Candling and eggs

My little girl and her husband are coming home for the weekend, and so I am happy. Although I won’t spend all that much time with them, as the Sage and I are going to a party this evening, to celebrate friends’ Golden Wedding anniversary. So my children are going to spend the evening together.

First, I have to put together the Advent ring. There are five candles, one to be lit every Sunday in Advent and the fifth for Christmas Day. That is, each week you light the previously lit candles plus one more. They symbolise stuff, but don’t ask me to remember what. I’m not really sure about all these ritual symbolic thingys. It’s the sort of thing that really alienates people who aren’t involved.

After that, I must go and buy wine. I was startled, the other night, to discover that, apart from the Good Wine, I only had a couple of bottles left. I’ve been busy recently and haven’t done much shopping, except for fresh food. I don’t keep much convenience food in, except for the odd frozen pizza, and usually prepare meals from scratch.

The Sage went to pick up some hens yesterday. Not for us, but for several friends who needed to replenish stocks. A local egg farm was due to get in new stock and so wanted to sell the 18-month-old birds. It is a splendid place, as free range as you can imagine. There are big barns for the chickens to sleep and shelter in, but they are free to roam over large fields too, which are kept safe from foxes by electric fences. Al used to get supplies of eggs from there, but when the lion stamp was brought back in a year or so back, they decided to sell all the eggs to a large supplier as the equipment was expensive and the individual stamping made an extra job they didn’t have time for. Al can sell our bantam eggs unstamped as you may sell your own stuff, but if bought in, it has to go through ‘the system’. He had to find another source of free-range eggs as he never sells anything else. Anyway, the Sage went and chose the hens, they were put into boxes and he went off to deliver them (no charge, he’s just nice like that). When he looked, there were quite an array of new-laid eggs, the girls weren’t wasting any time.

6 comments on “Candling and eggs

  1. Z

    They are, Pat. Quite small eggs, but with lovely deep yellow yolks and delicious. A cake made with them is so yellow that it looks as if you’ve added food colouring.

    Reply
  2. jen

    i used to light the advent wreath as a child – can’t quite remember what they symbolize either now…must look it up.

    Sage is a dear man.

    Reply
  3. Z

    There are three purple ones, a pink one and a white one which is for Christmas day. The pink one is for the third Sunday. It’s fine for children, but I think I’ve left those days behind me…..

    Reply

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