Pink Cat, Custard & Cake

The 12 Posts of Christmas - Christmas Cake

For the Second Day of Christmas I thought I'd show your our cake. It was a joint effort between me and Mr P.

We thought that snow icing was very appropriate this year. Don't you think it looks just like much of England at the moment?

The Father Christmas is from Patisserie Valerie. I'd asked for a snowman and when I opened the box late on Christmas Eve I was a bit disappointed to find the wrong one. But he does look cute and suitably cold, doesn't he?

My Dad found the little tree in a box of Christmas Decorations. The little fairy lights actually work!

While we're at my parents, have a peek through the window and see the festive dining room set for the four of us to enjoy our Christmas Dinner. It is so pretty and cosy, I just love my Christmas Dinners there.

Tomorrow, I'll be thinking a bit more about Christmas Food - always good! x

The 12 Posts of Christmas - He's Real

Hello again! Hope you're all not Christmassed out and still have plenty of energy to enjoy a week of festivities.

I have decided to try and post every day for the 12 Days of Christmas. I'm not back at work until the 4th January so should be able to keep to it. I've got so many nice Christmassy things to write about. I hope that you'll enjoy them.

This one's a little late for the 1st Day, but I couldn't get to the laptop yesterday....

On Christmas Eve, Mr P, Fluffy Cat and myself left our empty stockings beside the fireplace with a mince pie and a glass of whiskey. I jokingly said to Mr P that I'd leave my camera with the treats and perhaps Father Christmas would take a picture of himself.

Can you imagine my amazement when I went into the living room in the morning and found an empty plate and glass, stockings full of goodies and when I looked at my camera there he was:

At 3.54 am on Friday 25 December, Father Christmas visited us! x

A West London Christmas Scene

Sitting on the sofa and looking at all my beautiful Christmas cards, I've realised that Christmas/Winter scenes generally fall into two types: the rural idyll and the Central London snow scene (usually of Trafalgar Square and Mr P's old office The National Gallery).

They are all very lovely, but there's nothing to show what Christmas in West London is like. So here I am sending you some festive good wishes from inner city W12!

Here's a frosty/snowy Hammersmith Park on Tuesday morning. You can see the back of BBC Television Centre in the background.

 

This is our resident garden robin, Mr Redbreast. He's been a regular visitor to our garden over the past few weeks, probably because I've been indulging him and his other feathered visitors with nuts and dried fruits! I don't know about you, I love feeding the birds. Isn't it funny how something so simple can bring about so much pleasure!

 

Come and have a peek inside our festive home!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE FROM PINKCAT, MR P & FLUFFY CAT! xxx

Coming up to Christmas - snow!

Unless you've got a sock in your ear, if you're in the UK you will be more than aware that it's been cold and snowy for the last few days.

Having felt very sad that we'd not seen much of the white stuff, yesterday while Mr P and I were enjoying the last day of our 'holiday at home' we were able to gaze out the window in wonder as West London got a sprinkle.

It was lovely. We had no where to go and could gaze out our front room window in wonder.

Our garden looked pretty too.

Fluffy Cat strutted her stuff.

And then she enjoyed warm snuggles on Mr P's lap.

The three of us were very cosy and very happy!

Back to work for us today - but for me, it's just for one day! I'm jolly pleased, I've got into this holiday lark already: lazing around in my pyjamas and watching lots of tv and eating chocolate and satsumas. Isn't that what Christmas is for? x

Coming up to Christmas - filling a couple of unexpected days at home

Thanks for all your kind comments about being stuck at home and not being able to get to Paris. We are still working out how to get our money back from Expedia and the insurance company. Hopefully they will pay out in full. We were both disappointed but I think we've both enjoyed having a few unexpected 'free' days to laze around and do what we wanted.

On Saturday, having woken up at 5.30am to get to St Pancras we went back to bed and didn't surface until 10.30am and even then just watched tv and didn't get dressed until gone 2pm! I indulged in a very lazy Christmassy bath. It was the first bath I've had for months, usually I just have a shower so it was a real treat.

We then headed off to Westfield to pop into Waitrose and get some food for a weekend that we'd not thought we'd need food for. We filled the trolley with lots of lovely Christmassy grub - pork pie, party food, ham, stilton and bags of satsumas and cranberries.

Later on in the evening, my Mum and Dad came round for dinner and to watch the Strictly Come Dancing final. I was so pleased that Chris won. Even though Ricky was by far the better dancer, the improvement that Chris made was immense and he was such a nice man that it did seem fair.

So Mr P didn't have too bad a birthday. There was mussels and chips followed by Tarte au Citron for tea, so there was some French influence on the day - and you were all definitely right, it was far better to be stuck at home than on a train in a tunnel going nowhere fast. Thanks for all the Happy Birthday Mr P messages - he was very touched!

Yesterday, we spent the second day of our 'holiday at home' doing things that we'd not anticipated doing. I headed off to church while Mr P had a lie in with Fluffy Cat and afterwards we went to the East End to the Columbia Road Flower Market for our annual Christmas trip to pick up some festive floral bargains. It was so atmospheric - there was snow on some of the Christmas trees that had been brought in from outside London.

If you go later in the day - around 1 or 2 o'clock you can pick up some good deals. We got 3 poinsettias for £5, a tray of cyclamen for £1 and a big bunch of mistletoe full of berries for £2. The bargains are great!

 

It's great to get a Christmassy bargain but then you have to fit them all in the car to get them home...

...and not get poked in the head with a sprig of holly!

What's been your best Christmas bargain so far this year? x

PinkCat PS: Just wanted to add another nice thing that we've been able to do because we didn't get to go to Paris. Last night we attended the Carols by Candlelight service at our church. It was lovely and gave us very warm fuzzy Christmassy feelings. It was so nice to see my godmother's granddaughter singing in the choir. She is seven and is going to be my eldest bridesmaid when I get married next year. She's lovely, so sweet and kind. We also got to see her sister, who is actually my goddaughter. She's slightly younger, aged four, and is also going to be one of my bridesmaids. They are a very cute pair!

We walked to church (it takes about 20 minutes) because we thought it would nice to make the most of the wintry weather. It was so nice, although a bit slippery at times but it was good to get some exercise...because we started on the pork pie and party food when we got home to our cosy, warm flat! x

Stuck!

We're stuck at home!

Mr P is 30 today and we were supposed to be getting the 7.29am Eurostar train from St Pancras to Paris for the weekend. We were going to see the Christmas Markets and spend tomorrow at Disneyland Paris.

I don't think we'll be going anywhere!

What shall we do to celebrate? What shall we do with our spare weekend? Do I give in and go to work on Monday?

Decisions decisions! Grrrr! x

Coming up to Christmas - Outside it's chilly...

Hello again. Sorry for it being a bit quiet in Pink Cat Land recently. It's been a hectic few weeks what with the new job (still going well, you'll be pleased to hear) and lots of Christmas parties and meet ups. I've got so much to tell you but as I have such little time, I hope these photos will sum up what I've been up to since I last posted.

Look at this amazing house in Whitchurch on the outskirts of Chester. We had a flying visit to Cheshire last weekend for my great-aunt's 100th birthday party (yes, she did get a telegram from the Queen) and on the way back to the M6 we passed this house and I couldn't resist getting out the car and having a good look. Not only were there lights on the house, but there were so many inflatables and other decorations in the garden. It was quite something else. I'm of the camp that I love looking at Christmas lights on other peoples' houses but am not sure I really want to do it to my own.

On Sunday we went to Christmas Common to buy our Christmas Tree. It's the second year that we've been to the Tree Barn and it's such a nice trip out with Mr P and my Mum and Dad. The trees are bought into the barn straight from the woods and we were there when some more arrived.

After buying the Christmas Tree, we stopped off in Beaconsfield for a late lunch and I took this picture of the parish church. It's not a brilliant photo, but I thought the sky looked very pretty.

On Tuesday I went up to the West End to go to a Christmas Party at Mr P's old office. On the way to the venue, I passed Hamleys and could not help myself but take some pictures. The bears were delightful!

The Regent Street lights were also good.

 

One year I worked just behind Regent Street and must admit really enjoyed walking back to the Tube station each night and seeing the lights. I thought these ones were much better than they'd been in recent years.

I am a huge fan of snow globes at the moment and was very impressed with the giant one in Piccadilly Circus. It was a nice surprise to turn the corner and see it there. Can you see Eros peeking out from underneath?

 

In Trafalgar Square the WWF had set up a Polar Bear ice sculpture to make everyone think about climate change. The bear was supposed to illustrate how quickly icebergs will disappear due to climate change. However I think it is taking much longer than they had anticipated due to the bitter cold we've had this last week. Nevertheless, the polar bear was VERY cute!

  

Here's the Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square. Usually Mr P and I try to go to see the tree lighting ceremony but we couldn't get there this year. It's a very pretty tree and there were some carollers seeing beautifully underneath.

All these pretty and jolly sights made me very pleased to be a Londoner!

 

Finally, the view from my old office window. On Wednesday we had some snow. It didn't last but as it was falling it looked very pretty. Have you woken to much snow this morning? We've had very little here which is a bit disappointing as my work Christmas lunch was postponed as they thought not many people may get to work. Never mind, it will be something to look forward to in January.

Hope you're keeping warm and snug in the winter chill. Next time I'll take you inside and we'll see what cosy and pretty things I've found indoors. x

A funny Monday thought

Hello everyone - I can't believe that Monday is already done and dusted!

Day 1 went well. At times I wondered if I'd bitten off more than I could chew but at other times it all seemed very well. I had a chat with my new line manager and she seems very nice.

Let's hope the rest of the week goes well and I get on with my other line manager when she gets back tomorrow.

Anyhow I thought I'd share a silly little thought that I had walking home. It's very daft. I must have first-day-in-a-new-job fatigue!

Wouldn't it be good to have two Mum's at Christmas. One of them would be my Mum and the other would be Delia Smith. Then Delia could cook the Christmas lunch and my Mum could have the day off.

But would I have to buy both Mum's a present and if so what would you buy Delia? Any ideas? x

Hectic week

I just cannot believe that it's been a week since I last posted. I have been SO busy.

The week just passed in a flash, probably because I was busy doing the handover for my old job and getting ready for Christmas - writing cards, doing some more shopping, starting to put the decorations up and on top of that, just doing the normal every day things like washing and ironing, hoovering and cleaning.

I had wanted to do a big post to show you some of our decorations and the nice things I've been up to, but at the moment I'm just too tired to think descriptively and it seems too dark and cold for me to take any pictures.

Tomorrow I start the new job. I'm hoping it will all go well but I must admit I'm feeling a bit wibbly at the moment. I had a few handover hours last week, but the temp finished on Friday and from tomorrow I will be 'it'. One of the ladies I will be working for is having a big end-of-year celebration lunch on Friday and I need to be on hand to coordinate that. Thank goodness all the rooms are booked and the food and drink is more or less ordered. All I should need to do is be on hand to meet and greet and make sure everything that needs to happen does, but no doubt there will be a hitch...or two...but please not three!

Hope you are all having a good weekend and are starting to feel festive. I love Christmas but there comes a point late in November or early in December when I feel that although Christmas is round the corner it is still to early to be totally festive. You still end up doing ordinary chores and not relaxing and the thought of everything that needs to be done by the 24th seems daunting. Today I finished writing the bulk of my cards (over 100!) and I will be pleased to get those in the post tomorrow morning. This week I plan to wrap the presents...although according to my diary I should have done that by today! Grrrr! I hope you're more ahead than I am! x

Pink Cat PS: Thanks for all your comments about Christmassy films. We went for Love Actually in the end, but only watched half of it. It's still in the DVD player waiting to be finished! x

Advent Weekend

This weekend Mr P and I have thrown ourselves into getting ready for the forthcoming festivities. Now that we've reached Advent Sunday we can fully justify getting fully into a Christmassy state of mind.

The weekend started with our church Christmas Fair. Do you remember I said that we were running one of the stalls? Here's a clue as to what it was...

Yes, we were running the Guess The Weight of the Christmas Pudding stall! After our pudding disaster the other week, Dad and I worked very hard to produce another pudding. I know a few of you asked what I meant when I said that it had split in the middle, so I shall explain. We use a traditional round mould rather than a pudding basin. Sometimes when the mixture is too moist or the fat hasn't set well, it will split in the middle when we try to take it out. However, after a second attempt we had a great pudding for people to try to win. Here's our stall and the prized pudding:

 

We had a fair few guesses, but the winner closest to the correct weight of 1090g (2lb 4oz) was my Great Aunt. It was not a fix honest! She just happened to guess 1106g and it was the closest anyone got to the right answer. Auntie was running the Christmas Cake raffle stall next to us with her home-made cake. As you can tell we're a culinary family:

 

Unfortunately we didn't win her cake (although having tasted many over the years, I just know it is delicious!) but there were lots of other lovely sweet treats to try.  Mr P bought me this sparkly pink fairy cake:

 

It was yum!

After the Fair, we dashed to the shops to buy some food for dinner. My Mum and Dad came round and we watched Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing With The Stars) and then had an Indian for tea with curry, onion bhajis and cabbage from the veg box! It was the perfect end to a fun day.

This morning we were up early for the Advent Sunday service at church. I love Advent Sunday, in fact I think it is my favourite service of the entire year. I love the feeling of festive expectation I get when we sing O Come, O Come Emmanuel and when a child lights the first candle in the Advent Wreath.

The first candle is lit to remind us of the Ancient Patriarchs - Abraham, Issac and Jacob. I must admit I wasn't sure why the centre candle had been lit this morning as it is usually only lit on Christmas morning. I shall have to ask Jon our vicar.

After church, we were busy at home (it has been raining ALL day so not the day to be going anywhere) with more festive preparations: printing off address labels for our Christmas cards, making some more Christmas Pudding mixture (I had enough mixture left to make half a pudding so I needed to make some more - Dad is steaming it tomorrow) and starting to make some mincemeat. I've not made my own mince pies since I was at school so it is something I'm looking forward to doing later on in the month.

Anyway, Mr P and I are now going to take ourselves upstairs to the living room and curl up with a Christmassy film to end a most festive weekend. However, we can't decide what to watch - Love Actually or Miracle On 34th Street (original version with Natalie Wood). I love them both so it will be a hard choice. Which is your favourite? x