THE KIDS have us awake early…and we’re all up by the time Catriona and Will arrive after their night at the Oak Tree.
The house is a riot when they leave – Matty, Mikey and Lesley are still here…Lesley heads off early afternoon. Matty and Mikey were due to leave today too, but seems they’re staying on. I’m kinda out the loop on all that!
I take a walk up the lochside to escape the chaos and get back just as darkness is starting to fall then head to the studio to get some promo done on the upcoming Gartmore show(14 January) and a landing page on the website. I also notice there’s no Facebook event for March’s show at the West End Centre in Aldershot so I sort that out.
We have some dinner then Matty and Mikey plonk themselves on the sofa and watch Star Wars. I’m not interested enough in Star Wars to sit on the floor so I catch up on some work at the table.
WE DON'T have much for breakfast 'cos Catriona, Will and the kids will here soon and need fed.
In the kitchen I prepare some Alabama white BBQ sauce and tidy up a little.
I get the smoker ready and once everyone's had some snacks and the kids have opened their presents it's ready for the bacon-wrapped pork loin to go on.
We spend the next few hours hanging out and chatting until the pork's ready then we all sit down for an early dinner.
The kids are staying in the house with Margaret, Les, Matty, Mikey and myself...Catriona and Will are staying at the Oak Tree Inn. We sit round the table then the kids go to bed and we all chat for a while.
IT’S CHRISTMAAAAAAAAAS! Matty’s up early to go out for a run….meantime, the rest of us get up, showered and breakfast on the go.
Before we open presents I get the smoker fired up, the turkey out the brine and rinsed and we’re all systems go for later.
Presents and buck’s fizz next then the kitchen activity starts in earnest.With the turkey well underway on smoker Matty and I go for a walk up the lochside while Mikey dozes on the sofa.
Soon we’re all round the table enjoying a fantastic Christmas dinner then there’s some tidying up before Margaret opens up a 100-piece headfuck of a jigsaw…everyone gets involved until it’s completed at 2am!
Nice Christmas Eve paddle…got a bit choppy later…and Santa had an impromptu dip!
GLAD I remembered about my early online guitar lesson otherwise I coulda slept right through!
After the lesson – and subsequent breakfast – I prep a brine solution for the turkey. The water, kosher salt, slices of orange, garlic and peppercorns needs time to cool right down and will be sorted this evening – 12 hours is plenty for tome to brine the turkey. It’ll stand up to 24 hours, but after that it has a negative effect and can make the meat a weird texture.
Next job is prep for the cherry stuffing which will be made after then I start putting up a couple of pictures in the hall before Fiona arrives to go for a paddle.
It’s pretty calm and the sun’s shining as we paddle to Port Bawn and Torrinch but as we start back to home the wind picks up and it gets unexpectedly choppy. And I take an unplanned dip. Fun paddle tho’.
Back home I have a late lunch then make the stuffing – I get it in the oven too so it just needs heated up tomorrow. The result looks good and is put aside to cool before I take it to the fridge outside.
Meantime Lesley and Mikey arrive.
Next, brining the turkey – the turkey and brine is topped up with the recommended additional water in a brining bucket along with a couple of ice packs and left outside in the shed.
Catriona, Will and the kids are coming on Boxing Day and I’m doing a smoked bacon-weave pork loin – normally I’d trim the pork add a rub and wrap in bacon the day before, but something tells me that might not be practical tomorrow (!!) so I do it now and find space in the fridge outside.
Finally, I sit down and join the others for a drink and dinner. Phew!
AFTER breakfast I hit the office to rustle up an anniversary card for Margaret….it’s our 13th wedding anniversary tomorrow (Wednesday).
We decided no anniversary presents, instead planning a short New York trip in January to bring back a guitar, sort some other things in storage and meet up with some friends and family. It’s all dependent on finding soem cheap flights tho’.
After lunch we jump in the car and drop off the Christmas lights switch-on mementos I finished the other day. Margaret drops me off and I walk home while she goes to the village for some stuff, including my prescription.
I’m home in time for my young guitar student arriving. After the lesson I get some bits and bobs done then we meet Betty at the local pub for dinner….
AS USUAL on a Monday I’m up early to get the sourdough in the oven…the bread machine mix/rest/rise seems to have done OK but I won’t know until it’s baked and cooled!
The time comes and ….it’s good. Not a million miles better than usual, but definitely an improvement. The consistent ‘atmosphere’ has definitely upped my sourdough game.
After mid-morning session with an online student we drive into Glasgow to get a turkey. Costco car park is mobbed and all snarled up so we park at TEsco and walk across. Alas, not turkeys!
Back to Tesco which is mobbed too then a quick visit to my cousin Fred who’s housebound following a particularly nasty ankle break.
We’re home just in time for my afternoon guitar student arriving then it’s into the studio to prep for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook.
Jeanetta drops by for a coffee and to collect some custom baubles then I get back to making strands for the Christmas lights gifts.
I’ve been making sourdough every week for the last two or three years but I’ve taken a notion to try it in the bread machine using my usual mix/recipe rather than the bread machine compromises. That means putting all the ingredients in the machine and using it just to knead, rest and rise…then removing the dough and putting in the fridge overnight before backing in a Dutch oven in the morning.
My theory is that the controlled kneading and resting combined with the temperature controlled rising environment in the bread machine could not only simplify the process, but result in a better dough.
Indeed, the resulting dough looks and feels good…we’ll find out how it works in the morning….
First attempt at purple Japanese milk bread…the kids like it 🙂
AS EXPECTED the kids are up early…and come through for the ritualistic ‘jump all over papa’ early morning activity.
Maggi and Joel drop off the dog (Rosie) for Freya and Aaron to look after for an hour or two. Meantime, I struggle with web server issues – all my websites are down.
I manage to get all the sites that don’t run any e-commerce (my guitar lessons, the Buzz site, Loch Lomond Studios and a few others) back up and running but there’s some kind of problem with WooCommerce and later versions of .php – somehow I manage to get my main (this!) one sorted but West Highland Way Gifts and Love Balmaha aren’t working and I can’t find the problem.
While Margaret has the kids out I decide to start making some purple Japanese milk bread…the kids might like it. Once they’re back and the bread’s (secretly!) cooling I drop some stuff for Betty and have a wee walk.
When I get back I cut the kids some purple bread..much to their delight..just as Catriona and WIll rock up to collect them. Aaron’s excited but not really interested in eating it…Freya’s equally excited and seems to love it!
Once they’re all head off I have a nap while Margaret watches a film…then I make dinner.
First attempt at reverse-seared steak. Amazing. With homemade chimichurri and some truffle fries 🙂
MARGARET’S off early into Costco for shopping and to get a wee (real) Christmas tree for beside the front door.
I’ve not long finished breakfast when a pal drops by to pick some Christmas merch and we have a blether over coffee before she goes on her way.
In the office I have an order fir three sets of coasters to be made up and some more customised baubles as well as finishing off some engraving on a wooden ammo box for Will – one of his colleagues is retiring int he new year and he’s putting together a ‘memory box’ for him.
Margaret gets home with the shopping and the kids who she picked up from Will in Balfron. We have them tonight ‘cos Catriona’s on a night out and Will’s on night shift.
A lovely present of a ‘meat box’ from some of our pals in the ‘States included a ‘sharing’ sirloin steak on the bone. I’m not sure how best to cook it so I decided to reverse-sear it – a slow smoke then a fast sear not he grill. I season the beef ready for later and make some chimichurrito go with it.
Once the kids are in bed and asleep I cook the steak outside and am delighted with the result 🙂
AFTER a lazy morning I get busy with some promo for the early 2026 shows and deal with all the day’s admin tasks.
Maggi and Joel drop by to collect their keyrings and I help them with some website stuff while we have a coffee and chat.
An event in Balfron this evening has been cancelled…but we’ve booked a slot at the dump there to try and kill two birds with one stone, so we have to go anayway!
I’d drop off a box of custom baubles on the way and get an order for a few more!
