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!
A BIT of a rush getting out the shower and breakfast before the first of two guitar lessons this morning. This first one is on Zoom so I hit the studio and am just finishing up when my in-person student Dawn rolls up at the house.
After the lessons we finish off writing Christmas cards and I get them down to the postbox and hand deliver some of the local cards.
In the office I finish off the batch of custom Christmas baubles and an order of 40 keyrings then let folks know their orders are ready for collection.
Betty's coming for dinner tonight and to make up for my almost inedible ribs last week I decide to make her favourite – chicken enchiladas. It’s a fair bit of prep starting with my homemade signature sauce. while it’s bubbling away and reducing I prep the other ingredients then take a break when our pal Tom comes to collect a merch order.
We have a nice night it’s Betty and the enchiladas go down well with both her and Margaret 🙂
UP EARLY for a local pal to pick up some stuff I’ve been making for them – and also to check some prototypes for a bulk order of keyrings (40!) they’ve asked me to make.
I get busy in the office and start the keyrings production and a few other things at the same time.
Apart from a break for lunch I’m busy all day on the keyrings and a variety of other merch projects. I’m needing some supplies to finish the job so get them ordered up.
We have dinner while watching Bill and Dorothy’s livestream from Florida then chill for a while before bed.
Beluga Lagoon – my highlight of Hoolie at the Hydro
MARGARET’S got a hangover and I’m aching all over when we wake up…a message from our pal David says he’s coming to fit our replacement cooker hood so we have a mad panic to get up, showered and dressed.
It’s great to have the cooker hood sorted…never really appreciated it – especially the lights – until it broke down.
We’re off to Hoolie at the Hydro this evening – a tribute to The Big Yin (Billy Connolly) featuring Elephant Sessions, Manran, Beluga Lagoon and Trail West. Fiona’s organised a six-seater to get us home, so we jump on a bus to Balloch then the train into Glasgow.
We have some grub and a drink int he SECC then nip over to the Hydro where we meet Sheldon and Grace before FIona and her pal Ann arrive.
It’s a grand night, although standing for five-plus hours means we have sore feet…the finale tribute to Connolly has some cool guests including Ralph McTell – a pal of the Big Yin for 50-odd years – plays Streets of London, Claire Grogan struggles with a song that really doesn’t suit her voice and Elaine C Smith whose talent is on another level.
We get our taxi at 11.15pm and get home through torrential rain just after midnight.
