, the beaches and scenery are spectacular.

Chrisxx

Chatting.

 It was like Christmas of old with Dh and myself in the kitchen yesterday afternoon. We decided we would make a cake for Christmas, regardless of the fact we will be being careful re:-calories!

I had the recipe from my cousin and its one, where you melt the butter in a pan, add the fruit and sugar, allow it to cool and then add the rest of the ingredients. Dh got all the ingrediebts out of the cupboard and I weighed and followed the method.

While it was cooling down, we put it just outside the French Doors and sat inside keeping watch, just in case a cheeky magpie thought it would be a tasty treat and incase it rained.

We chatted about our childhood memories of the preparation for Christmas. Dh like myself had chicken, which was quite pricy years ago. I think ours was one from our back yard and Dh lived on a farm so his came from  there. 

I can remember sitting in the scullery with my grandmother, plucking the chicken, then she would burn any hard bits of the feathers left in the skin with a  tightly rolled up piece of newspaper, a spill, with the end smoldering, it was called singe-ing. Then we made fresh bread crumbs, some for the stuffing and some for the bread sauce. Life in those times was labour intensive! Potatoes were peeled, and veg prepared all the night before.

My Aunt always arranged for someone dressed as Father Christmas to be at the front door, and I asked for my presents and I had to sing! I went to bed happy and my Aunts both had got me presents, any dolls were beautifully dressed, the one Aunt was dress maker.  And like all children of that time pre-1950 in my stocking I had sweets and one present that I'd asked for.. there were usually bigger presents down stairs.

It was lovely chatting to my husband, we have always enjoyed each others company!

And here is the cake... 'Cacen byth yn methu'  Never failure cake!

Chrisxx

Its the tree!

 

Its not  tipping over its my photography!

Dh and I dressed our tree last week and here it is!

Not the modern  style but what we like. Some of the ornaments are presents from special friends of mine who are no longer with us, so extra special.

Chrisxx

Genuine or not?

 It is difficult to give presents to your husband, wife, or partner.

Dh and I do tell each other, what we'd like.  It used to be I gave him three of four for him to choose one. But of course he gave me more than one.. So now I just say one item. I usually know what he'd like, especially if a favourite author of his has a new book out and I usually get him a new jumper too, and he loves dark chocolate. Really I say to him , they are just token gifts because if we wanted something, we'd buy it.

I am careful what I look at on line because he might assume I want it. But I have always said to him what I'd like. because  he can't read my mind!

I pointed these little birds our to him the other day and immediately he asked should he get them for me? 

No, I just wanted to show them to him, because they are supposed to be made out of sea glass? I'm a bit suspicious because there were a lot for sale, and personally I've never  seen such dark colours in sea glass.

What do you think, are they genuine sea glass or not?

Chrisxx

Cheesy Potatoes.

 

Ingredients

11/2  pounds about 650g potatoes, peeled  and cut into chunks.

I medium onion,  or shallot chopped.

160g gruyere cheese

200g thick cream

100g bacon lardons

Tbs spoon fresh thyme.

Knob butter

Tsp Salt

1/2 tsp white pepper

Method.

Par boil potatoes, keep chunks whole, allow to cool.

Melt butter and gently soften onion, do not brown, allow to cool.

Fry lardons so fat is rendered.

Grate Cheese in a bowl add cream, salt and pepper and onion and thyme.

Mix together.

Gently add potato and lardons.

Pour into a heat proof dish 

Cook centre of the oven at 160C (Mediun oven gas 4/5)

Check after 20 mins, it should be bubbling.

Allow extra 5 to 10 mins to make sure cheese has cooked if not bubbling.

Serve with cold meats or as an additional veg with a roast dinner.

Very tasty and excellent on Boxing Day!

Chrisxx