And it's 'Goodbye flu, Hello 2017!'

Hello Friends,
Finally, the horrible flu started to recede & on 14th January, I made my first trip outside the house since Dec 27th...........to the metropolis of activity that is Sainsbury's, but it could have been the Moon........or Narnia,  I was so tragically excited to be up & about again!
Since then, I've been trying to catch up with everything, particularly all my usual seasonal activities before the new sowing & growing season is upon us.

I did manage to get some marmalade oranges to make our annual supply. The trouble with Seville oranges is that the season is so short that people who are down with the flu could sneeze & they've missed them! 

Seville oranges are funny-looking things. They're sort of smaller & lumpier than ordinary oranges, but they make THE best orange marmalade. If you've never used them, they look a bit different when you cut them open. They're quite 'pithy' & are absolutely rammed with pips.

They don't actually look very appetising at all, which is fine, because if you try to eat one (which I once did in the interests of self-education),, they are unbelievably sour & horrid. Yet, with the addition of minimal ingredients.......I use just sugar, water, a little lemon juice & a splash of orange liqueur, these bitter little fruit bombs are transformed into the most lovely marmalade, with a clear, bright flavour perfect for sexing up even the most dreary slice of morning toast.

If you haven't made any, but would like to try, there just may be a few Seville oranges around for the next week or so........but then they disappear, not to be seen again until January next year. Make plenty, as it makes a nice gift for non-jammers. It should keep for up to a year unopened, depending on where it's stored.

I made just two New Year's Resolutions for Albert Whiskers:
1) To stop licking the jelly off his dinner & wasting the chunks.
2) To stop unpiggling people's bootlaces for attention.
He hasn't stuck to either of them. However, he's doing really well with one he made himself - To fit even more hours of snoozing into his day to ensure he really does deserve the title of 'Most bone-idle cat EVER'. He has mustered some energy to play with the new purple snake he received for Christmas. This has already received a good thrashing...........

..........which lasts precisely until he hears any kind of chink from the direction of the kitchen......or the ultimate hopeful sound  - the fridge door opening - then he's disentangling himself from the game instantly & racing off to the kitchen in the hope of an extra meal or even better, a tit-bit out of somebody else's sandwich. Albert Whiskers - Never knowingly under-hopeful!
Hope everyone's having a much more productive start to the year than me........although I am onto the garden now & promise I will have made at least some inroads by next time.
Until then,
C xx