The morning after the day before.

Dear Friends.


I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas Day?
I can honestly say, I had the most wonderful day with Keith. I have just enjoyed a wonderful Boxing Day cooked breakfast, thanks to Keith's wonderful cooking. He does a mean brekkie.
Yesterday started off very quietly, we did not hurry up because it was for us a day of rest. As we were not being visited by family or friends, we took a relaxed approach to the morning. Breakfast was toast and a cuppa, this was due to the fact that we would be eating a Seven course lunch at the Angel Hotel, in Market Harborough. (Click). We were booked in for lunch at 12.30pm, so had plenty of time to kill. I opened a present from a dear friend. I now have some nice smellies to use when showering. I reckon she is trying to tell me something.
Of course the usual chores had to be carried out, so the dog got walked and the fires got stoked and then I could get dressed up. There was no point in dolling myself up to stoke the fires. Living on and working our boat means I do not get the opportunity to get dressed up to often. So it was a real treat to get the high heeled shoes out of the mothballs and my posh clothes. I seem to spend most of my life in tatty trousers, shirts and jumpers, which is perfect for my job,  so when I get to dress up it is a real treat and I can really feel like a woman for a change. I actually do not scrub up to bad. Even Keith looked very smart in his shirt, tie and trousers. He always looks very dapper when dressed up. This was what impressed me when we met for the first time. I remember that day so well. He wore dark Blue jeans, a White shirt and a Yellow Fleece. Yes I did say Yellow. it was infact Canary Yellow, but looked stunning on him. From that first meeting in person I was hooked to this most wonderful man.
Opps sorry am I boring you, I can see you yawning from here.
So back to Christmas Day. Having got my glad rags on, I thought it better to take my high heels with me and wear my walking boots to walk down to the hotel, because the towpath was still covered in snow and ice. It proved to be a very wise move, because not only was the towpath icy the pavements were really bad due to no salting. We made it safe and sound to the hotel and were welcomed in by one of the staff.
Firstly we stepped into one of the Lounges, where I changed my shoes. We then were offered Festive Nibbles and a drink. We chose to have a bottle of wine, which was then taken to our table. Our order was taken for dinner and we were shown to our table, which looked really festive. The Angel Hotel's attention to detail was wonderful. On the table not only did we have huge crackers, we also had a Christmas card written to us a wrapped box of Cadbury's Roses, a festive balloon and a festive table decoration. It was very welcoming. The menu for us was as follows:

Festive Nibbles

*

Julienne of Duck, complimented with Orange Segments on tossed leaves dressed with Raspberry Dressing.

*

Wild Mushroom Soup.

*
Succulent Oven Roasted British Turkey

Served with Chipolata and Bacon Roll,

Cranberry Stuffing and Roast Potatoes,

Fresh Season Vegetables.

*

Tangy Lemon Tart, with Orange Segments and Cream (I had Ice cream)

St Nicholas Christmas Pudding with Brandy Custard Sauce (Keith's pud)

*

English and Continental Cheeses with Fruits, Pickles and Biscuits.

*

Fresh Filter Coffee with warm Mince Pies.

That was just the choices we made. You have Five choices for starter, main and pudding, so something for everyone. It is the best Christmas meal we have ever had and to say we were stuffed was an under statement. We certainly needed the walk home, because we were really full. On the walk up the hill, it was amazing to see the main Leicester road completely empty, there were no cars on it, such bliss.

The rest of the day was spent vegging out in front of the TV like a couple of beached Whales. Neither of us ate anything for the rest of the day, because there was no room for anything else and even when I woke up this morning I still felt pleasantly full. But I did manage to find room for Keith's cooked breakfast. I think we will spend the day picking at nibbles and maybe have a bit of boiled Bacon for dinner tonight. It spend the past couple of days slow cooking in the back cabin stove, so is lovely and moist.

Our Christmas day was a quiet and yet wonderful one. It did not stop me thinking about the people in my life who I would not be sharing my Christmas Day with, but I still had a fabulous day and count myself lucky to be with the person I love more than life itself.

Today (Boxing Day), will be another quiet day. There are plenty of films on the TV, food in the fridge and something to drink, so we will be like pigs in muck.

Have a lovely Boxing Day xx