Festive Eggnog

Well, here we are, safely on the other side; I hope you had a good one! Ours was a quiet family affair, with just the 4 of us. I had 1 more 'new thing' to do on my list and Christmas Eve found me in the kitchen making eggnog. I have never even tried eggnog before, let alone made any, but it turned out to be easy and delicious. Even L liked it - she thought it was a bit like a pudding in a cup. I used this recipe here, using Bourbon and eggs from our girls.

Gathering the ingredients:

Serving with a grating of nutmeg:

We had it cold initially, but there was some left over which we had warm with croissants for breakfast (!) on Christmas Day and I think I prefer it warm. I will definitely be making this one again.

So, there you have it, 50 new things to celebrate my 50th year, completed 4 days ahead of the deadline. Some I will be keeping up, others I'm glad to have tried but won't feel the need to do them again. It was quite a modest list - no skydiving or bungee jumping for me, but I have enjoyed making myself do them and it was a nice way to celebrate. Here they are:

1) Start a blog! 2) Learn to meditate. 3) Make a quilt. 4) Learn to swim front crawl. 5) Try Zumba. 6) Try Pilates. 7) Visit Newbury Antiques Fayre. 8) Give blood (I tried and failed 3 times!). 9) Make the perfect chocolate chip cookie. 10) Try pottery. 11) Make proper custard. 12) Make marmalade. 13) Make lavender bags. 14) Learn more bird songs. 15) Try golf. 16) Sign up with the National Donor Registry. 17) Try hooking. 18) Learn 'The Elements' Song. 19) Make Elderflower Cordial. 20) Make Elderberry jelly. 21) Try lino cutting. 22) Make lemon curd. 23) Do a textile workshop. 24) Visit Ruby's Vintage and Retro Fair. 25) Try Batik. 26) Make washi tape cards. 27) Try Bubble Tea. 28) Ride on a Segway. 29) Try Tai Chi. 30) Do a Turkish Mezze workshop. 31)Make something useful (peg bag). 32) Make bunting. 33) Learn to use Picmonkey. 34) Visit an auction. 35) Try hair chalks. 36) Make a lampshade. 37) Try aquarobics. 38) Make a Christmas wreath. 39) Visit Kefalonia. 40) Visit Ithaka. 41) Try sea kayaking. 42) Try ouzo! 43) Make sourdough bread. 44) Make pompoms. 45) Make yoghurt. 46) Make dried orange rings. 47) Make a crocheted poppy for Remembrance Sunday. 48) Make limoncello. 49) Make a crocheted blanket (I made 4!) 50) Make eggnog. Ta-Dah!

Christmas Day was beautiful hereabouts and after the girls had opened their stockings and we had eaten breakfast, we went for a walk. Here are the photos:

New mittens, from L, and a Christmas chocolate!

Really LONG shadows:

This is the River Lambourn that runs at the bottom of our garden; it's a bit wider here as we have the island in our section:

A rather sweet folly:

Donnington Castle - look at that blue sky!

Views from the top:

Walking home through the woods:

... and passing an aptly named cottage:

Then home again for Christmas 'Dunch'. Boxing Day found me straining my limoncello and decanting it into bottles. It is rather nice - more lemony that the bought stuff, but a lot less alcoholic. You could always jazz it up with more vodka though, if you prefer!

How was your Christmas? Was the weather kind to you or were you cut off by the snow that I've been hearing about on the radio? However you spent it, I hope it brought you joy. That's all for now. By my next post, I'll have reached my half century - yikes, pass the limoncello!

Toodle Pip for now. x