Mince pie

The other day nogbad blipped some mince pies. I immediately felt aggrieved, because throughout the whole of Christmas I only had two mini mince pies from Sainsbury's. I was sure I had some of last year's mincemeat left, and today I found it ... half a small jar.

I used Paul Hollywood's deep mince pie recipe, which I discovered last year, and followed his instructions to add a chopped up clementine and a diced apple, which helped expand the tiny quantity enough to fill six pies. His pastry recipe is very good, crisp and buttery, and they are delicious, especially with a blob of crème fraîche. So that is my emergency blip for today.

I should have gone out with the village walking group this afternoon, but it was cancelled because it was pouring with rain. While many others have been posting pretty snowscapes, we have had two days of just-above-freezing drizzle. But it's allegedly going to be sunny and warmer tomorrow.

Today is S's mum's birthday. It hasn't exactly been a flamboyant celebration, given that she's still confined upstairs, but she's had flowers and cards, and a birthday cake. The occupational therapist visited today -- hopefully some activity will be forthcoming from that.