Xmas & Anniversary

Yesterday was nice - not as hectic and exciting as when we had 13 for Xmas dinner last year, but nice all the same. Ross was a huge help to Jo with the cooking and preparation - he came round on Christmas Eve and was here again on Christmas morning when Jo was still at church. He introduced Jo to a couple of cooking innovations and they worked out well - the turkey was moist and tender and the stuffings and cranberry sauces were good, but the piece de resistance was the roast potatoes, made from the more crumbly King Edwards.

Ross, Jo and I had G & T's mid-afternoon while we awaited the arrival of the non-drinking Inverurie clan - Gary was on call, Carole's on medication because of her shoulder and, as far as we know, Luca hasn't developed the habit yet.

Smoked salmon from http://www.ugie-salmon.co.uk/. with prawns and home-made aioli for starters and Carole's excellent Lime and Chocolate Cheesecake plus a Chocolate log for dessert. None of us could face the cheeseboard after this - we never do.

The day had started with a FaceTime call from Kelly and Lucy did likewise after dinner. Here's some snaps from Christmas:

Table set for dinner

Ross on carving duties

The aftermath of a heavy dinner

Luca plays his favourite games

Some of the cycling stuff I got

Sadly, a blurry family image

Jo bought us all identical cardigans

The weather has been lovely - very cold and frosty, but dry and sunny. The frost patterns on the cars are interesting:

Jo and I vowed last night that we wouldn't do anything or go anywhere today - our 42nd anniversary - and we didn't. We even vegetated to Pinnochio this morning. Gary made a brief appearance at lunchtime - he was at work today but drove out to Banchory to take part in the Fun Run again. Jo and I have been telly-watching mostly, although I've been sorting out some IT issues with my laptop and backup.

That's it for now.