Gluttony

Far from tapering down from the Cunard induced excesses in the run-up to Christmas, we haven’t exactly been missing at mealtimes since we got back.  We enjoyed our chicken on Christmas Day, and made inroads into a leg of lamb on Boxing Day.  I’d spotted said joint in Fortnums, short-dated hence greatly reduced in price, and couldn’t resist it - it was delicious, and will set us up for a couple of shepherd’s pies.  I’ll gloss over the Mary Berry mince pies, and the sausage rolls made from leftover cipollatas…. We’re behaving ourselves today: soup for lunch, and a chicken Caesar salad for supper.  

The weather is fine off and on today (though quite chilly) so I’ve done a spot of gardening.  The hellebores are pruned back, revealing lots of healthy buds.  The bitter cold while we were away finished off the geraniums and fuchsias in sundry containers, so they are now in the garden waste bin ready for when collections resume.  I’ve hacked down some extremely leggy rudbeckias and made a start on the hardy fuchsia at the front.  So all in all, we’re looking a bit tidier out there.  There isn’t a whole lot of colour, but the winter jasmine has plenty of buds, the polyanthus are showing a few timid flowers, and the bulbs are coming through in places.  This time of year the cornus are at their best.  All the colour is from this year’s growth, of course.  I didn’t massacre the orange one in the back garden last spring, preferring to give it a chance to get established: John had given it to us us a cutting the year before.  It has therefore been a bit dull this year, but I’ll prune it properly in the spring and hope for better results.