Boxing Day, Sunday 26th December, 2021.
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| With little Juliet on Christmas Day |
Dear all.
I really hope you are having a great Christmas. Ours has been much quieter and far less lavish than other years but I have done my best.
This last week was all about preparations, medical appointments but also social engagements, the highlight being this year's Christmas dinner for my friend Julio. But more about that later.
This time last Sunday I was still in preparatory mode. Most of the items on my Christmas to-do lists were ticked off but not all. One important job and one I never really like was delegated to my husband who is a bit of a passerby when it comes to planning Christmas. Thus he got the job. Yes, he wrapped the presents; far fewer than other years but it still took him some time. We were home alone and knowing "he who should not be mentioned" (our squatter) had left in the morning, we had the house to ourselves. When the job was finished we took the presents upstairs to place under the tree. This I had to record for this week's stories. And here they are, the tree with the presents, Eladio posing behind the tree and one where you can see some of my mechanical Christmas toys, the ones Elliot loves so much - me too as I'm quite a child at heart when it comes to the festive season.
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| Our very little and old fake tree with the presents that Eladio had wrapped up last Sunday morning |
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| Eladio posing behind the tree |
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| Just showing off my mechanical Christmas toys - that's the child in me |
I spent some silly time using a Christmas frame photo app to come up with a Christmas photo for this year. I didn't find one of all the family so made do with a good one of Eladio and I during one of the happy moments this year - visiting the pretty seaside town of Lastres in Asturias. This is it, the best I could do.
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| My attempt at a Christmas photo for this year. |
We did not go for a walk. My knee was not up to it that day. We spent a lazy day all round, just us and Pippa. Lunch was leftovers of the roast stuffed shoulder of lamb but I promise I didn't touch the French tart. I had made far too large a tart for just one lunch and there was no one at home to eat the rest of it; what a waste and I hate waste.
I spent a quiet afternoon as did Eladio and we only met again at dinner which again was just us with Pippa in the kitchen. We watched the news as usual, making sure the alarm was on before we went into our bedroom. There was good news that night. Sunday last marked 3 months since the beginning of the devastating volcano, "Cumbre Viejo" in the Palma Island in the Canaries. It had quietened down completely and there had been no lava for 6 days. Scientists said though that we would have to wait until Christmas Eve to declare it finished. It really was high time. The good news came yesterday, 25th December, it was the official end of the volcano. If you don't live in Spain you will have missed every day coverage of the disaster for the last 3 months; some of it very dramatic. It is estimated that 3000 houses have been destroyed and many banana plantations too. Huge effort and funding are needed for this small but beautiful island to return to normality.
The story of Downing Street's "partygate" was in the news too as yet another illegal party surfaced. This time the exclusive came from The Guardian. They got hold of a photo of Boris Johnson and staff at a cheese and wine party in the gardens of number 10 and number 11 in May 2020 when the country was in lockdown. The newspaper reports there were 19 people present and bottles of wine and a cheeseboard. This happened when across the country people were banned from meeting more than one adult from another household. Can Boris Johnson really deny that happened or that he wasn't breaking the rules he enforced on the population? No doubt he will have said it was a work meeting and that they were socially distancing so not breaking the rules. Indeed he did say that but no one believes him.
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| The garden party which BJ insists was a work meeting. |
Like my squatter he is a "compulsive liar" (not my words but words that come from an article in El País about "he who should not be mentioned"). I do no dare to write his name here as I may be accused of slander. Frustrating right? Well the squatter situation we are living, and we are not the only ones, I can tell you, is the direct result of the current socialist government in this country which is in a coalition with the minority communist party, Podemos. We all know what happened to private property in Russia when Lenin stepped in. No doubt Podemos would be on "his" side. Damn the man, damn the situation.
Monday came and I had more medical appointments. I woke up to very sad news; the death of the Spanish baritone, Carlos Marín who was part of the Il Divo cross over classical music group of singers. Oli sent us the news via the twitter handle of the group.
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| Very sad news |
He died, very sadly, it seems of Covid at the Manchester Royal Infirmary aged only 53 although this has not been confirmed by the family. The Il Divo group formed by Simon Cowell in about 2004 was and is a huge success so I was surprised that the death of the Spanish member of the group was not even mentioned in the main news programme in Spain, his home country. On the other hand The Times included a two page obituary. I have always been a fan of this group who made classical music popular a bit like The Three Tenors. In 2006 I was privileged to meet three of the group's members, including the very good looking Carlos Marin who was 35 when he joined Il Divo, being the oldest member. But he was by far the best looking. It was while searching for a venue for the Yoigo launch in December with my boss Johan. I immediately spotted the trio on the rooftop of the ME hotel in Madrid who were there for a photo shoot for the glossy magazine Hola. I had to talk to them and have a photo. They were happy to oblige and we had a short chat. I immediately took in the charisma Carlos Marín emanated as well as his jolly disposition. I told him I loved their voices and records. He laughingly replied most people bought them for their grandparents. I was not a grandparent at the time and although many grandparents will love this group, it turns out Il Divo is popular with many generations. I think their music and voices are universal.
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| Me enchanted to meet Carlos Marín in person |
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| A chance meeting with IL Divo in 2006. Carlos Marín is on my right. Isn't he to die for gorgeous looking? |
I don't know why but I was quite affected by his death. I was stunned really. Such a gorgeous man and wonderful voice have now gone and it's thanks to Covid. It seems so unfair. I read too that he got the dreaded virus when it first erupted in the early months of 2020 and that he had been very ill then. He was happy to have survived. Marín had been doubly jabbed and was quite young to die of Covid but there you have it, Covid is very dangerous and can kill. We know that and this week it killed Carlos Marín. May he rest in peace.
That day I would be in hospitals too for my medical appointments, dangerous places to catch Covid and me not yet having had my third jab. In the morning I had an appointment with a traumatologist after the MRI on my knee. You may remember I injured it at the end of September and that there was water accumulated. The news was not good. Yes, I had a leak on the joint but I also had a torn meniscus. Additionally I had "grade II patellar chondropathy" - had to look that up and it is commonly called "runner's knee - Basically the cartilage has degenerated and there is not much that can be done. The torn meniscus though can be operated on and the doctor scheduled an operation on 13th January. He offered me one on 3rd January but I prefer to wait until well after Christmas as I know it takes from 6 to 8 weeks to recover and that I will have to use crutches. The date I chose was 13th January. Damn it! More bad news. But, as Oli said, at least it wasn't cancer. The medical conclusion was this: "Joint
leak. Grade II patellar chondropathy. External meniscopathy with degenerative
meniscal tear in the wall-horn area. posterior and chondropathy in this
compartment-" translated by Google my friends. None of these names was familiar really. I mean I had heard of the meniscus but didn't really know what it was. Spaniards learn anatomy in great detail at school so are familiar with the names of bones and muscles. I am not, so had to look all this up. I found out that the meniscus is a "c-shaped pad of cartilage in the knee that acts as a shock absorber" and that each knee has two menisci. I also read that meniscus tears are common knee injuries. The operation is performed with a procedure called an "arthroscopy" which is a sort of camera. So one of the menisci is torn and can be operated on, but the other has degenerated and there is no cure for it. Thus I foresee knee trouble from now on which is a huge pain and means the end of our long walks, such a vital part of our lives. Oh dear I wasn't a happy bunny when I left the hospital. Below is a photo of a normal meniscus and the other is of a broken one, like mine. Not good news I'm afraid. Again I can hear my mother saying "shitty, could be shittier".
I really felt as though I was jinxed with so much bad luck recently. In the afternoon I was to have my annual gynecological "MOT". I really was worried that as I am having so much bad luck recently that there may be bad news in that field too. In Spain women do a gynecological test each year from about the age of 20. This includes a smear, a vagina and uterus scan, a mammogram and a breast scan. This means you get prodded and poked both above and below. The mammogram is the worst. Since my mother died of breast cancer aged 79, I am very aware of the dangers of getting it too and go religiously each year. So far, so good. I think my mother never went or her generation hardly ever had any check ups. The lovely gynecologist, told me my lower region was in tip top health - bar the results of the smear and it seems the upper region is ok too.
I came home feeling down and kept telling myself this bad spate of luck has to end soon. I have always thought of myself as generally a very lucky person but that is not completely true as I have had my fair share of tragedies. I have to start to think positively again. I am convinced a positive attitude makes for a positive life so I tried to keep the dark thoughts away.
That night I slept well and was happy that our squatter was not here. We would have known he was as we now put on the alarm.
Tuesday 21st December dawned, the first day of winter. I had something to look forward to that day, dinner at home with Julio my dear friend and ex Nokia colleague. Thus I would be busy preparing the festive meal.
We went out that morning to buy the main ingredients for that night's dinner: smoked salmon and red clams (almejas rojas). The best salmon to be found in this area is at the big Carrefjour hypermarket in Majadahonda so that is where we headed mid morning. They smoke it and add dill there at the store and it as good as the best you can find in Scandinavia. I wanted it to make salmon "pin roles" by filling it with crème fraîche and dill. The recipe said cheese, Philadelphia, I suppose, but as I don't like cheese, I decided on the former. I also wanted clams to make "almejas a la marinera" - basically fresh clams in seafood sauce. There was quite a queue when we arrived and I just have to show you the display of seafood which by the way is the king when it comes to Spanish Christmas Eve dinners. Wow you will probably say. That's what I said when I saw the counter with so much variety.
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| The seafood counter at Carrefour on Tuesday |
We got a few more items and then made our way to Boadilla for coffee at Alverán. I popped into the photo print shop to see if my Christmas calendars were ready - they weren't - and then to the florist to buy a beautiful big poinsettia plant called "flor de pascua" here. Most Spanish houses have one to decorate their homes at Christmas. Mine was for my father's GP here, dear Doctora Martín
I came home to start on the salmon and the seafood sauce. It was then I got a message from Oli to ask if I could babysit for Juliet while she went swimming from 3 - 4 that day. Of course I could but her household was supposed to be in quarantine after Elliot had been in contact with a Covid case at his class the week before and the 10 days were not up. It is true his test proved negative but I was still hesitant. However, I couldn't say no to my daughter. I turned up at just before 3 and there was my little grandchild fast asleep like the little cherub she is.
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| Baby Juliet sleeping when I went to babysit on Tuesday |
After Oli left, Juliet slept for a while and I was able to watch a bit of Downton Abbey. But, unusually for her, she woke up and was fretting so I had to hold her. Soon she was crying and there I was walking her up and down the flat with her in my arms and singing all the nursery rhymes I could remember. But there was no soothing her. At one point I was dying to go to the loo and there was nothing for it but to put her in her cot. I spoke to her from the loo while she cried and rushed back to pick her up again, only to find her smiling and sucking her thumb - she prefers that to a dummy. Miraculously she fell asleep again and so did I for about 10 minutes before Oli returned. That night we realised the reason for her crying. She had a bad nappy rash poor thing.
I was home by about 6 and as Julio was coming at 7.30 or 8, it was time to lay the table to make it look festive and to prepare more of the dinner. This was the menu: prawn cocktail vol au vents, perushki (my little Russian meat pies), ham croquettes, the rolled salmon and the pièce de resistance were the clams. Dessert was the rest of my French fruit tart. The table looked great. If only I had taken a photo.
The lounges looked great too, all decorated and with the candles lit and music on it felt like we were in Winter Wonderland. It was beautiful and, despite our troubles, I was determined to enjoy the evening. Julio was punctual and loved all the decor and Christmas atmosphere I had created. We were all hungry so sat down soon after drinks in the lounge. As tradition dictates we had a photo session first .We all commented of course that our dear friend Fátima was missing. Oh how I hate empty chairs at Christmas. But I hope she is happy we have continued our tradition. Here are just some taken by Eladio. Thank you my dear husband. We are decked in green festive Christmas hats which added to the atmosphere and fun we enjoyed that night.
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| Our best effort at a selfie, thanks to Julio's long arms |
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| Sitting down to dinner with Julio - notice the spread |
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| With Julio |
Thus a great evening was had by all. He left early as he always does and we were in bed, late for us, at about 10.15. That night, maybe because of the wine, I slept well.
Wednesday 22nd came, the day of the draw of the Spanish Christmas lottery called "El Gordo". Would we be rich by the end of the day? Well no. So that was 300 euros down the drain but if it made my husband happy to buy the tickets, that could be interpreted as well spent hahaha. Actually though, we did get some money back as 5 of Eladio's tickets ended in the number 8 just as the El Gordo (The Fat One) did. If your ticket number ends in the same one as El Gordo, you get the price of the ticket back. My husband wanted to spend it all on the even bigger prize lottery, "El Niño" (the child) which is held on 5th January. This time I put my foot down and he only bought one ticket (décimo). Décimos cost 20 euros each.
But we had a lovely day; an unplanned pre Christmas lunch and day spent with Oli and her family. With no errands that day and me not being able to walk, Eladio put on the fire in the library lounge (aka as the cat lounge as Phoebe spends most of her day there) and I decided to put up my feet and continue enjoying Downton Abbey. Meanwhile my worries kept surfacing as "he who shall not be mentioned" was at home and in fact was there all day and the following night. Did that mean our squatter is not welcome where he was staying and that we will now have him here all the time? I sincerely hoped not as his presence makes me nervous. At least though he avoids us so we hardly see him. He only goes into the kitchen surreptitiously to make his tea but we have now removed the kettle to thwart him. That is not against the law I think so he can lump it.
That morning Oli and Miguel took little Juliet to the doctor about her rash and brought Elliot first. Eladio was on his walk with Pippa (not fair I can't go on walks) so I had the pleasure of my adorable two year old grandson on my own for a while. I got all my Christmas mechanical toys going and found two green hats to wear. When I put mine on, Elliot wanted to put the other one on. He looked so sweet I had to have a selfie.
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| Elliot and I in festive hats |
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| Eladio and Elliot by the fire |
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| Elliot rubbing Pippa's tummy. He kept trying to roll her back on her feet hahaha |
Elliot got tired of the green hat when Juliet came. We had hoped for a photo of us with our two grandchildren with the hats on but it was not to be. We did, though get one with little Juliet.
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| A festive photo with Juliet, courtesy of her father Miguel |
As I hadn't planned for a pre Christmas family lunch, I had to make do with what we had in the fridge and some more. Thus lunch was more like a buffet with these dishes on the table: bean stew, carrot and coriander soup, left over stuffed shoulder of lamb, a newly made chicken Waldorf salad and some of my newly made "perushki". There was even some of my French fruit tart for dessert. But I was good and stuck to my diet or tried to, if you exclude the glass of wine I had to celebrate.
Oli and family left in the early evening and I resumed watching Downton Abbey in our very cozy lounge with the fire on. After dinner we returned to the lounge to watch the news. It was grim. The Omicron variant had hit Spain by now with 70.000 new cases reported. Even more were reported in Germany, France and the UK. The Spanish government should have reacted faster and it wasn't until Wednesday when the only new measure was announced; a return to wearing masks outdoors but nothing else apart from a speed up of the booster vaccination programme. That, in my opinion, is not enough.
That night I got news that cheered me up. I was thinking about the absence of my father this Christmas when I suddenly saw an email from the journalist from the obituary section of The Telegraph. He had written back in November about my father's obituary. He had written in between to say he would be in touch with me after reading my father's book. I had totally forgotten about it until that night. In his email, the journalist who is also a book credit for the same paper, enclosed a draft "based on your very enjoyable book" (high praise from a journalist from a top national newspaper in the UK). I liked his draft very much. I pointed out a few tiny inaccuracies and now I look forward to hearing from him after his editor has seen the piece and finally to seeing it in print. This is great homage to my dear father. I will share the obituary with you when it is printed.
I didn't sleep well that night knowing our squatter was in the room next door and I wasn't happy to be interrupted by him in the early morning either. But I was glad he was thwarted by the absence of the kettle. I do think this saying is quite fit for the occurrence: "revenge is a dish served cold". So he can have cold tea now if he wants, hahaha. Luckily he scuttled off as soon as he saw me. Damn the man. I was determined though that he wasn't going to spoil our Christmas. It's not a question of there being no room at the Inn. We want him out whether we have room or not and we have plenty of them but not for him. Luckily he left around 13 and did not sleep the night. He hasn't been back since thank God.
That day I had an appointment with my GP, Pilar, who was also my father's GP. She was always there for me and for him. I even had her whatsapp number and could contact her any time. That is so special. No doubt only family members and very close friends can contact her on whatsapp. She was there for me and for him when he was dying. I am eternally grateful for both her professional and personal support that day, 8th November which was a Bank holiday in Spain. Yet she was in contact with me the whole day, giving me the support I needed. So I wanted to thank her in person and bought tge poinsettia and a "roscón" to take along. I felt bad about wasting a GP's precious time by making an appointment for something so frivolous when they are all so busy now for obvious reasons, but I had to do it. The Health clinic was divided into the Covid area and the non Covid area - scary. There seemed to be so many more people in the former. Gosh, I was so glad not to be one of them. I only took up a few minute's of Pilar's time and I think she liked my Christmas gifts. I hope they cheered up her day. It gave me the closure I needed.
I then went home to get Eladio to go on more errands - all to do with my father's passing away (closing his bank account) and my new identity (informing my bank). Neither of the errands was successful and we shall have to go back. Damn it. Does the process never end? At least we had a nice cup of coffee at Alverán where I would be picking up our pastries the next day for our Christmas morning breakfast.
Lucy made our lunch and we later watched the news - Omicron on the rise but less dangerous than the earlier variants - and I actually managed a short siesta. In the afternoon, Eladio lit the fire again in the library lounge which I am now getting very fond of being in. It's funny but we hardly use our lounges during the year. All my Christmas planning was done and all that remained was to pick up some orders on 24th and not much more.
The 24th came and there was lots to do. I got that night's dinner on the start when I made the mayonnaise which curdled twice before I got it right and I whipped the cream for the trifle. There is no such thing as double cream in Spain so whipping single cream can be a challenge. One of our main dishes for Christmas Eve is potato salad made to my grandfather's Swiss recipe and I got Lucy to cook all the ingredients for us. With preparations on the go, out we went in the morning to get the last ingredients we needed to make our Christmas meals perfect.
It was wet and cold. Eladio commented it was Christmas weather. Christmas weather for me is snow but there was no sign of it. Our first stop was to BM to get our "pularda (poularde - a large chicken basically). I had ordered one to be boned to fill with the sage and onion stuffing I had bought from The British Corner shop online. We also got some good wine as well as some small sirloin steak for lunch. From BM we drove to Alverán where we didn't have coffee as it was a bit early. There were big queues and I had to wait patiently to pick up my order: a big "Roscón" (Kings' cake), a large chocolate "palmera" and 15 "vigilantes" - a sort of thin croissant. This was for our Christmas Day breakfast. Our next stop was at Mercadona, that run of the mill omnipresent and supposedly low cost chain of supermarkets where everyone does their shopping in Spain except the rich. It was 11 by then and I couldn't believe what I saw; shelves empty and so many people doing their last minute shopping; mainly buying the food for their tables that important night. Christmas Eve is called "Nochebuena" (good night) in Spanish. There is no typical choice for a meal on Christmas Eve but people go all out to lay their tables beautifully and serve excellent dishes such as sea food of some sort often followed by roast lamb but not always. While there I got our baby lamb for New Year's Day. Our last stop was the more upmarket Carrefour where we got the last of our ingredients.
I came home to unpack with the help of Lucy and then got on with some of dishes I would serve for dinner. Our menu was this: potato salad, lobster and mango salad, bacon rolls stuffed with mushrooms, our "perushki" (Russian meat pies), salmon stuffed with dill and crème frâiche, vol au vents with egg mayonnaise. Dessert was to be trifle and I had to make it early so that the jelly would set on time. Luckily it did. This was my beautiful trifle, one of my favourite desserts.
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| Trifle - we always have this dessert on Christmas Eve |
I also finished the potato salad which I hoped my grandfather would have approved of. The ingredients are potatoes, carrots, peas, spring onion, egg, prawns and home made mayonnaise of course. This is it.
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| My potato salad |
You will notice there is not one traditional English item on the menu - although there would be for Christmas Day. I could have made sausage rolls but this wasn't something we had at home and English type sausage meat is impossible to make. There could also have been mince pies and Christmas cake but I find both too filling. I do like a bit of Christmas pudding though which I would serve for dessert on Christmas Day.
My knee was hurting from so much standing up and cooking so I rested for a while before lunch. I had been up at 5.30 am and thus deserved a siesta. It only lasted an hour. Then Eladio and I convened in the library lounge where he put the fire on and we watched more of Downton Abbey. It felt so cozy and festive. We could have been more British and started on the alcohol except that we only really drink wine and then during meals not in between them. I wouldn't mind the odd Christmas tipple but it would only give me a headache.
Oli and Juliet joined us at around 7 pm so that we wouldn't be alone for "Nochebuena". Thank God for them. This time last year there were all three dogs and of course my dear dear father. Suzy wasn't here last year and she wasn't here this year either although she may make it for "Reyes" - Kings' Day. I tried to downsize the size of the dishes as we were only three diners but I ended up making too much. No worries though as I have lots of leftovers for today Boxing day and the coming days.
Together we put the finishing touches to what would be our Nochebuena dinner. By 8 ish everything was on the table. My husband always wants to tuck in straight away but he is not allowed to. First we had to savour what is in front of us and then take the all important photos to remember the night. This is what our table looked like - yummy right?
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| The food for our Christmas Eve dinner |
I love laying a festive table and think it is so important to make it look as beautiful as possible. I do a decent job but know many people do a much better one. For the dinner I had chosen a festive red table cloth and the dining service was one of our best, Villeroy & Boch. The wine glasses are from the set we bought when we married as is the cutlery. Crackers were there of course as no Christmas table should be without them. That was the only English tradition, apart from trifle, perhaps, for our dinner that all important night.
And here are some of the pictures we took before digging in hahahaha.
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| Photos before tucking in to our delicious Christmas Eve dinner |
As we ate and drank we tried to avoid talking about our squatter - "he who should not be mentioned " - and thank God he wasn't there that night - The food was sublime and I got lots of compliments. It was just before dessert that Eladio reminded us the King's Christmas message was on at 9 pm. Thus we got out my iPad to watch him as many Spaniards do. I'm not that keen on the Spanish monarchy but I do love our Queen and all her Christmas messages. I have to watch them alone after the broadcast as no one in this house is particularly interested. God bless her.
God bless Juliet too who slept through most of our meal until the end. Here she is in my arms, our little cherub. It was her first Christmas but of course she wasn't aware as she smiled or slept.
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| With Juliet on Christmas Eve |
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| Juliet and Pippa with Oli on Christmas Eve |
By about 9.40 or so we had finished our splendid meal. As Lucy had gone for the weekend it was our job to clear everything away and that we did quite fast as we were only three diners. We then convened again in the library lounge to enjoy the fire. I'm not one to watch silly shows on TV on Christmas Eve but Oli wanted to see her channel TVE1 which is of course her employer. I was not impressed and by 11 or so both Eladio and I had fallen asleep in front of the TV. Thus Oli left with Juliet but they would be back the next morning for Christmas Day.
I had had at least 2 glasses of red wine and with all the food in my stomach, I actually felt sleepy. I slept well until 6.20 or so.
Christmas Day came, the first without my father for nearly all my life and certainly the 16 years he had lived with us. What a big gaping hole I felt in my heart and at the table of course which he would have presided along with Eladio - one at each end of the table. His side looks empty and no one dares sit in his chair. It just doesn't feel right.
He loved Christmas and always enjoyed our Christmas breakfasts. So again we missed him that morning. But we carried on just as he would have wanted us to. He loved sweet things at breakfast and would have adored the spread on the table. I was up at 6.20 I think and as soon as I had had my morning coffee and an orange, began on our special breakfast. Oli and family wouldn't be here until 9.30 as their babies were sleeping so I had plenty of time.
I put on all the Christmas lights and the lounges looked splendid. There was our tree with all the presents waiting for my favourite moment of the year, except that this year my dear father wouldn't be here. I heaved a sigh of sadness in his memory.
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| The part of the main lounge where we open our presents on Christmas Day. My father's corner was next to the sideboard. Oh how I missed him yesterday |
For breakfast I chose a floral M+S table cloth I bought many moons ago. The crockery was my Emma Bridgewater set now used only for special occasions as a lot of my mugs have "disappeared" this year. The menu was the "roscón", "vigilantes" and a chocolate "palmera". I also found some crumpets in the freezer from years ago. I thought I had scones but I didn't; just hot cross buns which wouldn't do. This is what the table looked like.
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| Our Christmas breakfast table |
I then had a shower and chose a pretty dress to wear for Christmas Day. I even put on a bit of makeup for our annual photo - every year Miguel takes a photo of Eladio and I. He always wears a white shirt with a bow tie which suits him so much.
Not long after Oli and family arrived with their sleeping babies. Elliot soon woke up and jumped into his grandfather's arms but Juliet continued sleeping. Before digging in we had to have more photos. Here is one of the family just before we devoured the delicious breakfast. The thing I love most about Christmas Day is that you can eat anything you want without feeling guilty. Is it the same for you?
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| Oli, Miguel, Elliot and Eladio - Christmas morning breakfast |
We all enjoyed the breakfast and devoured a lot of the delicious cake and pastries. Eladio is not so keen so only had one "vigilante" and a small piece of the cream filled "roscón". Oli would take all the remains home as we could never finish the cake.
It must have been about 11 am when my favourite moment of the year started - the ritual of opening the presents. But first for photos. Miguel was to take our annual photo. I came out a bit scrawny - nice that I have lost weight but I am looking older. Eladio also complained his hair is getting whiter. Well he is 77 so it's natural. This is it.
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| Our annual official Christmas Day photo - looking a bit older |
By then both babies were dressed - Juliet in Elliot's last year Christmas outfit - and I took photos of Oli and her family. They represent our future and I hope it is a very bright one. What would we have done yesterday without them. It's the children that made it so special.
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| Oli and family on Christmas Day - their official photo |
The first present was for Elliot. It is only now at Christmas that he has begun to understand the concept of presents and of Father Christmas, "Papa Noel". It was a car circuit toy from us and I'm happy to say it was a success.
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| Elliot loved our toy from us |
There were fewer presents this year so we savoured each and every one. There were presents for Juliet too though she was not aware, poor mite. It's our photo with her that I have chosen as this week's feature photo. It's so sweet, just as she is.
When the present opening session was over, I had to turn my thoughts to making our Christmas lunch, no mean feat. I started at 12, we sat down at 3 and finished at 4.30 - very late for us. I was bushed when all was done. My legs were killing from so much standing up but it was worth it. The table looked divine heaving with my English lunch - poularde instead of turkey which I am not fond of but with all the trimmings; sprouts and peas, roast potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce. It's all very heavy but even heavier is the Christmas pudding with white sauce. This is our table. I got praise from all the family and we all felt so full afterwards neither Eladio nor I could manage another morsel until today.
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| Our Christmas Day lunch |
Elliot didn't eat anything but he loved the crackers bless him. When we had cleared everything away Eladio and I went upstairs to rest and shortly afterwards Oli and her family left. Thus we were left alone for the rest of Christmas Day which was strange. At about 6 we went to the lounge with the fire on. Slouching on the sofa, we watched the Sandra Bullock film, "The unforgiveable". It took a while to get in but it was quite good. I would have preferred to watch one of my favourite Christmas Day films; probably The Sound of Music or Gone with the Wind but I had to cater to my husband's tastes. We did not have dinner, we did not watch the news which is a break in our routine. We were in bed by 9.30 and watched another episode of "Spanish Princess" about Catherine of Aragon. I don't know what time I fell asleep but I did sleep well.
This morning, Boxing Day, I woke again at 6.20. It was back to usual for breakfast with my oat bran porridge, orange and coffee. Then I read the headlines and now I am sitting at my desk finishing off this week's blog post which I hope you enjoy. Today we shall be alone possibly for the first time ever on Boxing Day - sad really but much sadder for those in quarantine with Covid. Today I have a very important appointment - my booster jab at 10.30. I must rush now to get through my ablutions and set off to the hospital where I hope there won't be too long a queue. I shall tell you all about it in next week's blog post.
Hoping you are all enjoying Christmas as much as you can, I shall sign off now until next Sunday. God bless you all,
Masha.
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