Monday 12 January 2015

Wobbly Boeuf


It was the Christmas of la boeuf. Spread over four consecutive days.

A bovine feast of such epic-ness something is still grazing inside my stomach.

On the first day a rousing spag bowl. On the second a heartening lasagna. On the third a very festive strip loin. On the final day a full bodied vat of boeuf bourguinon.

'We've had beef every day,' she noted, 'I hope it doesn't get stuck.'

I thought back twenty years; years dedicated to tofu, the simple, reverent cooking of vegetables and chickpeas.

That was all destroyed by that bacon sarnie. Or was it that turkey parmigiana? Whatever...

But to Granny's credit, everyday - be it mince or a cold slab of flesh - was cooked to perfection.

There was a big event this yuletide (and no, it wasn't down the loo) - she had her very first wobbly tooth. How strange that little gap in her mouth looked. This had been the first tooth as a wee bairn of seven months. It fell from grace one morning, two days before Christmas. She popped it inside the tiny pocket of a little cushion and a mysterious fairy came and took it away. (said tooth lives in an envelope at the bottom of the jumper drawer). And now the adjacent tooth is mutinous!

The Christmas haircut. Santa's loot smuggled in bin bags hidden in the boot of the car. A sunny walk over Norfolk flats dodging muddy puddles and cold, cold streams. Sitting on the sofa in our pyjamas eating roast ham and warm mince pies. Mugs of hot chocolate. Buttermilk pancakes with crispy bacon and maple syrup on the morning of New Years Eve while we unfolded the pieces of paper from The Joy Jar and read all the wonderful things that had happened in 2014 - a damn fine year.   

The clues of late December still mark the walls. Nails poke from where the bunting hung. Spots of blue tack hug the plaster. The baubles, plastic snowflakes, festive bric-a-brac, wrapped in newspaper and tissue, have been stowed away in the attic for another year...

And now, so much to look forward to.

This is the year we rebuild our home.

My word for 2015? Imagine.

34 comments:

  1. Wow - Bovine feast indeed! Have you eaten any beef since? Little A has lost her first tooth too - must have been munching through all that meat! What an exciting year ahead for you. I hope you have time to write about it :0) xx

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    1. I am seriously thinking going back to being a vegetarian at some point in the future. And no, I haven't eaten beef since! Little A has now lost two teeth with a third wobbler would you believe it. X

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  2. Imagine sounds like a perfect word for a year of rebuilding - and it sounds like you've had a wonderful Christmas - Happy New Year!!

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    1. We are now deciding on which builder to go with and hoping to begin our work end of March/beginning of April. Here's to a hectic year a head of us!

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  3. Happy New Year lovely lady. Glad you got some nice warm ham in there too. Many of us break our veggie days on a bacon sarnie lol! 2015 sounds very exciting and I love your word :) xx

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    1. 2015 has been very busy so far. I'm on a writing course and we are getting ready for our big building project - hoping to begin this March/April. Hope your year has got off to a good start too :o). X

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  4. Happy New Year, I hope 2015 is a good one! Had to laugh at the Christmas presents in the boot of the car, we did exactly that too, quite tough not to be spotted isn't it? Happy Toothfairying as well! :)

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    1. We have since toothfairyed one more time (now has two missing) and she now has a third wobbler! Hope you have a fab 2015. Ours has got off to a very busy start. :o)

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  5. Imagine is a great word!

    Beef overload here - and fromage but back on the straight and narrow now. Not my idea btw, Papasaurus is to blame.

    I was a vegan for 2 years way back when, bacon was my downfall too!

    Oh and Happy New Year! xx

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    1. Thank you! I like that word too. As always my tummy ended up with far too much rich food in it by the end of Christmas. I haven't had beef since. One day I might go back to being a veggie again. Happy New Year to you too. X

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  6. What a wonderful word for 2015, Sarah. Imagine... Perfect!
    Your Christmas sounds all warm and lovely, AND with the major tooth event too!
    Good luck with rebuilding your home and with all your projects this year.
    I really hope to catch up with you at BritMums Live in June and to hear how you are doing. xx

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    1. At the moment I am imaging how on earth I am going to fit all my writing in - I think the blog is going to have to give for a while unfortunately. Christmas was fab although it seems a long time ago now - how fast has January gone? And I will be seeing you at Britmums again this year! X

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  7. Happy New Year and what a lovely word for 2015! Good luck with the house rebuild, sounds very exciting xx

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    1. And to you too! 2015 is going to be a big year for us with the house build and other projects. It is exciting but at the sane time I can't wait to get it all out of the way. X

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  8. Amazing. Sounds lovely and what a great word x

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    1. Thank you. So far it's been a very busy start to the year! X

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  9. Oooh - sounds as though you have an exciting time ahead of you! Like you, I fell off the wagon after 10 years of vegetarianism - mine was a salami sandwich in 2005. I remember it well! Loved reading about your Christmas culinary treats.

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    1. When I fell off the wagon I clearly remember the flatulence the following day - my poor digestion! Haven't really regretted it since but I can also see a return to vegetarianism in the years to come. :o)

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  10. Happy Imaginative New Year! PS I am bloody starving after reading this post. And not a single shred of beef in the house. Only pasta effing pesto.

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    1. ..... not feeling so imaginative now (Ha!). I haven't had any beef since but I have had a few bowls of pasta pesto LOL. Might become a veggie again in the not too distant future!

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  11. I don't think I could ever suffer from beef overload. It sounds divine. Imagine is such a lovely word for you. 2015 is going to be wonderful (but maybe slightly maddening with the renovations).

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    1. I haven't had any beef since Christmas. It was great but a little too much of an over load for me. Might become a veggie again ;o) - who knows!? 2015 is already proving to be very busy - I hope my head stays intact! :o)

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  12. How lovely! I noticed at one point that we'd eaten a lot of beef at home this year too, mainly because we had Christmas and St Stephen's Day (Boxing Day) dinners in relatives homes. Heavenly!
    Losing teeth, your baby is growing up! Just a little, and I'm glad the tooth fairy and Santa's visits were successful!
    I love the idea of the 'Joy jar'. How lovely.....
    Happy 2015 to you :-) xx

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    1. I haven't eaten any beef since Christmas - I might even go back to being a veggie one day. Little A has now lost another tooth and now she has another wobbler - they're all falling out at once. I hope your 2015 got off to a grand start too.

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  13. Imagine is a great word and I imagine you can imagine some wondrous things xx

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    1. I like to imagine I think I could too but lately I haven't been that imaginative LOL! X

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  14. Funny to read this as I was searching for something in my jewellery drawer today and found the box that contains my son's baby teeth. I still remember when his first one fell out: chomping on the end of a baguette while sitting in a supermarket trolley.

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    1. I'm collecting all her little teeth too - but will she want them when she grows older!? They are tiny little things compared to the giant new ones starting to come through now. Lucky you caught that tooth in the supermarket!

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  15. Happy new year my dear! Sounds like you had a lovely Christmas - bit heavy on the boeuf for this veggie! So exciting to lose the first tooth at such a memorable time too. Very exciting year ahead for your house and your family. I look forward to reading what you Imagine. xx

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    1. Happy New Year to you too although we seem quite far past that now. I have been a very busy woman. I'm currently on a self editing course so I haven't had time for anything else. At the moment not imagining much further beyond the end of my nose! X.

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  16. Ah she lost her first tooth - a momentous occasion! What a perfect word for 2015 and all you have to look forward to. And perfectly you, as well :) x

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    1. I know! And now she's lost another one. They're all falling out at once. So far 2015 has been so busy... haven't had time for any blogging at all! X

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