Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

In my book, there are a few prerequisites for Christmas season – intense holiday baking of ridiculous amounts of goodies; carols playing in every store and 24/7 on at least one radio station; goofy themed sweaters/sweatshirts on middle-aged women, perhaps paired with awful earrings; and miserable weather, with ice and snow making travel difficult, if not dangerous.

Without this wonderful build-up to Christmas, you can understand how the day snuck up on both Cory and I. (We were both doing last-minute shopping on Christmas Eve, which, while usual for Cory, is unheard of for me!) Here, Santa wears “jandals” (or flip-flops) and may sport board shorts; a solid Christmas pudding and a pavlova decorated with kiwi fruit and strawberries stand in for the cookies, pies, and candies; and the weather is balmy enough to grill your Christmas lamb outdoors.

On Christmas Eve, Cory grilled our steaks and potatoes, while I boiled some fresh corn-on-the-cob. We ate our meal, listening to carols about white Christmases, with the balcony doors slid wide open and the windows letting in a nice breeze. Our little tree, a topiary purchased specially for the season, was lit with a single strand of lights and a dozen or so miniature red balls. We propped a picture sent to us of the first snow in Iowa in front of it, as an homage to home.

Christmas morning we woke around 4:30, not in our excitement to open presents, but to set off to climb the Mount and catch the sunrise. It was cool and threatening to rain, but, thankfully, it held off and we climbed quickly, settling in with our thermos of cocoa to watch the sun break through the clouds. It was a nice start to the Christmas day. (Excitingly enough, we may have also accidentally “crashed” a wedding proposal, too. A younger couple came up after us, and as we left, were smooching away. Later we saw them walking down; she was carrying a little jewelry box wrapped with a ribbon.)

Cory went to round; when he got back we opened Christmas presents, and then he made a great omelet. We lazed around until later in the day, when we headed over to a friend of a friend’s house. Originally, our friends, Lee and Dawson, had invited us to their house. But they then received an invitation to James and Sharon’s house, so we managed to plop ourselves in the middle of two families’ Christmases. Amazing.

But it was delightful! A crowd of 9 adults and 5 children assembled, with enough food to feed an army. The pool at James and Sharon’s had just been completed and the kids were in heaven. They swam until mealtime, with the adults watching over them while grazing and drinking. Cory’s sangria was a hit with both the kids and adults. (An NA version was made up especially for the kiddos – no worries!) And then we ate... The meal was outrageous, with grilled lamb and stuffing; a ham pricked with cloves and decorated with orange slices; venison sausages; homegrown potatoes; couscous, tomato, & feta salad; beetroot, walnut, & blue cheese salad; and 2 or 3 other green salads. Before the meal we all opened a Christmas cracker, half of which were filled with a musical instrument that looked suspiciously like a kazoo, but which everyone called a whistle. After the meal, Sharon had high hopes of us assembling ourselves into some sort of an octet, with her directing (complete with a chopstick for a baton). She valiantly tried, as did several others, to whip us into shape, but we were disastrous. Our listeners, in agony, could not make out one tune we attempted.

After it was clear we were not going to improve (and after several younger group members absconded with their instruments), we were given up on and allowed to eat dessert. The pavlova was twice as high as my early attempt, and decorated with fresh fruit. I watched as Carol, Lee’s mom, unmolded the Christmas pudding. It was lit and the appropriate “oooh”s went up. A fruit salad, my almond tarts, and Christmas cake were also on offer. Somehow everyone managed to squeeze some dessert in. Surprisingly, during our after-meal swim, no one was so loaded down that they sunk.

After drying in the sun, the littlest girl decided that it was time to open gifts. We had drawn Frankie’s name, and she conned me into helping her locate her gift from us, which she then lugged around until everyone gathered by the tree. She then “helped” everyone open their gift, or, in most cases, simply opened it for them. Very convenient!

Everyone was pleased with the day and quickly settling into a post-event stupor; it was clearly time to pack up and get home. We did so, knowing the day after Christmas here is Boxing Day (check Wikipedia for the possible origins of the day), allowing us a good four days to enjoy and rest up...

Know that we think of you all over this holiday season and wish you the merriest of Christmases. We miss you, but will see you next year!