At this time of the year, one’s thoughts turn to closing it down and wrapping it up. While that’s at the back of my mind, there’s still to much clutter in the front for me to reflect the way I need to reflect. That, I suspect, will be something for Twixtmas … or is it Betwixtmas… or something else entirely. If I was writing myself as a character I’d probably say something like ‘Jo shrugged…’ to which my (fantastic) editor would write something in the margin like, ‘there’s a lot of shrugging happening, show us how she feels,’ to which I’d mutter under my breath something like, ‘she doesn’t care much either way which is why she shrugged.’

I wish it could be Christmas every day …

Since we last spoke, the Christmas tree has gone up, and the Christmas baking has commenced.

At Chez Tracey, the Christmas tree putting-up ceremony is held each year with some fanfare. Always on the first Sunday of the month, the three of us will gather at home. There’ll be a new ornament (this year’s is a sad-looking pottery gingerbread person that we bought at a photographic gallery/gift shop in Tenterfield when we stopped there for breakfast pies a few weeks ago), proper champagne and a sort of Christmassy lunch/high tea of nibbly bits.

This year, Grant prepared cucumber, prawn, and egg sandwiches. I made sausage rolls and tuna pringles (which I’ll tell you about below), and Sarah brought in some Mr Kipling’s French Fancies.

We’re hosting Christmas lunch this year, and a friend is staying as well. We also have more friends over for Boxing Day, and I’m so excited to be doing all the catering. I’m like the proverbial pig in smelly stuff. I have food lists, shopping lists and to-be-baked lists. No doubt, closer to the day, I’ll also have a run sheet.

If you follow my Facebook author page or my author Instagram, you’d know I’ve been watching and reviewing Christmas movies. There really are some woeful ones out there, but I love them anyway. In case you’re wondering, this year’s favourites have been Oh. What. Fun, Champagne Problems, Jingle Bell Heist and Tinsel Town.

I’m taking a mini break from them at the moment and indulging in rewatching my favourite Christmas specials (especially Gavin and Stacey), the Christmas Bake-off and Sewing Bee Festive shows, along with all the foodie ones – Nigella, Jamie, Rick, Gordon, and James, I’m looking at you.

What gets me with these, is how easy they make it all out to be when in the background there are food stylists, home economists and production assistants making sure every surface has been lit by fairies and none of the candles catch fire to anything they shouldn’t, and nobody leaves anything on the kitchen bench that shouldn’t be there (“I just tidied that bit!!!!!”) That being said, I continue to fall for it, the fantasy of the perfect Christmas lunch. I’m sure that on the day, rather than being serene like Nigella, I’ll be running around like Uncle Bryn on Gavin and Stacey.

I’m also that person who has to go into Christmas with a clean house – especially since we’ll have guests - so yesterday I got stuck into the kitchen cupboards and pantry. The pudding was steaming away for eight hours so it’s not as if I could leave the house anyways. Well, that’s what I told myself.

At my desk …

I don’t do many in-person signing events - I don’t hold the stock or the merch - but a couple of Fridays ago manned a table out the front of the Caloundra Bookshop with the lovely Sara Hartland for the Caloundra Christmas Street Fair.

Last year we did well; this year, I spent more money in the bookstore than I made in sales. It really wasn’t worth my time or energy. Thankfully, though, it wasn’t as hot as it was last year, and I enjoy Sara’s company. #alwaysanupside.

Another upside is that I now have paperbacks in stock to sell directly to the public. I’ll spend some time over the Christmas period updating my website to support sales and give it a whirl. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for ages.

Philly Barker and the French Connection is almost done. I’m still not sure whodunnit, but I have a fair idea of who and why. It will go off to my editor in January, and while I haven’t determined a release date yet, I’m thinking May. Watch this space.

Since visiting the Burgundian village of Châteauneuf-en-Auxois in 2018 (I wrote a bit about it here), I’ve wanted to write a novel set there. I even had a title in mind - Queen of the Lilacs – and a couple of lead characters. This isn’t that book, but Philly and Robbie have found themselves there, and I’ve left a few breadcrumbs behind for when I do write that novel.

In the garden…

Back in August, I planted six zucchini seeds and six eggplant seeds in my Vegepod. All of them germinated, so when the time was right, I transplanted the zucchinis into a garden bed (where I battled Ralph, the possum) for the flowers and moved the eggplants to pots.

Strangely, the zucchinis have all grown at different rates – some have thrived and others have struggled – but what worried me more was that I wasn’t getting any female flowers. Well, I’m delighted to say I finally have a zucchini on the vine. Whether or not I get to pick it or if it will become possum food is, of course, still uncertain, but I do have a zucchini. I also finally have eggplants.

The cherry tomatoes are continuing their generosity, so the other day I dried a heap in the oven and popped them into jars with herbs and oil.

In the kitchen

Last week’s offering for the op shop was chocolate crinkle cookies, while this week I took in some Caramilk fudge

… and another batch of Nigella’s white chocolate, oat, pistachio and cranberry Christmas cookies.

A batch of sausage rolls was made to take to the early morning beach walkers’ Christmas breakfast (yes, there are more people than us who get up at sparrow’s fart to walk) and for the tree ceremony. I also made Tuna Pringles for the Christmas tree ceremony.

These were a revelation. The recipe is by Katrina Meynink, and I found it in the SMH. They have a paywall, but if you sign up, you can read a certain number of stories for free.

BKD Cookbook Club

Each year, I look forward to list posts – especially those that feature the best cookbooks of the year. Interestingly, this year, the publications I follow have mostly agreed. Sure, there are some outliers, but a few books have appeared on each list. Sadly, it’s too late for me to add them to my Santa wish list – that was finalised and sent to the North Pole for consideration back in November.

Anyways, this month’s theme was Christmas cookbooks, and I wrote about my favourites here.

and some music …

Because it’s nearly Christmas, I thought I’d leave you with one of my fave scenes from Gavin and Stacey. I dare you not to sing along.

Until next time …

Jo x