I finally lost my self-control and added a large pork pie to the Christmas food  order. Well, I haven’t had one for months and Christmas seemed like the ideal excuse. I’m going to make up for it by having more soup. Tootlepedal suggested celery and Stilton cheese and it sounds like a good idea. All I need to  do is persuade Julia. She’s not keen on celery. I am.

It’s fair to say that despite all my efforts I have manged to buy enough food for ten days (apart from fresh bread), so it should last us for what is basically just a long weekend. It’s fortunate that I have been making soup because I’m likely to have plenty of turkey and vegetables to use up. That’s probably the best bit of Christmas. I like sitting round, and I like a good roast dinner, but most of all I like turkey sandwiches.

Goosanders

That’s one of the good things about a turkey crown – plenty of meat and not much skeleton. It used to be hard, in the old days of whole turkeys, to escape the impression that you were some sort of serial killer as you laboured over a big pot of bones and boiling water. Turkey soup and turkey curry are OK, but it’s far easier just to have cold meat or sandwiches without all that bother.

Marsh Tit, I think

Two days ago, I submitted a haibun, expecting an answer some time in the New Year. It’s the first real submission I’ve done since September (the October one was a bit of a mess) and I have been sitting here gradually  leaking confidence. When then answer came back, I wasn’t hopeful. Quick answers are usually bad news. This one, for a change, wasn’t. Not only am I accepted but the editor in question didn’t ask for any alterations. I’m already feeling much more positive about 2022.

Now all I need to do is sort out my submission schedule and set myself some targets.

Photographs are from Rufford Abbey in December 2016, in the days when I could walk and take photos.

Cormorant