After Christmas (Day 280 since Lockdown 1, Day 8 of Tier 4)
I hope everyone had as pleasant and safe a Christmas as possible. I hesitate to say it but we rather enjoyed our peaceful Christmas. We did miss seeing family members but it was rather luxurious to just suit ourselves. I had my usual Christmas dinner panic due to the lack of space in my kitchen, which I should be used to by now though Christmas does pose particular challenges, but the dinner turned out fine and I was very pleased with the turkey joint I had ordered. After our slightly delayed lunch (never met anyone who can serve up Christmas dinner on time) we spent most of the day continuing to eat. We watched the All Creatures Great and Small Christmas Special, J went to sleep and I managed to listen to the Backlisted podcast on The Dark is Rising actually on the right day, so I was very pleased about that. This was particularly timely, not just for the Christmas setting of The Dark is Rising but because I have been doing a slow listen to the whole Dark is Rising sequence on audio and am listening to Greenwitch at the moment. It is very interesting to revisit the series as I've always rather turned my nose up at Over Sea, Under Stone, but it came across really well on audio as is Greenwitch. It was good to hear the Backlisted peeps had also enjoyed Over Sea, Under Stone and their thoughts on the actual Dark is Rising book. I have some issues with the book but for atmosphere it is unsurpassed.
Yesterday we went for a very bracing walk in the park along with most of the rest of the area. Joggers, dog walkers, disc golf players and even a metal detectorist were out in force as were a number of our neighbours. We all exchanged news from a correct social distance. Unfortunately Andy and Nicky, who have a severely disabled daughter, had their van bashed by another car on Christmas Eve, which Andy thought was peak 2020. Everyone else seemed to have had as relaxing a time as we did. The infection rate is sky-rocketing in our area so going for a walk now is starting to feel like it did at the start of the first lockdown with most people trying to keep clear of others. Unfortunately not all joggers seem to have got the message but that seems to be par for the course,
Back to the meme.
25. If you could receive a $1000 gift card from any store, which would you choose?
That's a no brainer. Waterstones, of course, though I would prefer it as £1000.
26. It’s Thank You Note Day/Boxing Day. Do you write hand-written thank-you notes or do you thank people for gifts in some other way?
I either send an email if I'm not seeing the person or thank them in person if I am.
27. No matter what holidays you do (or do not) celebrate, do you have a good recipe for leftovers? Post it!
My turkey curry recipe depends on what we have left and is in my head but tonight we are having fruity turkey tagine, a recipe we discovered last year which is very tasty and we have the ingredients for. As with all BBC Good Food recipes you don't need nearly as much liquid as they say.
The rest of the December questions are behind the cut.
28 Do you usually make a special effort to thank someone who does you a favor? How do you react when you aren't thanked for going out of your way for someone?
29 Would you rather your life have a rewind button or a pause button?
30 If you could change one bad habit you have, what would it be?
31 Do you prefer beginnings or endings?
Yesterday we went for a very bracing walk in the park along with most of the rest of the area. Joggers, dog walkers, disc golf players and even a metal detectorist were out in force as were a number of our neighbours. We all exchanged news from a correct social distance. Unfortunately Andy and Nicky, who have a severely disabled daughter, had their van bashed by another car on Christmas Eve, which Andy thought was peak 2020. Everyone else seemed to have had as relaxing a time as we did. The infection rate is sky-rocketing in our area so going for a walk now is starting to feel like it did at the start of the first lockdown with most people trying to keep clear of others. Unfortunately not all joggers seem to have got the message but that seems to be par for the course,
Back to the meme.
25. If you could receive a $1000 gift card from any store, which would you choose?
That's a no brainer. Waterstones, of course, though I would prefer it as £1000.
26. It’s Thank You Note Day/Boxing Day. Do you write hand-written thank-you notes or do you thank people for gifts in some other way?
I either send an email if I'm not seeing the person or thank them in person if I am.
27. No matter what holidays you do (or do not) celebrate, do you have a good recipe for leftovers? Post it!
My turkey curry recipe depends on what we have left and is in my head but tonight we are having fruity turkey tagine, a recipe we discovered last year which is very tasty and we have the ingredients for. As with all BBC Good Food recipes you don't need nearly as much liquid as they say.
The rest of the December questions are behind the cut.
28 Do you usually make a special effort to thank someone who does you a favor? How do you react when you aren't thanked for going out of your way for someone?
29 Would you rather your life have a rewind button or a pause button?
30 If you could change one bad habit you have, what would it be?
31 Do you prefer beginnings or endings?