A long and busy day...

Do you remember the sausage I mentioned in my blog yesterday? Well, this morning, as Sophie was getting ready to go to the gym, we opened the back door, and it was lying on the driveway! We don't have a lid on our horrible food bin, and a cat, fox or other animal had dragged out one of the food bags, and there was a half-eaten bread bap and the sausage lying on the ground! Obviously, the sausage wasn't to their taste, as it was untouched and looked even worse! Yuk!

My shift at work passed quickly, and Keith collected me at 2pm. I dropped him off just outside the estate and rushed to Kettering to collect my Mum for her nail appointment. We made it back to Northampton in time today, and she chose a festive sparkly red, which looked lovely.

Natalia didn't finish until almost 4.30pm, and I drove home to pick up Keith to keep me company. Silly, I know, but I hate the drive back from Kettering in the dark! We became embroiled in traffic just past the roundabout for Mawsley and crawled slowly all the way to the care home. Luckily, as I rang the doorbell, one of the carers arrived and said she'd take Mum back upstairs so I could leave.

Going back the way we'd come wasn't an option, as the traffic was horrendous, so we made the decision to go via the village of Loddington. I managed to get behind the slowest taxi known to man, who drove along and never exceeded 30 miles an hour. By now, it was raining heavily and the sides of the road were potholed and full of puddles, so overtaking wasn't possible. I sat behind him all the way until the turn-off for the single-track road leading to Old when I could finally increase my speed a little.

Sophie arrived seconds after me and it was great to finally be able to relax. Outside, it continued to pour with rain all evening and we have another storm to look forward to over the weekend - Darragh.

Before cooking dinner, I tried three of my whiskies, and shared them with Keith and Sophie:

December 3rd: Loch Lomond 12-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 46% ABV.  For me, the alcohol overpowered this whisky and I found it quite harsh. I noticed a peatiness and bitterness on the aftertaste. Sophie said it reminded her of oranges. Keith loved it, he said there were hints of creaminess. 3/5

December 4th: Fielden Rye Whisky at 48%. Sophie was a huge fan of this, and I liked it too. It reminded me of "Fisherman's Friend" cough sweets, even plastic! Then I detected notes of cream soda. Sophie gave it 5/5, and I awarded it 4/5.

December 5th: Caol Ila 12-year-old Scotch Whisky 43%. Even before I smelt and tasted this I knew it would be peaty. And it was! It was like liquid Germolene. Very peaty and smoky, but softened with water. Sophie hated it, and I gave it 3/5. Keith was non-committal.

Tomorrow night, Sophie is attending her office Christmas party and we're picking her up from town at 11pm, so no alcohol for me at all. I don't think it will do me any harm!