Merry Christmas everyone
What a difference a year has made. Last year I was anxiously awaiting surgery to deal with cancer and couldn’t face the idea of a family get together. I chose to,spend Christmas very quietly at home with my husband, the first time in almost 35 years of marriage we hadn’t gone to our family or hosted them at our place.
One year later the surgery is over, the cancer has gone and I’m bouncing back. Time for me to play host again and to suffer all the anxieties that go with that. Should I put the turkey in a brine bath or cook it sitting on a base of vegetables? How do you get sprouts to taste of anything other than sulphur (you can tell I am not a lover). What are the rules of Black Jack again? Is it possible for six people to play Scrabble for an hour without an argument about what constitutes a proper noun?
Whether you are spending Christmas in your own home or with friends and family, marking the festive season with a BBQ on the beach or in front of a cosy fire, I hope you have a wonderful time. And may your tree be laden with bookish goodies….
Merry Christmas!
Hope 2018 proves to be a fulfilling year for you
Thank you…and for you too! Here’s to more great reads for 2018!
So glad your year ended better than it started.
I hope you had a nice, joyful Christmas with your family.
Take care.
We did indeed enjoy the time together Emma. How was your Christmas?
We had a very nice Christmas.
Happy Christmas and here’s to a wonderful 2018 – so glad you have had a happy end to this one!
Thanks Karen. Yes indeed it is good to reach the end of the year on an up …
Best wishes to you Karen. What a wonderful difference a year makes. I hope you had a wonderful day.
Thanks Ali, I hope your health is improving too now after a tough few months earlier in the year.
I’m not too bad at the moment thank you.
Glad to hear the cancer has gone! Belated Merry Christmas to you and yours, and you can send any leftover sprouts to me – I love them!
Im beginning to think that sprouts are like Marmite – you either love them or hate them but you can’t be indifferent to them
Merry Christmas to you too! So glad the cancer is gone. My favorite way to cook brussel sprouts is to sprinkle whatever spice comes to mind and roast them in my toaster oven – big oven if necessary
Forgot to mention the sprouts. I hated them growing up but I love them now as I do most if not all cabbages. Re Lisa’s comment, I think it depends a bit on how you cook them. I think roasting or baking them is excellent and I don’t think that smells out the house so much as boiling them.
don’t you blanche or par boil them first? I did on the basis that my sous chef (aka my husband) maintained they would be rock hard if I just sauted them. But the blanching just seemed to make them a bit soggy
Nope, just cut in half and roast. They soften but stay firm. You have to watch they don’t burn too much around the edges. Sauteeing is trickier. I’d shred them for that, saute, and serve tossed through other sauteed vegetables.
I shall try this out next year. I reckon by then I will have forgotten the taste from this year
Haha, hopefully! You’ll have to report back!
Now that might be more acceptable. The spice would mask the taste of the sprouts well I think
You know have glad we all are here that you are well and strong again. May the coming year be peaceful and full of joy.
It was wonderful to hear laughter in the house as everyone relaxed. Last year they were a bit nervous I think
Here’s to a great year in 2018. Best Wishes
Cheers Guy. Hope your 2018 brings you joy
Delighted to hear that this Christmas is so very different from last for you, Karen. I hope you all had a lovely day.
We did indeed Susan. Now I’m much fitter I’d love to meet up with you in Bath …..
That would be great. Shall I DM you once Christmas/NY is out of the way?
That would be great. Maybe February would be a good month to aim for?
Sounds good to me.
It’s been great to hear about your recovery this year, and Christmas is a great way to celebrate it. I must say I am impressed that your love for your family includes cooking Brussel sprouts for them… I cannot bear the smell of them in the house!
We have a standing joke in our family about the fact that if you don’t start cooking the sprouts by October they won’t be ready in time. Yep the smell is something rotten
All the best wishes to you Karen (and re: sprouts – butter fixes everything).
Ive not heard of the butter solution – maybe it it had garlic in it that would work even better
A momentous year well traversed Karen. Love this post – btw we (or, more accurately, my husband) brined our turkey and it was beautiful. Hope yours was too, however you did it. Here’s wishing you continued health in 2018.
I wish there was a button to click that said Love rather than Like. This time last year I was at family Christmas (husband’s family) with an appointment on 28 Dec for cancer tests and discussions about surgery. I didn’t turn out to have cancer but I did have surgery, and an anxious wait until early May for it. All well too myself, and ironically had a Christmas Day just me and my coughing husband! Glad you’re OK and Happy Christmas x
Thats so sweet of you Liz, thank you. The waiting for test results is a horrible time so I can sympathise with you in your experience last year. Good to know all did go well with the surgery