Christmas Eve will find me ...

I've either been too hot, too tired or feeling far too cranky to post the last few weeks. I kept thinking about it but then I'd get distracted by another shiny Bandom fic (why am I reading Bandom fic?) But I do want to say Merry Christmas and I'm feeling happier with the world (and the weather) now.

I may have gone slightly overboard with my Christmas shopping and cooking this year but .. eh. It's Christmas. In the last three days I have made:

Lemon-Lime Curd

Rocky Road

Rainbow Paddle Pop Fudge

Chocolate Spiders

Cherry and Almond Florentines

Chocolate Shortbread

Biscotti di Regina

Cranberry White Chocolate Biscuits

Mint Chocolate Thumbprints

Guinness Stout Ginger Cake

And I have just used my brand-new KitchenAid icecream maker to make Caramelised Apple Ice Cream! The ice cream is currently in the freezer to harden up but it was delicious at soft serve consistency and everything worked beautifully. Yay!

Last weekend I took three lots of pretzels to a neighbour's Christmas lunch. Bag 1 was dipped in dark chocolate (really nice), Bag 2 was dipped in white chocolate (so good, omg) and Bag 3 was baked with cinnamon and sugar (okay). I also made Chocolate Candy Cane Fudge (seriously rich).

Tomorrow, I will cook a Christmas dinner consisting of:

Roast Pork Loin with Caramelised Onion and Sage Stuffing

Hasselback Potatoes

Bavarian Cabbage Salad

... to be followed by the Guinness cake and apple ice cream.

I AM VERY PLEASED WITH CURRENT RESULTS!!!

In other news, brother is still an inconsiderate jackass, sister-in-law remains a Speshul Snowflake but brother and nephew are coming over on Boxing Day. So that's something. It's been ... a bit wearying, these last few weeks. *makes a face* But Mum and I are going to have a lovely peaceful Christmas. We visited an elderly relative tonight (tradition) for dinner which was nice. I made the lemon curd for her as Mum had mentioned when I made some a few weeks ago and she was very enthusiastic about it. The Florentines were also for her (plus a plate of other biscuits). They were favourites of her (now deceased) husband so I kept making them even though they're a pain. And now the grandchildren love them so ... but at least I only have to make one batch.

Tomorrow we'll visit another family friend, after croissants and presents. Then we'll come home, watch a movie, snack on various lovely eats, then I'll make dinner. And we will relax. We could have gone up to visit our friend in the Blue Mountains but we would have had to stay the night and we don't have anyone to watch the animals. But we might go up for New Year.

I wish you all a very merry - and peaceful - Christmas. If Christmas is not your celebration, then I wish you a happy day.