Christmas in the Shire

And by the Shire, I do mean England...London to be precise.  Though, I can imagine some of Tolkien's hobbits would have loved the Christmas we've been whipping up in the kitchen these last days.

Justin, inspired by a need to feed the masses at a carol service, signed his name on the line for two dozen mince pies.  I did the shopping, made many helpful suggestions, and rolled up my sleeves to help on the assembly line...but Justin took charge of finding recipes, mixing the mince by hand, and then mixing the crust.  The proof of the pudding is in the pictures!

 

The pies turned out splendidly, though dwarfed the other mince pies they found themselves next to...We blame it on our North American dietary habits...Justin also mixed up some brown sugar brandy butter, after hearing one of our favourite cooking show hosts (Mary Berry) rave about her love of brandy butter.  Nice combo, but you'll start to see a pattern with Brits and their brandy...

 Today, in preparation for tomorrow's Christmas dinner with friends, we were assigned two more dishes that we were completely unfamiliar with:  bread sauce and brandy sauce.  The jury is still out, but we're hoping that what we've made is what is expected to be brought... :)

Bread sauce on the left; Brandy sauce on the right

Justin getting back into green coffee bean roasting!

 Merry Christmas to all!

Highlights

Highlight from last night's Youth and Mentor night with people from church -- watching A Christmas Story (for my 100th time) with a group who had never watched it.  Even with a bit of a delay getting the film started, and slightly choppy internet stream, I was so pleased with the consistent peals of laughter throughout Ralphie's story.  As we say in our neck of the woods, "A good time was had by all."



A few other highlights from the last month or so...

Justin and I went north to Windermere in the Lake District for a conference on the United Reformed Church (for whom we work.)  We tacked on a few extra days to see the sights and do a bit of hiking in the "mountains."  It was beautiful.

Shortly thereafter, Justin turned 30.  This ended up entailing such risky behaviours as trying the old Menthos-in-Coke trick, which Justin got whole-heartedly into...as evidenced by the drill being out to make holes in the Menthos for stringing together...Use your imagination for the rest.  (Or look on YouTube for videos of how it turns out.)

Life then morphed into a whirlwind with a lovely visit from my parents.  Our time ranged from taste-testing several scones to practising our audio-tour techniques in places like Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle, and Bath.

As these things go, all good things must come to an end.  We're getting back into the swing of work, but present now in this unique season of Advent.  It is strange how our connection to the season is a bit stunted this year, even with working for a religious institution that champions Advent.  Perhaps it is the different location, away from normal traditions with family, and choosing not to "invest" in Christmas-y decor since we're only here for two Christmases.  There will be no lemon tree with a string of lights and a couple ornaments in our room, no long hours at the bakery, rolling out thousands of Christmas tree-shaped sugar cookies, no sledding down the hill in the field behind the house.  There will be mince pies and mulled wine, attempting to stay up for the midnight Christmas Eve service, and enjoying the company of fine friends on Christmas Day.  I've gotten to share one of my traditions -- watching A Christmas Story -- and will surely share more in the coming days.  When good things come to an end, other good things can get started.

Show me what you've got, Christmas 2013.