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“At last the dishes were set on, and grace was said. It was succeeded by a breathless pause, as Mrs Cratchit, looking slowly all along the carving-knife, prepared to plunge it in the [goose] breast; but when she did, and when the long- expected gush of stuffing issued forth….”

Yesterday and last night were quite cold. During the day the wind was a blast of frigid air making it feel even colder. When I took Gracie out early, I was hoping she’d be quick. She was. The only good part was my chimes bounced around in the wind and sounded  lovely.

I finished decorating my tree yesterday. I had put the lights on the day before so I added the finishing touches: garlands and ornaments. I took my time and sat down periodically.  What tired me out was hauling bins up from the cellar and then hauling them back down. I still need to check some bins today as I am missing a few traditional decorations. I’m a bit afraid to look as I figure I’ll see more decorations for the house, and I’ll be back to hauling again. I also haven’t found the lights on, lights off floor button, and I don’t want to be crawling under the tree. I was a sweaty mess when I finished, but it was worth it. The tree and the house look lovely and are filled with Christmas. After my exertions, I had an egg nog, a well-deserved egg nog, and sat in the living room admiring the tree.

I still have cards to send, and I need to choose my cookies and make a shopping list. Looking through recipes is enjoyable for me. When making a dinner for guests, I image how the dish will look, how it will taste and what might go with it. Cookies are easier.

One Christmas season I invited my friends to dinner a couple of weeks before Christmas. That was the year of the goose. A Christmas Carol and goose for dinner at the Cratchit’s house piqued my interest. I looked up recipes to use and presented my friends with an English feast. The goose was delicious with its crisp crust and moist meat and a bread stuffing with sage and onions. We dined on mashed potatoes and gravy, apple sauce just as the Cratchits had, and I added a combination of roasted root vegetables: parsnips, turnips and carrots. The dessert was the crowning glory. I made Christmas pudding, poured brandy on it and brought it to the table aflame. There was applause. I bowed though I figured the applause was more for the pudding. That dinner was remarkable.

Okay, I brought some bins down the cellar while my coffee was brewing, and I couldn’t help myself so I went hunting in a few bins I hadn’t checked. Eureka!! I found what I wanted: my small aluminum tree, my on and off light button and a few ornaments I wanted to add. That ends the hunt.

Today I have a few errands and I’ll write out the rest of the cards. I will do nothing  strenuous. All those bins took their toll.

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6 Comments on ““At last the dishes were set on, and grace was said. It was succeeded by a breathless pause, as Mrs Cratchit, looking slowly all along the carving-knife, prepared to plunge it in the [goose] breast; but when she did, and when the long- expected gush of stuffing issued forth….””

  1. Christer.'s avatar olof1 Says:

    December 14, 2017 at 1:03 pm

    I do like goose and my mother bought one after the turkey disaster with the same result that time too 🙂 I can at least say that she tried 🙂 🙂

    I’ll do my last cards this weekend and like always I’ll have to search the net for all the addresses I never seem to know where I’ve put them 🙂 I have a book where they all are written down but I can never find it when I need it 🙂

    It is snowing again here and it’ll stay during the weekend they say, well as long as I don’t have to drive around in it more than tomorrow I don’t care 🙂

    Have a great day!

    Christer.

    • katry's avatar katry Says:

      December 14, 2017 at 3:01 pm

      Christer,
      We never had a goose at home. My father probably would not have liked it. We had some sort of a roast at Christmas, like a prime rib roast or a crown pork roast,

      I lost the box with all my addresses so I don’t even remember to whom I send cards. I’ll have to send them after I get one.

      We had snow this morning, about 2 or 3 inches at the most, It is pretty with the sun shining on it, but I’m sill no thrilled.

      Have a great evening!

  2. Bob's avatar Bob Says:

    December 14, 2017 at 9:20 pm

    This morning the low was 38 and the high was 56 with clear skies again. If we don’t get some rain soon we will go into real draught.

    All this Christmas cheer takes a lot of work. Instead of putting all away after New Years, just leave it all,out and have Christmas every month. 🙂 Of course I’m only kidding.

    I hope your blog will still work now that the FCC killed Net Neutrality today in the U.S. Hooray, AT&T and Comcast got their wish.

    • katry's avatar katry Says:

      December 14, 2017 at 9:32 pm

      Bob,
      We had snow overnight. It wasn’t enough for the town to send out plows so my road trip is still snowy.

      My mother once left her tree up all year. She decorated it for every special day like Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter. It looked really neat with all red lights or all green lights.

      I have no words for the vote against net neutrality.

      • Bob's avatar Bob Says:

        December 14, 2017 at 10:34 pm

        Hiding Easter eggs under the tree sounds interesting. 🙂

        Hopefully, the attorneys general will take the FCC to court and the case will drag it’s way to the Supreame court where it depends who Trump appoints as associate justices. Maybe I will be dead by the time the case gets to a final decision. 🙂

      • katry's avatar katry Says:

        December 14, 2017 at 10:44 pm

        It seems that several sate AG’s have already filed. What other see is it wasn’t that long hat Net Neutrality was voted for by the FCC. I suppose we should have expected its repeal as it was during the Obama administration.


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