December is upon us!

It may not be to everyones taste but I think it's  ok

I'm not the biggest fan of Christmas and all that comes with it. Too commercialised in my opinion and people always spend far too much money things people don't need. Keep it simple and keep it honest is what I have in my head. Advent starts on the 4th Sunday before Christmas so in preparation I have made an advent calendar and filled it up with little chocolates. Hand sewn in a rather ramshackle way the whole thing is made out of cheap off cuts of material (about 30p per piece of coloured cloth) and a garden stick. It's not perfect and it's a little rough around the edges but I can use it again and again each year. I may even sew on a few more decorative bits and pieces next year to add something new. But until then,the countdown to Christmas has begun...

This is before I started sewing all the little
pockets on which took a VERY long time!

I can't believe it's December

December has been cold and snowy but full of mulled wine and gin so everything is ok. Our little hen Myrtle has survived the sub zero temperatures and remains chirpy and up beat. Now all we need is some new chickens so she can have some friends, as she gets a bit lonely sometimes.

Christmas provided all the usual Yule time festivities. Christmas Eve at the Wheatsheaf pub, Midnight Mass with the family, members of my family being slightly too merry and pudding’s and monopoly at the Millards.

I managed to create Pheasant Pie on Christmas day that was lovely. I went pheasant beating back in November so I’ve had it in the freezer skinned and gutted ready to be cooked. I put together two recipes that I found online so in total it contained leeks, mushrooms, chestnuts, a lick of cream and a slurp of orange juice- and of course some lovely bits of pheasant. It was a treat. I’m hoping next year I can make another one and by then my home made sloe gin will be ready-can’t wait.

The snow has finally begun to melt in Wiltshire and once more I can see the grass in the fields. As I look out my window a worrying shade of grey lingers in the sky. There is a mist that needs to be shaken off. The last few days of December need to shake off the lasting bitter dew.