Gingerbread Haus - January 2021

We are trying to make the most of the time we have left as a couple.  The next few weeks and months will be hard adjusting to a new normal, what ever that will be.  We hope we are up to the challenge, I’d like to think we are but in the mean time let’s celebrate Burn’s Night.  We planned a three course meal; Scottish muscles for starters, Haggis, carrots and mash for mains and raspberry roulade for dessert.  All washed down with a yummy Speyside Single Malt Whisky.  To get it on the theme we have started watching Outlander, which has been great.  I do love a man in a kilt.

Gingerbread Familia - January 2021

Life as we know it is about to change, I got a call at work regarding a sibling group of three 1, 4, 7 (boy, girl, and boy).  I am not going to lie I got really excited, I started making plans I bought bits and pieces.  We started to decorate the room, we moved some furniture had a “boy” room and a “little kids” room.  GO found a pram and a friend donated clothes and toys.  We had our approval changed from a sibling group of two to three.  Then we got the call Lancashire had chosen another couple who they knew well. So now we wait again, this is such a hard process.

Gingerbread Travel - January 2021

Snow just makes everything look lovely, I expected a few little flurries and was delighted to wake up to a full on dump (sorry couldn’t think of another word), we made the most of it.  

We decided to go to the park, a quick there and back, twenty minutes tops.  We got chatting to a neighbour who suggested visiting a nearby wood.  Two miles and the most amazing views later we’ve started our 1000 miles countdown, two hours outside and 200m ascent.  We were all snowed out. 

Gingerbread Life - January 2021

Here we go again back to rotas, not leaving the house and watching daily government briefings.  The difference this time is that there is a vaccine there could be and end to this.  As I am now working towards leaving my role in school has become more transient, I have worked in nursery, reception and year one.  I have have developed, made and delivered workpacks for EYFS and have taught live lessons (maths, English, phonics and topic) for year one and reception.  I have hated every second of it.  When in school I have taught a group of 13/14 (nursery and reception) children in the morning and then the afternoons have been 2/3 children.  

The mornings go quite quickly but the afternoons drag like a dog with worms.  We “made” snowmen when I looked at the clock it had only been twenty minutes.  The lady working with me said as we finished up “what a lovely activity, we’ve had such a nice afternoon.”  My response was “Mrs P it’s only 1.30pm!”  

Gingerbread Life - Dezember 2020

Festive Food

Is it just me or is the food around Christmas the best all year?  Is it the combination of cinnamon and vanilla or the fact that we allow ourselves to become gluttons?

Part way through the pandemic we began meal planning.  In all honesty food was really all we had to look forward to.  From deciding what to eat, acquiring the food (which has actually become dangerous) from supermarkets or deliveries, to spending time (some time hours) cooking it, then devouring it in seconds.  Food really has been the highlight of the year.

When we realised that we wouldn’t be able to spend Christmas with Mamilein and Papichen in Deutschland we decided to hunker down and just spend the festive season together.  We didn’t break our bubble we didn’t see anyone or go anywhere but we did want it to be special.  So GO began planning the big meal himself, he has never been a fan of whole turkeys as they can be quite dry.  He wouldn’t tell me what he was planning but did mention that he was thinking of ham (doesn’t he always?).

My job was Christmas Eve and I knew I didn’t want anything too heavy or fussy but I did want something festive.  Christmas is always such a meat feast and often brings on heartburn and indigestion.  I wanted some kind of fish dish but didn’t know any.  As luck would have it one morning, I was scrolling through Facebook and came across a  Recipe Tin recipe for baked festive salmon.  It was easy, light and with all of the fruit and herbs looked extremely Christmassy.

I also planned our breakfast, having spotted a recipe for a French toast casserole on Pinterest years ago, it struck me as a yummy thing to have on Christmas morning.  Ma and Pa have very set ideas about breakfast it’s either a feast (fry up) or famine (toast) and never anything else.  I knew that if/when I was in charge of Christmas I would have the casserole on Christmas morning.  We have lots of fruit (berries, grapes and oranges) and yoghurt to dress it and it was yummy.  It was really easy to make, I just can’t find the recipe again.  I will hunt it out one day to make again I’m sure... 

We decided that as our breakfast had been so filling we would have our big meal in the evening.  I wasn’t allowed anywhere near the kitchen GO had everything under control.  He had ordered a “box” from Pappy’s BBQ which had a smoked ham and Turkey crown for four, stuffing, gravy and deserts.  He cooked it all along with some vegetables and without much fuss we had a delicious Christmas dinner. It was a lovely meal and for days/weeks after I could smell the smokiness of the ham and turkey.  It has permeated into the pots, pans and microwave and no amount of cleaning got rid of it.  It wasn’t bad, it’s just smoky porridge isn’t a thing for a reason.

Boxing Day/Zweite Weihnachts Tag is a day for laziness, long walks, movies and reheated leftovers.  As the BBQ turkey was meant to serve four people we had two meals leftover.  We also had some smallish baking trays left so we portioned up the food into two trays reheated them, added gravy and had two Christmas tray meals to enjoy on the sofa.  It was yummy and it went a little way to easing the guilt I felt for taking GO on a walk that ended up with him slipping in the mud, it wasn’t funny, it really wasn’t....

Betwixtmas for me is just full of festive snacks and boxes of chocolate.  I love sitting down on the sofa and drinking coffee out of a lovely cup and not a travel mug.  We had lots of “picky” teas and cheese boards so could both relax as no one needed to cook anything.

I had big plans for New Year’s Eve, we were going to have a Raclette with a selection of meat and veg.  We had chilled the Bucks Fizz and got our selves all glammed up and as we sat neither of us could be bothered to set up the Raclette, so we had the most German meal ever; Bratwurst, Brat Kartoffeln  and Sauerkraut.  It wasn’t what we had planned but it was quick, easy and tasty and filled a hole.

Recipe Tin recipe - www.recipetineats.com/christmas-baked-salmon

Gingerbread Travel - Dezember 2020 🎄🎅🏼🎄

We haven’t been anywhere (apart from work as key workers) so I thought I’d share some of the ornaments that we have purchased on our travels over the years.  I love that our tree is full of memories, it truly is a tree of remembrance, of trips and milestones.  It has souvenirs of places we have visited (Las Vegas, Canada, Edinburgh, Berlin), homes we have shared (Oxford, Manchester, Lancashire) and milestones we want to hold dear.

Gingerbread Haus - November 2020 🎄🎅🏼🎄

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, we inherited my parents amazing tree this year.  They don’t want the stress of putting up and taking it down every year.  I didn’t know if it would be too big so I put it together in mid November (just after GO’s birthday).   For days it stood there naked, then finally on a Saturday when we were both free, no work for either of us to do we dressed it.  It took ages, the lights were the most important part (we used 3000 lights) and we watched a few instruction videos.  The consensus of opinion was rather than wrap around and around (like I usually do) we needed to wrap along the branches moving up in sections.  It was a faff but three tree actually glows, like you see in movies and magazines.  The rest of the house will need a day all on its own to Christmassify.  As the song goes “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

Gingerbread Life - November 2020 🍲🐓🍲

Last day of self isolation, working from home, and it has been interesting.  When I started I wasn’t sure how I could fill a whole day with remote learning, I teach three year olds.  

I did it though and I enjoyed it.  Yes it was cringey recording myself but after I got over that it was hard to stop.  I sometimes think they got a better deal virtually than they get in real life 😂😂😂.  Obviously that’s not true, in real life I’m an absolute hoot 😉.

One part I am going to miss is actually being at home, not leaving the house in the wee small hours and returning in the evening to a cold, dark house.  Having a cup of coffee in a cup not a flask.  Wearing comfy, snuggly clothes, and blankets (yes, I wear loads of blankets). Not having to wash my poor, poor cracked hands like a loon every twenty minutes.  Food - not just grab and go soggy cheese sandwiches, cold porridge or rock hard bagels but warm, hearty soul nourishing food.  I have taken the time to make healthy, tasty comforting food and it has been wonderful.  I have had fresh fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, soup for lunch, vegetable laden stews and casserole for dinner.  I have eaten a rainbow. 

🌈  Long may it continue (it won’t there are some bagels in the freezer). 

Gingerbread Travel - November 2020

August may be an expensive for Papichen but November is an expensive one for me.  With five family birthdays (four in the first week) it can be be a money pit of a month.  Gift buying is tricky as it’s so close to Christmas you don’t want to use up all of ideas and leave nothing for the real big day.  With this years added inconvenience of being in a second lockdown (no trips out), I wondered how to make it special for the Ginger One.  Then I had (stole) an idea, I asked lots of friends and family to send videos wishing him a happy

birthday.  Then I put the video together (some have asked not to be shared online) which you can see below.  We couldn’t travel as we were in tier 4 and weren’t allowed to visit people so it was lovely to have friends and family “visit” all be it virtually.

Gingerbread Familia - November 2020

We’ve been keeping a Beary special secret.

After a very, very long journey, we are pleased and relieved to announce that we have been approved to become foster carers. We are looking forward to welcoming some little people (0-11) into our family and home for however long they may need to stay.