Merry Christmas!

Woke this morning in the dark to retching from the kitchen! Yes, it was Archie at the back door being sick, though thoughtfully not on a rug. Good start. I think he'd been eating the rotting apples in our garden, some still reachable on the tree.

But the day got better - he was fine after that. He and I went to pick Uncle A up while JR got on with cooking Christmas dinner - roast turkey and all the trimmings, though, sadly, no sprouts. It's only me who likes them, so no point doing them - plenty of other veges.

Uncle A and I had a nice walk up the hill, though it wasn’t the clear day it was yesterday, and it wasn’t so cold, so the mud wasn’t frozen solid, and I did nearly fall flat on my face. Uncle A hasn’t been up there for several years, not since he fell on the steps and broke his shoulder.

We saw/met four schnauzers - two minis, one standard and one giant. Is this a record?

We had a fantastic lunch, with Christmas pudding and custard, then we opened the presents, and everyone was delighted with their gifts, even Archie (Extra).

After I took Uncle A home to watch the Queen, we got organised for our neighbour and her big handsome hunk of a son to pop over. JR spent hours yesterday searching for blinis - none to be had! She bought a blini mix and made them - gorgeous little smoked salmon tasty nibbles to go with the English fizz - just right for our visitors who were heading out for a meal later.

We're now watching some silly rom com (The Holiday) but I may need to reach for the stop button soon.

What a great day!