Our Christmas Day dinner was absolute perfection. The Chateaubriand roast came out the exact rare state from edge to edge we were hoping for. Bravo me and my roasting skills.  The horseradish sauce was stunning with the beef. We had our favorite take on peas - petit pois french style - with lardons, shallots, lettuce, and cream. Mashed potatoes, beef gravy because Alan always wants gravy with his dinner, and an indulgent French Bordeaux to sip. Later we had Christmas Pudding with cognac cream sauce and brandy butter. A peaceful and delicious Christmas meal.

It was all in all a quiet and nice day. We chatted with family on phone and online. Tasty nibbles and drinks during the day, too. Our cat Rosie approved of the food after she taste tested it all.

Boxing Day we gave away our Honda Civic to a nice local young woman through a neighborhood recycle/reuse scheme we support. Alan hates cars anyway and I'm not driving lately so it was a huge waste of money and useless hassle to maintain a car here in London. The Honda was old but in excellent condition with very low mileage. It was the right thing to give it to someone who needed a friendly hand.

Tomorrow, the 29th we're having a friend over for dinner - it's Roast Goose leading the menu. Crepes Suzette for dessert.