<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xmas-treeDec20.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-6582" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xmas-treeDec20-150x200.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="200" /></a>It's two weeks since my last posting and looking back there's not been a lot happening that I can tell you about (there has been stuff but I'm sworn to secrecy about it).

The Christmas tree is up and for the first time since moving in (nearly 7 years) I erected it in the living room instead of up on the landing. I took the policy of less is more however I think I need to buy some new baubles and throw out the stuff that is tatty. It doesn't have any sentimental value, in fact it's of no value at all.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/beef-en-crouteDec20.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-6583" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/beef-en-crouteDec20-200x150.jpg" alt="" width="281" height="211" /></a>I keep pushing the boundaries of my culinary skills and last weekend I made some mini beef en croute or should that be boeuf en croute. I discovered a new word in the process - duxelle which is a mushroom mixture that coats the meet before wrapping it in pastry.

The whole dinner was a delight and I'm pleased to have added another meal to my repertoire.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xmas-wreathDec20.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-6584" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/xmas-wreathDec20-150x200.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="200" /></a>I have also been given by a young friend a Christmas wreath.

It is hanging from one of the lights just outside the front door. I'm under strict instructions to keep the moss backing watered so it stays green and fresh throughout the holiday period. I say "holiday period" however life is now one long holiday so it does lose a little significance.

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<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/log-cuttingDec-20.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-6585" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/log-cuttingDec-20-150x200.jpg" alt="" width="182" height="243" /></a>When the weather is dry and sunny I'm working in the garden. I try to ignore the cold. There's always loads of tidying up to do not least cutting branches that I've been stacking for the last 6 months. My small cordless Stihl chainsaw is excellent. It's light, relatively quiet but cuts very effectively and the battery lasts for about an hour which is as much as I want to do at any one time.

My wood pile is slowly going down but I'm still burning the sycamore that was <a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/archives/5021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">felled 18 months ago</a>.

I'm hoping that I will get permission to remove an ash tree that has a fungal disease however I've been waiting several months for the tree officer to give their approval. There is a staffing issue at West Lindsey council. When it does come down I shall have enough wood to last me another two years.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/covid-19.jpeg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-6177 alignright" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/covid-19-200x92.jpeg" alt="" width="200" height="92" /></a>As the pandemic continues to dominate the news and our lives, I decided to do a calculation to estimate how many vaccinations would need to be done every week for the over 65s and health workers to get all their jabs. There are 13 million people that fall into this category and each one will require two jabs so that's 26 million in total. If the government achieve 1 million per week it will take 26 weeks (six months). Any less than 1 million then the time required will obviously lengthen. The UK government hasn't managed to get anything right so far (don't mention Brexit) so I can say with some certainty that we shouldn't expect to be free of the constraints caused by Covid-19  until autumn 2021. How depressing is that?

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