Boxing Day

We have had a lovely several days, culmin-ating in a very nice Christ-mas Day and evening. Our evening out at Helen and Gordon Rae's on Saturday was quiet but most enjoyable. We thought walking there on the icy pavement was smarter than trying to take the car, but that turned out not to be the case. Gordon, who was on his way to pick up their other guest, Eleanor Cunningham, swung down Strowan Road and picked us up after we had carefully and slowly "waddled" about a block from our house. He kindly drove us back home at the end of the evening too. I can tell you, though, that it was even worse when we went home. Getting out of the Raes' house and into their car and from their car into our house was not easy. Even the gravel was iced over. But we had a nice visit, a delicious meal, and lively chat over coffee. Christine and Jimmy Hepburn, who live next door to the Raes but who had been across the road at another party, joined us for coffee. Jimmy, in particular, has a gift for gab and loves a good story.

It was icy when we got up on Sunday but quickly changed to rain. We really didn't do much other than take it easy and have a quiet day at home. On Monday we did some shopping in Comrie in the morning and then Don took himself off to play golf. (It had been a few days.) That afternoon, we drove around Comrie delivering Christmas goodies to some of our friends. We dropped off cookies and some apple butter to Nan and Hamish Fleming as a "thank you" from me for being my back-up ride to and from chorus rehearsals. At Trish and Haig Hamilton's we exchanged Christmas gifts and enjoyed a chat and a glass of wine. We saw photos of their newest two grandchildren. It is interesting to watch our friends' families grow. Our next stop was the home of Robbie and Peter Innes where we dropped off one of our goodie boxes. Their daughter, Judith, and her husband Stephen, were visiting from Ireland with their wee twins Niamh (pronounced "Neeve") and Catriona ("Katrina") who are around a year old. They are sweet little girls who are just on the verge of walking and talking. We enjoyed meeting Judith and Stephen and sharing a glass of wine and a chat with Peter and Robbie.

We got home in time for our annual ritual of listening to Carols from Kings College, Cambridge. I always used to listen to it on the radio on Christmas eve morning while I made cookies back in Bethesda, but now we can watch it on the telly an hour after it happens live, starting at 5 pm. We enjoy watching the little boy choristers grow up a bit each year and seeing the new young ones just starting out. The carols were sung and played beautifully, as usual, and the readings by undergraduates as well as the clergy were all well done.

Yesterday morning we got up, opened our gifts and had a slice of the banana-walnut-cranberry bread I made on Monday. After a leisurely start to the day, we got ourselves ready for the drinks and nibbles party at noon at the home of new friends Helen Day and Sandy Weipers, who recently moved to the village from Glasgow. We were greeted by Sandy in a kilt but wearing a Santa jacket and hat. He made a very jolly Santa! Over glasses of wine and nibbles from our local baker, we chatted with a number of folks, some of whom we had just met. We kept our eyes on the time, though, so we could get home with plenty of time to get ready for hosting Christmas dinner.

David and Juliet Sutcliffe arrived at 4:30 and we had a wonderful evening. We exchanged gifts, toasted with a glass of cava, nibbled on brown bread and smoked trout, and caught up with one another. Don had made a standing rib roast which was done to perfection. He also had made roasted potatoes cooked in goose fat which were sweet and soft on the inside but wonderfully crisp on the outside. I made braised red cabbage and Yorkshire pudding. Juliet had brought a palate cleanser of grapefruit mousse which is heavenly and practically floats out of its bowl. She also brought a Christmas pudding with brandy butter. We didn't have it flaming this year as we don't have one of the little flaming devices but it was delicious and festive just the same. We pulled our crackers, donned our paper crowns, asked each other the silly riddles and read out our inane jokes then took a photo for posterity.

I have put two photos up: yesterday's and last year's so you can see the difference in how I look now that I've lost weight. I've been eating what I want lately and have put on a few pounds but I'm still 20 lbs lighter than I was at this time last year. I'll be going back on the strict South Beach Diet again in January to lose more pounds as well as to take off the few extra that I've just put back on. I'm still several sizes smaller than I was and maintaining my determination to get myself into shape.

Don and David went out this morning to play golf. Don said they were the only ones out there. Now he's away to Somerfield's in Crieff for some groceries. He is threatening to make his favorite chipotle chile with pork. He's been threatening to do this for 4 years now, but this time, I think he's serious!