Yul Brynner, Bowling Successes, Christmas

There hasn't been a lot on TV lately, so last night I watched an old movie which I have on video, one of my favourites, The King and I. I cried a lot. I always loved Yul Brynner; read about him at Wikipedia. Quite a talented man and certainly an attractive man. I loved him in Anastasia too, of which I also have a copy. He died of cancer in his early 60's which is such a shame as that wasn't very old. He won awards for all his stage performances of The King and I as well as for the film version. Monday was bowling day and I was pleased to discover I had won a shot glass for bowling 100 pins above my average. Also, my partner and I won the High Low Doubles with some 660 pins above our combined average (over several weeks) which means we go on to another round although we are not sure where yet. We kind of collect shot glasses. We had one or two so someone decided we collected them and started buying them for us, then I bought one or two when we were travelling, now we have maybe a dozen. We have ordered me some bowling balls too - I bought some for Matt, one year, for a Christmas present, he is returning the favour. Not sure when I will get them though. Talking of Christmas, having got all my Christmas cards ready, I discovered I could order my Christmas stamps on line, so I did that. No delivery charges. When I was down in the lobby of this building, they were decorating trees and hanging things for Christmas decorations. I think its too soon, we will probably be doing it at the beginning of December, but its only the middle of November for goodness sake. Some of the streets are already decorated and a lot of the stores are. Maybe its earlier because they are hoping to attract buyers. They are expecting low sales this year due to the economic crisis. North Americans buy their kids far too many presents anyway, although I think they are doing the same in the UK these days too. I guess next week they will be having the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. Not my favourite parade as it mostly consists of giant balloons which may be impressive if you are there, but not when you see it on TV. However, it spawned one of my favourite old films, in fact there are now two versions of Miracle on 34th Street. I make sure I see one of them every year, wouldn't be Christmas to me without it. A lot of people feel the same about Its a Wonderful Life which doesn't mean a lot to me. Christmas Carol is another one people enjoy at Christmas time. We haven't made a hard and fast decision, but I think we are going to be staying home for Christmas this year. One year we went to Rushes which is a local restaurant. They did a wonderful buffet with a turkey, a ham and a roast of beef being the centrepieces. There was stacks of food from starters to desserts, but, for us, being on our own, it wasn't so much fun. It really needs a party of people. We went to a similar "do" in England a few years ago and it was a lot better. They had a performance, following the meal, by the staff, which was great. They had a Santa giving out little gifts and then they played music for dancing. We had a great time, although still just the two of us. At Rushes its gobble, gobble, gobble and go home. I will probably get another turkey breast and brine it, the same as I did for Thanksgiving (Canadian one). I already have some home made pudding in the freezer so I think I will defrost it and moisten it with rum or brandy for a week or two. I like my pudding with Rum Butter which not many serve any more as it is very rich. One very often finds people serving it with cream. Or just rum flavoured sauce. Maybe I should go mad and make some mince tarts too, just what I need for my diet. I don't make cakes any more as Matt doesn't like them and I don't need them. I have just come across a Lemon Mascarpone Custard to serve with a Christmas Pudding. Something I have never come across before but just might try instead of Rum Butter. It comes from a little book I was sent called Best Christmas Ever. Lemon Mascarpone Custard Serves 6 2 Tbs custard powder 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup orange juice 1 cup water 1/3 cup mascarpone 1/3 cup lemon butter (basically unsalted butter, lemon juice and sugar) 2 Tbs cointreau Combine custard powder and sugar in medium pan, add orange juice and water, stir until combined. Stir constantly over medium heat for 3 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens, boil for a further one minute. Add mascarpone, lemon butter and Cointreau, stir until heated through. Unsuitable to freeze. Have a great day.