The skies have it ...

(Sorry!)

Well, could you resist that title if it came up your back? Today, the first really cold day (my watch tells me it's 0ºC right now, at almost midnight) was remarkable for the dramatic skies which bookended my day, from the red pre-sunrise to the brilliant full moon (ok - minus a couple of days) at teatime. Both had me hanging out of the same window, though the observant may notice that the moon shot looks NE and the sunrise more SE. It was a bit of a thought dressing for church - cold at the best of times - but I solved it by opting for a shaggy fleece jacket over a thin fleece high-neck zip-top over a t-shirt. Not remotely formal, but no-one bothers these days; mostly we like the opportunity to be slightly smarter than normal, escaping from cagoules and the like.

For some reason the period before the service began was spent in childish hilarity as far as I and two other women were concerned - our conversation wouldn't have been out of place in a lower secondary school class and we were helpless with mirth. It's really therapeutic to have a moment like that; if you could get them on the NHS we'd be queuing up. Difficult readings today, so fascinating to listen to Paddy's sermon; I think I'd have been tempted more by the current state of affairs in Palestine ...

Di came back for coffee; we turned the flames on the gas fire right up and cradled our cups till we warmed up. Then we were joined by a chap who recently joined the congregation and who is running the book stall at the church Christmas Fair next week - he'd come to collect a bag of books that I'd put together. I feel really pleased with myself for having organised this in time - it's left me valuable shelf space (for more books...)

All this socialising meant that we were still finishing our lunch at 3pm, but I was determined to get out, so we had a sunset walk at Ardyne (anywhere else would have been too dark, but it faces the sunset, or in this case the afterglow of same.) Then I had to spend some time taking photos of the moon, so it was quite late by the time I got round to sorting dinner, the basis for which was a tub of venison casserole I'd had in the freezer. A mild panic during the day that it might now be quite enough led to me adding a slice of black pudding each - not in it, but on the side - which was actually a delicious combo. I've added a couple of extras from our dinner, not of the venison but of the pudding, one I've not made in ages, of our own (rather miserable but better than last year) gooseberries, cooked with butter, honey and saffron strands and finished off with a sprinkling of sugar under the grill , served with yogurt and rather delicious. It's an early Nigel Slater recipe.

The other extra is straight from my past: a glass of the sherry I used to pour over the fruit for the cake. We used to drink sherry every night, and this is the little glass I inherited from my parents to drink it from. We used to have two, and they are my childhood, not to drink from but to observe whenever a parent was drinking sherry or Dubonnet. (What on earth was Dubonnet? My mother liked it, though she was never keen on alcohol much.) Anyway, this little apero reminded me of just how much I like a chilled Fino ...

But now, at midnight, chilled anything would be too cold and I'm off - to a hot shower before bed.