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Crackers!


Well, the weather has turned chilly, there seems to be a pot of ‘Ome Made mulled wine permanently on the stove top & our Kids behaviour has gone mental which can only mean one thing. We’re on the last leg of the countdown to the second biggest celebration of the year. Yes the big day where we hear ‘Happy Birthday’ to Jesus sang at full belt by our Kids at 6.30am….

Christmas Cake Blog

We finally came up with ideas on what to make for presents, so we’ve made……..now that would be telling! The Christmas cakes are done & mulling in lashings of brandy. The Christmas pudding (YEY! we don’t have to buy one this year!) is improving, snug in layers of greaseproof paper & tin foil. The mince-meat is jarred & ready to be used for umptious mince pies & because the Kids have been good, the Christmas faeries came & sprinkled their seasonal faerie dust & decorated our home.

MissT Antlers Blog

We even came to an agreement on what to have for our festive dinner. Ok, so we were stood in the farm shop for around 1 hour umming & aahing whilst Mick the butcher fed us freshly cooked sausages, shouted ideas at us & served quite a few other customers. I bet Mick can’t wait for the day that we walk into his shop & know exactly what we want!

Christmas Dinner Blog

So rib of beef (I think….) is what we came to an agreement on. Piglets in blankets, Carpaccio, Christmas sausage & cranberry roll & Christmas glazed ham will all be gracing the table as well over the festive season. I’ve left the decision on vegetables to ‘Ome. No doubt there’ll be parsnips at some point…..I HATE PARSNIPS! & that is why ‘Ome will have got them & unfortunately our Kids love them so i’m outnumbered on this vegetable.

CurlyE Christmas Blog

The fridge will be full of a variety of cheeses too. MissT loves Wenslydale & cranberry. Dj adores Camembert. CurlyE goes mad for any blue cheese (FREAK!) & Lil’mrM will try a bit of everything & decide which he likes best & then probably demand that we use it for ‘Macerwoni cheese!’.

I just hope we don’t end up with the yearly ‘Crackers-Cock-Up’. When ‘Ome is checking if there’s anything else I can think of we need I always say ‘don’t forget crackers’. Unfortunately, neither of us clarifies what we mean by crackers. So for the last few years we have nearly ended up pulling a Jacobs at the table or eating our cheeses with a BANG!

Wishing you all a

Merry Christmas & a Peaceful New Year

Kit x

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Holidays Are Coming… Holidays Are Coming…

The countdown to Christmas has begun & it’s only September!!!

Ok, it probably started around August time with us. That was when I first turned to ‘Ome & asked ‘What are we having for Christmas dinner then?’. His face was a picture!

I then pointed out the fact that before we realize, it will be 4 weeks before the Birthday celebrations & we won’t have even started making the presents, the Birthday pudding will be nonexistent (like last year…we had to, umm, BUY ONE! AAAArrrghhh!) & we’ll still be having debates, arguments & bottom lips stuck out over what we’re having for dinner.

So here we go. ‘Ome wants wild boar, MissT wants ham, Dj wants turkey. CurleyE wants duck wraps & Lil’MrM wants ‘Macerwoni cheeeese!’. I want a holiday & a large mug full of ‘Ome mulled wine.

crimbo turkey blog
Last year… Turkey!

‘Presents’ I ask ‘What are we doing for presents?’ cue an hour long reminisce about all the stuff we’ve made over the years & how yummy the stuff was….the ‘Ome Made rum soaked dried morello cherries were a particular favourite as was the ‘Ome Made lime pickle & mango chutney.

So, are we any closer to a happy medium that pleases everyone for Christmas dinner? Nope!

Did we have any new ideas for presents? Nuh-uh!

So in October when the adverts start on television for the latest expensive toys, games & gadgets & the shops are putting up their decorations, we’ll be sat there moaning that Christmas is light years away & will they stop making this special time of year into a time of greed & selfishness. It should be a time for celebrating the birth of Jesus, goodwill to all, giving gifts with thought, mulling your wine & pulling your crackers.

Then we’ll realize that ‘S***!, we haven’t even started yet…..Buy a pudding QUICK!’

 

Kit x

Giant Christmas sausage & cranberry roll
Giant Christmas sausage & cranberry roll
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Hands, Knees & Bumpsy-Daisies….

Reyt Good All Purpose Seasoning by Ome Made

After a week of banged heads, broken teeth, teeth going through lips, split chins, bumps and grazes I’ve decided never to take our Kids out of the house again!

 

Trying to get 4 children (one badly injured) with 4 scooters on a bus with only a £20 note to pay the bus fare with so that we can get home, get in the car and get to the dentist to fix Lil’MrM’s tooth was, I have to say, a bit of a trial. Why do these things always happen when ‘Ome’s not there??!!! I’m good at these kind of situations when it’s someone elses kids but I panic & crumble when it’s my own. But to give the Kids their dues, they were fantastic whilst Mummy had a total breakdown. Oh the joys of being a parent!

 

I then retreat into my veg patch, large glass of wine well within reach and thank the last of the garlic, the sorrel, beans and courgettes that need picking, the beetroot and swede that have survived their late start and flowering pumpkin plants for not causing me any grief, stress or tears.

 

I have to admit I did feel a bit tearful when I decided I’d have to chop down the borage plant. It almost signals the end of summer.

borage blog

It was so easy to grow it was astonishing. From 1 plant hundreds of flowers have been picked since May and added to salads, frozen in ice cubes and ice lollies, added to drinks (Pimms for us!) and generally used as Pick-Your-Own snack for the kids. Happy memories of summer.

 

It’s not all sadness though because when cut down, chopped up a bit and dug into the veg patch it will serve a further purpose by enriching the soil in readiness for more plants to grow as strong as the borage was.

 

Come next spring I can guarantee borage will be the first on my list to be sown in time for warmer weather, water fights and ‘Ome Made Pimms on the lawn!

 

 

Kit x