That Chinon was a helpful suggestion from a friendly passer by at New Seasons, and while I’m sure her intentions were deeply good, it was thoroughly mediocre. I guess it’s my own fault, as I should really know better than to take wine advice from strangers. As expected, all of my selections were excellent.

We also scored a turducken. In this picture, it’s sausage-stuffed cavity is pointed at you, dear reader.

Here it’s looking a bit more presentable, don’t you agree?

So, here’s how it all looked when it got onto table.

And a plating (vestigial chops from my service career).

As the people who set the playlists for horrible department stores know, once you’ve had your turkey it’s time to crack straight on to Christmas. We were no different: we set out on Sunday to get a tree.

So there you have it. Festivity city!