It is our Boxing Day today as we had Christmas Eve 1 and 2 and yesterday was Christmas Day when everyone was at home. The turkey was good, spent the night in the slow oven of the AGA and came out marvellously moist particularly after a massive super size bottle of Veuve Cliquot. The musical crackers were as silly as ever with us all playing handbells, in tune but not exactly to time. Alex has knitted me two socks for my stump out of UK Alpaca yarn so very warm and just the thing to keep the chilbains at bay. He has been going to Stitch and Bitch and presented Chas with a beautiful knitted scarf and his own make of chutney, very impressive. The boys also noted my irritation at having trouble with tin openers and jars with tight lids. I now have automatic gizmos that open both at the touch of a button.
We spent your Christmas Day walking along Kilve beach which was amazing. The rocks and fossils are extraordinary there and it is rather grim but beautiful. And the sun was shining.
Today we have a heavy frost, bright sunshine and a freezing wind, hat weather. The alpacas are all dry and fluffy and the mud is frozen so we can whiz around in the mule without getting stuck or sliding down the slopes. I was soundly beaten last night at Scrabble, first by Alex and then by Thomas. I am losing my touch.
I have a new sound system for my kitchen which is very simple although I have observed that the remote does have a hidden panel which Chas says he will teach me to use after I have mastered the on off switch for the CD player and picking radio stations. I can’t really use his system. It is so complicated and terrible things happen. I have blown his tweeters twice whatever they are.