I'm Still Here

It's been a very busy Christmas and New Year with a friend staying and and my visits to Blogland have been fewer than I would have wished. I have been moved by the emails asking if I am okay. I am. I'd love to say that my posts will be more frequent during January and I hope they will be but after another visitor (hopefully arriving before the Big Storm arrives this evening) leaves I shall be off to the Mainland for most of the rest of the month. I am hoping to catch up with one of The Girls from Napier with whom I usually travel New Zealand playing croquet.

A number of my presents were red liquid from the fun to the very serious:

This one came in very handy when I had some small visitors (and, of course, Mum and Dad and the rest of the adults joined in).

And a very dear friend mocked my attitude to Christmas with this gift:

I wish for you all a splendid 2015.

An Early Start

Last year my eight or so weeks away in Glasgow attending The Beatson for radiotherapy meant that I just didn’t get to make the six Christmas cakes that I usually make for some of my friends.  I am determined to get back on track this year so today I started by preparing the ingredients for a mix and bake tomorrow.  The dried fruit is now soaking in brandy ready for the off.  All as per Goddess Delia’s recipe I’ve been doing this since I was confined to barracks after a heart attack in 2000 and discovered that people actually like what I did.  That’s a huge incentive isn’t it?

Cab Sav With My Brother

Yesterday I arrived in Exeter at the house of Niece Who Loves Nature and Partner Who Loves Otters and who is in the US at the moment. During the evening CJ presented me with part of my Christmas present slightly delayed by my absence. I was very amused. The title said so much of the spirit between us (although my Brother, unlike me, does not partake of alcoholic beverages). But in addition to the relevance of that companionship it was a book of New Zealand short stories.