Entertaining!

Sophie's friend, Laura, was coming for lunch today and I was very glad I woke up at 6.30am as I had lots of things to do. I made myself a coffee, wrote my blog and then prepared all the vegetables for the meal. We were having chicken schnitzel with roast potatoes, honey-roasted parsnips and carrots, Brussels sprouts cooked with bacon, mashed swede and mushroom sauce, which we'd never made before.

For some reason, I was nervous about the meal. Normally, when Laura comes over, we have an array of nibbles, but today we were cooking a meal and I wanted it to be good! After I'd prepared all the vegetables, I asked Keith to pop to Tesco to get some Prosecco, and Sophie and I cleaned the downstairs of the house and made sure the conservatory was looking its best. Outside, it had been very foggy and grey but I could see some occasional glimpses of blue sky and we didn't need to put any heating on to warm the room.

Mike contacted me this morning and dropped the bombshell news that he wouldn't be spending Christmas Day with us as he had been invited to Center Parcs with Abbie's family. I was a little upset but wanted him to be happy, so I suggested we meet up with them in Winchester on the 17th of December to visit the Christmas market there, have lunch and celebrate a week early.

When Keith returned from Tesco, I discovered we didn't have an onion so we sent him off again, poor thing! Sophie and I did as much preparation as we could and, at 1pm, Laura arrived with a dessert, more Prosecco and nibbles, as she thought that was what we were having! 

We girls sat at the island and chatted while Keith watched the football - we had inadvertently chosen to have lunch while Newcastle was playing... oops! I put the finishing touches to the Brussels and bacon dish and made the mushroom sauce, which was very easy. I needn't have worried!

Lunch was a great success and Laura cleared her plate, which Sophie said she hardly ever does! Praise indeed! While the girls chatted in the conservatory I washed up and cleared away, and then went upstairs to lie on the bed and watch Holiday Homes in the Sun. Outside it was dark and horrible and the girls retreated to the cosy kitchen and put the heating on.

Sophie called me down for pudding - a gooey sticky toffee pudding served with ice cream - and I sat in the living room with Keith and we put the fire on. I think I fell asleep for a little while... I did have an early start!

After Laura had gone, we reluctantly made a list for Keith to take shopping tomorrow, and then relaxed for the rest of the evening. I'm A Celebrity was back tonight but it was on until 10.45pm, way past my bedtime! We recorded it instead!