Merry Christmas!

Call me immodest but I totally rocked Christmas dinner. On Monday I mixed up fresh thyme, rosemary and clementine zest with lots of butter which I then rubbed under the skin of our 12lb turkey. I also baked some soft white bread rolls.

Christmas Day I started cooking at noon and didn't stop until 6pm! The bird  was covered and roasted at 200 for 3 hours with the 2 clementines cut in half and placed in the cavity along with a handful of fresh thyme. 

We like lemony Greek potatoes so much that we eat them at every opportunity and the citrus was a nice refreshing flavour amongst the richness. 

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/31522/recipegreek-style-potatoes

For veggies I made Blaine's favourite green beans, fried in garlic, butter and olive oil, glazed carrots, and steamed Brussels sprouts. For stuffing we had the last of Shalla's yummy stuffing which I had frozen on thanksgiving, and a pork, apple and sage sausage inspired by Gordon Ramsay. Finally we had a big jug of turkey gravy.

For desert I made a peach cheesecake. The base was 200g biscuit crumb and 75g butter. The filling was made by whipping together 4tbsp caster sugar and 250ml whipping cream. Beat 250g of full fat Philadelphia cream cheese until soft, add 1tsp pure vanilla extract and then whip in the whipped cream until it is smooth. Stir in some finely chopped peaches, pour onto the base and chill. Easy as pie!

We drank prosecco, Viognier and Malbec then sank into the hot tub. Merry Christmas everyone!

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Toy Boy?

I always go to the same gas station in Williams Lake, the Super Save near the casino. The staff are super friendly and the prices are always the cheapest. Oh yeah, and they pump the gas for you and will even clean the windows. I usually clean my own windows (because my vehicles are so dirty!) while Rena pumps the diesel or petrol and we chat about stuff. Yesterday I was in town with Justin as his pickup was the perfect vehicle to take Blaine's skidoo to hospital. We pulled up to the pump and got out, then Rena said "hey so this must be your husband". Evidently Blaine and I have not been to fill up together. It was pretty funny.

Posted with Blogsy

Bluebird sled afternoon

Justin, Sage, Johnny and I took my sled to Prairie Chicken Hill this afternoon. It was so very beautiful. We saw a moose cow and took turns driving. Justin is a much more confident driver than me. Hopefully the RMK 600 will be ready in a couple of days and we can take both machines. It was an awesome day :-)

The Mega

The St Jean Garrison in Quebec is known as "the Mega". Amongst other things it houses the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School where Justin has been resident since April.

We arrived at the garrison at 2030 on Wednesday so scooped Justin up and he took us for a quick tour of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu before heading to the local Legion for a celebratory beer. At CFLRS Cinderella turns into a pumpkin at 2200. We returned him and then checked into our hotel where we dined on Burger King since that was the only thing open.

Thursday morning I tried to sleep in but my attempts were thwarted by housekeeping loudly cleaning the adjacent rooms. Blaine and I breakfasted at Mikes, because we wanted to see if it was anything like Mr Mikes. It is not, this Mikes is an Italian restaurant. I have never thought the name Mike to be particularly evocative of Italy but they do things different in La Belle Province. My breakfast was a surprisingly delicious apple and cheese pizza, Blaine had crepes with Nutella and bananas.

The ceremony starts at 1400 but since seating is first come first serve we got there around 1230 and got spots in the second row of the Zengel platoon grandstand. Perusing the program we were surprised and delighted to read that Pte JD Wiggins was to receive the commandant's trophy as top student in his platoon.

Commandant Michelaine Lahaie presents Pte JD Wiggins (Platoon Zengel) and OS WM Howling (Platoon Topham) with the commandant's trophy for top student

They don't get to keep the trophy, just to touch it once!

 

After the ceremony we all gathered in the Omega Mess for a reception with the recruits and their instructors. Justin's instructors all spoke very highly of him and he was constantly being congratulated by his many friends. After the reception all the parents went out for supper with the guest of honour and his friends Chris and Kristyn.

Left to right: Blaine, Emma, Justin, Donna, Phillip

Before dawn on Friday morning the recruits were up and on a bus bound for the airport. Justin shipped out to CFB Wainwright for the next phase of his training: Basic Infantry Qualification. To the best of my understanding this involves learning to crawl through mud and to love your gun.

We got home late and collected the dogs from puppy camp. At home we lit the fire, poured a drink and scrolled through the 300+ photos I snapped!