Last Night I Swore a Lot

I have a confession, and an apology. We had our good friends Caroline and Pat round to celebrate New Year, with their two lovely daughters Livvy and Rachel, and I used the "f" word more than once. So - sorry! I put it down to a release of emotions, the letting go of what was a truly awful year (significant time off work with stress, personal, work and domestic turbulence, my Mum's condition deteriorating significantly from September onwards, and to cap it all Margaret, Simon and Fiona being involved in a multiple pile-up on the A1 just a couple of days ago [all unhurt, I'm happy to say]).

There were good things as well: my 50th birthday party, with lots of friends and family; the skydive from Flookburgh (fantastic feeling, breathtaking views over the Lakes); Barrow winning the Blue Square North playoffs and being on the telly (more than once); and to cap things off nicely getting redundancy from HSBC.

But all in all not a good year. Lets put it behind us and move on. On top of using the "f" word a lot, I also apparently threatened to ransack Zavvi, and fell asleep on the couch until 5am. So I guess I wasn't very creative, but at least I was passionate.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

BAKED POTATOES WITH CHEESE

We had baked potatoes with our beef in red wine and nut roast last night, and there were some leftover ones thoughtfully stacked in the fridge when I eventually got up (for the second time) this afternoon.

1 baked potato, halved
butter
cheese

1. Warm through the potato halves in the microwave or oven
2. Scoop out the middles, and mix with the butter and cheese
3. Pop under the grill until the cheese has melted

For variation, add sautéed onions, branston, brinjal pickle or smokey bacon (or all of the above).