December 2017 - Week 3

Monday 18th to Sunday 24th December 2017

Monday I got in a couple of walks under the lovely sunshine. For dinner we had roasted chicken, roast potatoes and cauliflower.

Tuesday I went to see a lawyer with the wonderful name of Sharon Faith Farrugia. It turns out she looks about 20, is a bit of a Goth but I have to say was as nice as you could wish for. She witnessed four documents for me but refused to charge a penny for such a simple task. Just like lawyers in the Isle of Man – not. My meeting with her was in the evening so I got home late and had a pizza for dinner. Sam had already eaten; chicken, cauliflower and Yorkshire puddings.

Wednesday we did jobs and had another excellent Spanish lesson. Our Christmas present from Lauren was a gift voucher for a meal at Lovage. So that’s where we went tonight. The weather wasn’t great so we got the bus across town. Everywhere including the restaurant was quite quiet but we had a great time. We have such fond memories of Lovage that visiting there is always a bit special. And tonight the food was very good. I had pumpkin-stuffed ravioli with a parmesan and cream sauce followed by a green vegetables quiche; it was stuffed full of asparagus, spinach and peas. Sam had pasta (a bit like fusilli) with pancetta and cream followed by a goats’ cheese risotto. We washed it all down with Prosecco and Nero D’Avola. What more could you ask for? On the way home we stopped off at Sotto Zero. I had Snickers ice cream and we bought a tub of stracciatella ice cream to take home for Friday’s dessert.

Thursday we gritted our teeth and did the pre-Christmas supermarket shop at Pama. In the event it wasn’t too bad with hardly any queues at the tills. A storm built all day, mostly winds hitting their peaks at a force nine by early evening. Sam took advantage of our trip to Pama to buy sushi for her dinner; I was far more sensible and had penne arabiatta.

Friday I went walkabout as the weather is back to normal, bar a continuing rough sea. Sam worked hard, making the flat look Christmassy AND preparing a fantastic dinner. Chris and Tina came around and Sam served brown bread with cream cheese, smoked salmon and caviar, cherry tomatoes with mozzarella, basil and balsamic and, of course, crisps. Our fantastic main meal was roast leg of lamb, roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, peas and carrots. For dessert she made an ice cream bomb with stracciatella and gingerbread ice creams and mixed fruits. We had a fab time which included a good sing song; think Paint My Wagon, Oklahoma, Grease and even Telly Savalas’s version of If (a picture paints a thousand words…). Don’t ask.

Saturday morning we went to Armier Bay for a short walk and cappuccini at Mambos. Mambos has wooden decking at one side which had all been tossed around in this week’s storm, so they were moving the sand back into place so they could rebuild the deck. For dinner Sam has leftovers from last night. I turned some of the lamb into rissoles, simply made with the lamb, onion, breadcrumbs, a beaten egg and some seasoning. Delicious fried and served with chips!

Sunday was another warm day. We went for a walk along to Miracles for cappuccini then wandered over to Ta Fra Ben. From there we walked onto Tourists Street where we bumped into Dave and ended up going to his and Sue’s flat for a coffee and a natter. She was kind enough to share with us photos of her daughter’s (who we have never met) new kitchen! For dinner I cooked an amazing beef casserole with beef, onions, garlic, celery and carrots flavoured with thyme.