Monday evening

Good evening,

Well today was Christmas day for my friend. And it went well.

This morning, the papers were not due until 7.45, but they were ready at 7.30 when I got there.

I did my rounds and then did my old round, I was only covering it yesterday and today and Florence is glad it is done because she really doesn't like the stop-start town rounds.
Now we just have late starts on my usual rounds until New Years day, when the papers are due at 9am and I have two rounds to cover as well.

I will miss the rural routes, cos all the customers know my name. This morning I was about to hurtle up a driveway but a car was reversing in the driveway. So I backed into the lane. And then someone shouted out my name and told me I could come up with the paper, his daughter was just going to work, he told me as I drove up and handed the paper out the window. Aww, I will miss all my peeps.

After doing my rounds and the extra, I had time to nip home, shower and breakfast, grab my friend's bag of gifts and head for his house 8 miles away.

I have not long been back.

When I got there, the first thing was to pre-heat the oven while I made up the turkey paste.
The turkey had defrosted nicely and I removed the unwanted bits.
I made the paste out of butter with salt, pepper, garlic and herbs.
Then I painted the turkey.
The turkey went on a mesh tray on a baking tray so all the juices could run through onto the baking tray, and having painted the turkey with paste, I then put two stock pots to melt on it.

When the oven had preheated well, I put the turkey in to start it's journey. It started off without bacofoil, for my own reasons.

Then it was time to peel the potatos, peeled and chopped, they then went to soak in boiling water with garlic and herbs.

Then it was time to peel and chop the veg. Broccolli, carrots, parsnips, sprouts and chestnuts.
Those were put to wait and soak on the hob in water with a pinch of salt.

The gravy powder went in a jug, and once the turkey was cooking well, I turned the oven down a bit, took the turkey out and drained the juice into a jug, I added some of this to the gravy mix, and the rest I used to pour back over the turkey.
Then I put the bacofoil over the turkey and let it continue to cook.

I added butter to the stuffing mix. Then I boiled the potatoes in the microwave, drained them. sprayed them with frylite and added a salt, garlic and herb mix, and put them in the oven with the turkey.

Eventually I could put the two pans of veg on low to start cooking. And I made the stuffing mix up, it was too delicious though so it was hard to stop eating it as I transferred it to a pyrex oven dish and into the oven.

So, now the turkey, potatos and stuffing were baking cheerfully in the oven, with the veg cooking on low.
I finished making up the gravy mix, adding boiling water and stirring a lot. The gravy was to finish off in the microwave, so it was Ok to finish making it up.

I really felt a bit unsure of myself as to making sure the turkey was completely cooked, but I needn't have worried.
The food was obviously nearly done when I turned the veg up to boil it.

The turkey simply fell off the bone when I took it out to see if it was done and would carve. So I removed the bones and the turkey meat was all sitting in a big dish which I put back in the oven with the stuffing and potatos while I strained the veg and got the plates ready while the gravy heated in the microwave.

So I turned the oven off, served the turkey, then potatos, then stuffing, then veg, and poured the gravy.

We both had a huge meal and he was very happy with it, I was amazed that I had been able to do this, because it isn't long since I wasn't able to concentrate long enough to cook rice due to PTSD.


Dessert was due to be Christmas Pudding and custard or cream, but we were both so full that we left it for later.
We watched television and took the dogs for a walk, all the way we were debating environmental issues, it is great to have someone to debate with, it should be essential to have someone for debates.

We had our Christmas pudding after the walk, and watched 'The Big Bang Theory'.

Then it was time for me to come home. And I joked to my friend that now I can keep house and cook Christmas dinner, I need to get married.

I have just been watching Hollyoaks. I think I need a warm shower and an early night as I am shattered.

The only problem is, I am having a lot of flashbacks, distress and nightmares at night and it makes me tired.

Just a footnote, I do not like my estranged family viewing my blog, they are a waste of space and life and to have treated me as they have, I have nothing but contempt for them, so please could they leave me and my life alone.
But, the other persistent viewer recently is someone I would like to speak to, so please could they contact me.

I will be doing the new year's revolutions as normal and a look back at the year, but that may have to wait a day or two.