Christmas! oh no!

This is the time of year when I start to get in a Christmas panic. There seems to be so much to do, all in less than a month. I need to write Christmas cards and queue for hours at the Post Office to get stamps. I have to think about what presents to buy for whom. The weather is dull, grey, cold and damp, making me feel less inclined to want to do anything at all, save huddle up by the fire with a glass of mulled wine.
Mulled wine is one of the things that makes winter tolerable. Here is a good recipe:
2 bottles of red wine (if you have made blackberry or elderberry wine, use 1 bottle of either to give added fruitiness, otherwise a full bodied red will do nicely)
1 lemon, stuck with cloves
2 oranges, sliced finely
8oz demerara sugar
1 heaped teaspoon cinnamon (or 2 cinnamon sticks)
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Roast the lemon in a hot oven for about 30 minutes. Bring from the oven and mix with all the rest of the ingredients in a large saucepan. Heat well, then strain off the fruit and serve piping hot.

Getting Ready

Getting ready to go on holiday is both exciting and stressful. I have a recurring nightmare in which I arrive at the airport only to find I have left my passport and/or tickets at home. Because of this, I find it necessary to check and re-check that I haven't left anything critical behind.
This morning I did some packing and Mark the cat came and sat in the suitcase. He knows the appearance of the suitcase signals a change in his comfy routine, and does his best to disrupt the process.

Starting again

I'm posting an entry to this blog after over a year's absence. Sometimes it just seems there's too much going on to post anything, others that there is so little of any interest it's not worth it.
So what's happening in my life just now?
1) I'm having a bit of trouble typing as I sliced my right index finger open while drying a carving knife yesterday. Stupid thing to do. I know. The only good thing is at least I hadn't set up my laptop for fingerprint login.
2) Having yet again been passed over for a job I'd have liked due to living in the wrong part of the country, I have decided that now it's time to do something completely different. So when I get back from holiday I am going to embark on the process to become a driving instructor.
3) Digging the allotment today cured my backache. How weird is that?