So the bug turned into a very nasty cold, which I am now right in the middle of. Great way to start a new year...

Forgot to mention the Babbacombe trip. I'm wondering if the weather wants me to a) not go down to the sea or b) not want me to return if I do go. The beast from the East narrowly missed marooning me in Cornwall in 2018, when Kai and I visited Babbacombe in September this year our train was cancelled due to 'severe weather', and on this trip I caught the tail end of Storm Atiyah (freezing lashing rain and winds that destroyed two umbrellas). I ended up taking the taxi to Newton Abbot on the way back to be sure of getting a train back to Bristol...

But it went OK. There was a couple of hours break in the rain on Thurs morning, when I was able to get into Torquay to find the shopping arcade I'd seen from the bus (it was a lot less interesting than I'd hoped). The town itself was quiet and grim - surprising for a Tory-voting place - with very little xmas cheer. However, I did find a kitchen shop (right on the quay) which had two excellent small and very sharp knives (I need them for boning chicken thighs). So the trip was worth it for that. The old and really fantastic kitchen shop in Briz has now become a Go Cook shop, only selling hugely expensive saucepans and cutlery. I miss the wonderful old place already - it was the perfect shop to find otherwise almost impossible to find kitchen ware...

Mum-in-law with two adoring yapmeisters (she said it was OK to post it here.) I sorted out her orchids as best I could: hopefully the spray's got rid of the mealeybugs.

Got back safely and Tyjer was pleased to see me (immediately started trying to overwrite the dog smell with his own, bless 'im)

Also forgot to say we borrowed Department S from GoodTwin. I had it on my amazon wish list and she suggested we watch a bit first to make sure I really wanted to own it. I'm glad she did as it's... hm. Ever found yourself watching a less-than-enthralling film and dozing off for a few seconds every now and then, and when you wake up again the dialogue and action has moved on and it doesn't make any sense? It's a bit like that - but without the dozing off bit. Kai's intrigued by the clothes, cars and acting, Ken's bemused, and I'm watching it wondering how much worse it can get. Needless to say it's no longer on my wish list!

So, it's the end of a decade, and nearly the new year. Kai is taking a break from uni (and I'm now arguing uni fees with Student Finance), and Fixit now have a CCJ against them, and I'm exploring what options are available next. Australia's on fire, the US is controlled by a malignant, lying excuse for a human being and - possibly even worse - that walking pile of excrement McConnell, and we have as our PM a thing that makes a pustulent boil on the arse seem attractive. The planet is going to hell, and those who could do something about it are too busy counting their wealth and patting themselves on the back to care. For the first time in a very long time I can find absolutely nothing to look forward to.

Labels: Fixit Landscaping and Driveway Contractors, New Year, visits

... 'cause the season isn't over until Jan 3rd.

It's been mostly fun so far. Mostly as in, none of us were ill for the 25th, but on 26th I somehow managed to go down with a most unpleasant bug which has left me coughing and my throat raw. But that's all. I suppose it's some sort of cold bug, prevented from getting any worse by the 'flu jab I had a couple months back. Eh, whatever, it could be a lot worse. We've had to postpone our Tudor Day though, as I'm not up to a lot of cooking right now. We'll reorg for a week or so into the New Year.

Our (30th) wedding anniversary was lovely: beautifully relaxed and the meal at the Black Castle was very tasty and very filling. Afterwards we watched The Odd Life of Timothy Green, a quite delightful film, sweet without being mushy. Nice film for a rainy afternoon.

Yuletide's been mostly relaxing. We've watched a lot of films, the ones I'd been saving up. 24th Ken and I started watching the BBC production of A Christmas Carol - an interesting take on the story. It was grim but good. Our presents were terrific - Grave of the Fireflies and In This Corner of the World, along with a beautiful glass coaster, from Sue, and Utopia seasons 1 and 2 - along with biscuits and chocolates, ale for Ken and a limited edition fox print for Kai - from Goodtwin. I had three new Starscreams and a Skyfire, and a gorgeous genuine Bristol blue glass paperweight from Kai -

He bought it from a charity shop - but when I turned it over, it's a limited edition - 463 of 1,000! Dead chuffed.

We watched Moana - which I really must buy, it's wonderful - after xmas dinner (steak, roast spuds, Brussel's sprouts with chestnuts and honey-glazed peas and carrots, diddy pigs in a blanket and delicious pork, stuffing and cranberry star shapes, with xmas pud (Ken), salted caramel pud (me) and thick brandy cream, and double choc pud with ice-cream for Kai. An altogether lovely day.

Boxing day we finally watched The Greatest Showman, which is fun, and Ken and I caught Worzel Gummidge, which, while a bit heavy-handed on the eco front, is still charming.

Yesterday it was me spending most of the day coughing, and we watched Race to Witch Mountain, which I have seen bits of for the last umpteen Yules but never watched completely. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

And that's about it. It's been a strange year - got a lot done, to the house certainly, maybe not so much personally. Aiming to get started on the next project in the new year.

In the meantime, I hope everyone has had a good and peaceful Yuletide.

Labels: anniversaries, films, presents, Yule

I'm heading down to St Marychurch on Wed to see Mum T, repot - and try to get rid of the mealybugs on - her orchids, and take a bus to Torquay and Babbacombe to actually have a look around the shops, which after umpteen years of visits I still haven't managed. I'll be back on Fri pm, in plenty of time for the chaos that is xmas (not so much here as I'm very organised). So, a quick update before I head off.

It's been a flurry of shopping (all gifts now bought and cards posted), tidying, and a good look through my old 700 Years of English Cooking recipe book, as we've invited Dawn over for Tudor day on the 28th (last year was Japanese, year before was Indian, so we thought we'd go native this year.) I bought Doctor Faustus (Globe Production with the wonderful Arthur Darvill as Mephistopheles) a year or so ago but we haven't managed to watch it yet, so that will be the main feature. Later is either Warlock, or some Blackadder II (Ken and I picked up the complete Blackadder in Wells, of which more in a moment), depending on what we fancy at the time. I'm planning on making braised chicken thighs, and gingerbread, for lunch, and a pork casserole, with split green peas, and lemon and orange basted cauliflower, as veg, an apple and orange pie for dessert, and marchpane (mine will NOT be highly decorated! My recipe uses rosewater icing...) Going to try the recipes on K&K before the actual day, and there will be photos! (And the recipes if I can find the time to type them up/anyone is interested...)

GoodTwin and Sue came to visit last Thursday, and a rollicking good time was had by all! As usual my stomach ached from laughing, and it's never long enough!

So, Wells...

I was at a bit of a loss as to what to make for lunch for Tudor day - we wanted something relatively easy that doesn't involve too much work, as the main recipes do. Ken suggested pies - and of course the Sat market at Wells has one of the best pie stalls we've ever found, chunky traditional ones with venison, duck, pork, or beef which while not strictly historically accurate, would be close enough. So off we went to Wells on Saturday...

We were later than planned leaving, and by the time we got there all the pies were gone (hence the chicken thigh recipe, which I found online, though if I can find similar pies somewhere else I'll happily buy them, as the thought of boning 8 chicken thighs is not appealing...) BUT! There was a jewellery stall there, Eyres Jewellery, and a ring caught my eye. I've said here that a good few years ago I developed an allergy to the platinum of my original wedding ring: bought a couple of cheapie silver (I thought at the time) and opal rings as a temp fix. Heh. Remind me to never buy cheap Chinese jewellery again. The edges have gone ragged, not quite enough to cut, but most uncomfortable, and it's not like I wore it all the time, only when going out. It's obviously not silver as it's gone a dull shade of greyish-brown. Anyway, I've been looking for something else suitable for a little while - and I found this on the stall. (The review there is mine.) It's absolutely beautiful, and so comfortable, and I just love the description on the site. I do take it off for washing up or using chemicals, as the colours are enamel rather than stones, but that's OK, I did that with my original ring too, so it's an easy habit to get back into. Delighted with it!

We took a wander into the charity shops, where I found a fantastic jacket at a ridiculously low price, along with a knitted cap that almost matches my new gloves (don't know if it's a side effect of getting older or just me, but I'm feeling the cold now a lot more than I used to, so having to dress accordingly. Bloody annoying but no use ignoring it!) So overall it was a great success, and a really enjoyable day out for the two of us! Ken suggested doing it more often next year, which I would very much like to do. We haven't managed to much over the last few years, with Kai being ill, but he's a lot better now, so we'll see how we go.

We were going to get the Bristol bus back - but the Bath bus arrived first, and Ken suggested getting it (buses from Bath to Bristol/Bristol to Bath are very frequent) as it goes all around the villages and is a really nice ride. It was getting dark, too, so we saw all the lights. Not as many as there might have been, perhaps: Ken thinks that the disaster that was the election (not going to talk about that as it won't do my blood pressure any good) meant that a lot of people felt they had very little to celebrate this year and were too depressed to put up decorations. But those that did went completely to town (maybe to make up for it?) and the houses and gardens looked amazing.

It was a lovely, lovely day.

Kai and I took Derpy for a quick spin around the block this morning, to check she was still running OK as it's been two months since we drove her last. Everything's fine, so I parked up (a little more tidily than last time) and we put her little xmas tree and tinsel in the front. Not as decorated as at Hallowe'en, but enough for her to join in the season.

Media... I found The Brand new Testament pretty much by accident, and was intrigued enough to buy a copy. And WOW! It's gloriously heretical while staying absolutely true to the old testament god, deliciously subversive and very very funny. Loved it, absolutely loved it. I'd recommend it for everyone but it's likely to give even moderate Jews and xtians apoplexy, so perhaps not. Pity...

Picked up American Gods season 2, and started watching it, but then had to go back and rewatch season 1 as it has been such a long time between them. Season 1 is great, but season 2? I can't say too much as Sue hasn't watched it yet, but (as I told her) I kept dozing off, and finding I hadn't missed anything much when I woke up again...

That's about it for now. Will report back when I get back from Devon. There may be photos...

Labels: busyness, Derpy, Devon, films, friends, jewellery, visits, Yule