h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I now have confirmation that Ian has accepted Laura's offer of Christmas Dinner at hers so I'm really looking forward to Christmas Day now. Mum will be at my sister's so this will be a stressless and worry-free day for me.



Yesterday doing Mum's shopping I bought all the ingredients required to make a couple of desserts (hardly anyone likes in my family and our Christmas cake is usually ). I'll be making a lemon meringue pie and a trifle to take for afters. I'm also buying a Christmas cake from my local bakery, chocolate sponge shaped like a Christmas tree all covered in chocolate and with Xmassey decorations

I'm really feeling in a festive mood now, I've even dug out my Christmas cds so I can listen to them in the car.

All the best to everyone




GB

My brother's hosting our Christmas this year so stress free for me too.

Merry Christmas

Deb

Thanks Deb, Merry Christmas to you too!

The 3rd layer's on the trifle. I'll be finishing that off tomorrow afternoon (except for the squirty cream and white chocolate stars which I found) and also baking my lemon meringue pie when Fantasia has finished.

Tomorrow morning I'll be washing Mum's hair and blow-waving it - hoping it will stay curly for her stay at my sister's.

Ian and I have a funeral this afternoon. Must dash

Two questions about the trifle. What is the third layer if not the cream? And won't white chocolate stars get overlooked on a white cream base?

Sorry to bother you with such trifles (see what I did there?) when you are thinking about life and death today.

No problem TC. I'm not at Mum's owing to the domestic being there and they tend to want to chat if there's an opportunity. I'm making my own version of trifle. It will consist of about 7 layers. I've done a sponge base soaked in jelly. I added a layer of fruit and set this with a small amount of jelly. I added a further layer of jelly+fruit juice from the tin of fruit, with added fruit pieces today. I still have to do the custard layer, then the banana angel delight layer, this will be what I will physically take round to my daughter's home on Christmas Day. There I will add the squirty cream and chuck on the white chocolate stars just before serving.

I'm also making a duplicate at the same time as Helen will be visiting from Boxing Day until New Year's Eve. On the day she spends with me, she'll be tucking into Mum's special trifle which will be just a little different to Laura's, specially-adapted for her

The funeral will be bitter-sweet. It's for a lady I met just once, on 16th Nov. Ian's known her all his life as she's the mother of one of his best friends. It was this friend's engagement party and we happened to be sat at her table. She was very happy to be there and a lot of people took the time to come over and speak to her. She seemed thrilled that Ian had met "someone nice" () after the devastation of last year when his wife was so poorly and finally died so young. (She was 63, which would have seemed young to someone in their eighties). When we left I gave her a big hug and kiss, told her I was delighted to have met her. She felt like a bag of bones, reminded me of my Mum

Ian was really shocked to get the call that she had passed away and I am glad I am going to be there at his side this afternoon.

A very sad time but maybe a happy release. This Christmas has brought several sad pieces of news to me, so it has rather tempered the mood.

Take care and have a lovely Christmas and New Year.



Websailor

no one can ever really die, not while their memory is still in your heart
and they have only been called for duty, to enhance heaven

What a beautiful sentiment Profand I'm so sorry to hear that Webby

I'm off to Mum's to wash and blow-wave her hair. My sister's due to pick her up just after lunch then I have a lemon meringue pie to bake. Then I'll be watching Fantasia with a and a mince pie,

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year GB.

What BMT said

Thanks everyone

We had a wonderful time and Mum's now safely home and hopefully will soon be back in her normal routine. I'm going round soon to put away all her Christmas gifts that are still in my car boot!

http://plus.google.com/photos/109163337517290185142/albums/5561319114697834337/5961976250546778754?banner=pwa&pid=5961976250546778754&oid=109163337517290185142 that's Mum on Boxing Day, I hope it works for you. Let me know if you can see it

GB

Lovely photos GB! thanks for sharing. Your Mum looks so proud and happy holding Jaxon.

Oops, wrong photos! Mum didn't hold Jaxon, he's no longer a baby, he's 3 on 6 January, you must have been looking at a previous Christmas scorp! It's the photo of Mum on her own, she's wearing black tights, if you can't find her I'll upload it to a new album.

I saw the same ones as Scorp GB Thanks for comment GB. The sad news was much of it expected but no better for that.

I put all thoughts aside and had a lovely Christmas with my family but it is nice to be back home. Glad your Christmas was good, you deserved a break.

Happy New Year,

Websailor

The first picture I saw was your mother in her finest. All in all i saw 4 pictures and I recognized the old ones.
I think your mother looks quite nice all things considered

There's nothing to her My sister weighed her, even though I'd weighed her the week before, probably to check if my scales were correct. Yep, she's 38kg. 5st.13lbs in old money. When you hug her she's just a bag of bones

I'm meeting my daughter who's over from Manchester this week, we're having a carvery at the Trawlerman, just the two of us. I can't wait. I saw her at my sister's Boxing Day party but she spent most of the time with her cousins and siblings and nephews. This time last year I took her to the Jungle Zoo where Scorp and I went as Helen had not seen live meerkats before. The poor things were freezing and huddled together in their little denso we spoiled the pot-bellied pig insteadthen we went for a meal at the old Birds Nest café on the Boating Lake. It was one of those "all you can eat" for a set price, I didn't enjoy it as it felt like leftovers. So a carvery it is, then we're having trifle from the duplicate bowl I had on the go from Christmas' which went down very well (Karl even had the remains for his breakfast on Boxing Day)

Off to Mum's now, I'll give her your best wishes

In spite of her weight problem, age, frailty and so on she looks nice. I think the colours are good for her