Christmas Bounty

~ beetleypete

Despite agreeing to cut back on present-buying this year, I did give and receive quite a few nice gifts. Now Boxing day has passed, I gather them all from around the base of the Christmas tree, and examine them.

This year, many were edible.

Chocolate-covered pumpkin seeds.
Gingerbread cookies.
A large tin of Scottish Shortbread.
A box of ‘Stollen Bites’. Juicy little cakes!
Two boxes of delicious Baklava cakes.
Two boxes of chocolate-covered Brazil Nuts.
A large bag of salted Pistachio Nuts in their shells.

Others could be consumed by the glass.

Red wine of course, my favourite tipple.
I received five bottles, one enjoyed on Christmas Day, and another yesterday.
(Three left!)

Things to watch.

Two films on DVD.
‘Official Secrets’, recommended by Fraggle.
‘JoJo Rabbit’, which received rave reviews all year.

Useful items.

A large calendar, with photos of Sharpei dogs for every month of the year.
A Dog’s Trust calendar, sold to provide homes for abandoned dogs.
A Weekly Planner with ‘Born to be a Sharpei dad’ on the cover.
‘Obsession’ by Calvin Klein after-shave balm. My ‘signature fragrance’.

And last but not least, a new pair of my favourite sheepskin slippers, which I am wearing as I type. This year, I chose ‘Dove Grey’ instead of tan.

We went into Stage 4 lockdown yesterday. It is supposed to last until Easter. No restaurants or bars open, no ‘non-essential’ services like hairdressers or dog-groomers allowed to open. All charity shops and clothing shops closed until further notice, and no non-essential travel allowed.

Not much of a start to 2021, but we all have to make the best of it.

60 thoughts on “Christmas Bounty”

  1. A lovely array of goodies Pete…Mine was similarish, Fudge and 7 boxes of Turkish delight, an assortment of cheeses, A diary, notebooks and pens…I have notebooks everywhere I can never have too many and of course books…I think as you get older you get better gifts things you really use and love to eat and drink…Happy New Year to you and Julie…we are also facing another lockdown due to peoples stupidity…I am not too worried about that better to safe than sorry…When will it all end…x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I used to always get a couple of boxes of ‘real’ Turkish Delight every year. But I asked people to stop buying it for me, as I started to find it far too sweet.
      As for the pandemic, I am not so sure it is going to end. It’s completelt out of control in Britain now, and new strains appearing that might prove to be resistant to the vaccine. Life is never going to be the same again for most of us.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

      Like

      Reply

  2. I am sorry for the new tier 4 lockdown, Pete! Who will control that, so far away from London? 😉
    Here we are in a mix between tier 2 and 3. In January we will get tier 4, but nobody is controlling. We only can not visit the Czech Republic. Michael

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Tier 4 lockdown until Easter. Oh my! Our President is speaking to the nation tonight and we are expecting stricter measures for the New Year celebration period. We will just have to make the most of it, Pete. There is nothing else to be done. Your list of gifts sounds pretty yummy.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Great post 🙂 I am glad you enjoyed all of your presents – whether it was something to eat (the chocolate stuff sounds good) :), watch, or wear 🙂 I got a fair share of Blu-Rays and Christmas chocolates as well as some nice shirts 🙂 Anyway, keep up the great work as always 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. My husband got his annual haul of jam. I love that any jam brings him joy and that I could order it by mail. I got my annual sea otter calendar since I have loved those creatures for years. Basically they eat, play and rest on their backs. An ideal life as far as I can tell! I am delighted by your bounty and can tell people really do know you.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. Sounds like a nice bounty of Christmas gifts, Pete. Lockdown until Easter? I did not realize it was that far reaching. No one likes a lockdown, but if everyone had done their part, perhaps we would all be further along. I don’t think you have enough wine, though. Hopefully you can pick up more on an essential shopping trip.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I was suitably pleased with my ‘haul’, FR. I think they should lock everyone down at the same level, try to do something to beat this. We had an easy time in Tier 2 for so long, people were bound to relax too much.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      2. I don’t disagree even though we were in tier one. I think we should have remained in lockdown until they had this under control and infections could easily be tracked and traced. All this chopping and changing hasn’t helped businesses anyway. Now we should lockdown completely until the most vulnerable, key workers and that includes teachers and delivery drivers, supermarket workers, and the elderly have been vaccinated. Then we might get some normality in our lives.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

          1. Water ingress into the conservatory as to be expected every time we have heavy rain and gales. I do wish I could get this sorted but no-one so far knows how it gets in! Sometimes I feel like just pulling the damn thing down.

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply

  21. Nice to read that Santa Claus left so many presents with you.

    I hope that life will be more normal again when many people get vaccinated.

    Despite everything, I wish you and your family a good start into the New Year.

    Best regards from Germany, Irene

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  22. That’s a lovely selection, especially the yummy comestibles! I’m going to have to be very parsimonious with my alcohol intake for some time yet, until my gout has well & truly gone [this time, anyway], but I should appreciate it all the more for that, and it also helps with the shopping expense, so it’s not all bad. Cheers, Jon.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  23. People that know us don’t buy us chocolates, as we haven’t eaten them for at least 15 years due to migraines. I took our tree down on Boxing Day with a great sense of relief! We’re still walking and cycling, so it could be worse. Happy New Year!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Stevie. I never eat chocolate, only the covered nuts I traditionally get at Christmas. Glad to hear you are out and about. Our local flood waters dropped a few feet over the weekend, so dog-walking is more tolerable.
      All the very best to you for 2021.
      Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  24. Great haul this year! I am rather jealous of you for the Chocolate stuff 🙂 I have been cutting back on sweets because Hypothyroid that converts max of calories to fat. 😒 so I have to watch my daughter and husband eat all the chocolates without sharing any with me!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

All comments welcome

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.