Christmas

So.  I finished work on Christmas Eve at just after 4. It took 15 minutes to get from the car park in town to Tabitha and Gareth's place (I wish it could be Christmas Eve … ). Marryk rocked in a bit later. We packed the car, all jumped in - and headed to Tupton where were waiting The Builder and Marlo, ready to start Christmas.

I had, the previous day, made a braised bean curd and vegetable shepherd's pie - which would have been suitable for any passing vegan.  Until I put butter and cheese in the mash :-D  It seemed sensible to  have loads and loads of veggies on Christmas Eve.  Christmas Day was bound to be a major meat feast!

Christmas Day dawned rather more abruptly than I had hoped.  I had forgotten to turn the alarms off so was jolted awake by the radio coming on at 5:30 :-S  The alarms are all turned off now :-)

It was a lovely day.  We had bacon rolls for breakfast. There was a smorgasbord for lunch, with party pies, sausage rolls, gyoza, prawn wontons, and various very yummy things from a Christmas hamper that Jeanette and Matthew had given us. Then for dinner we had roasted pork, crumbed chicken, katsu sauce and a huge mound of roast potatoes, mashed potatoes and vegetables.  Later for dessert we had a ski slope which was intended to be a skate park until I put a circle of meringue on my cake plate and created a hill rather than a skating rink

We had lots of presents.  Grandma Stella and Grandpa Tony gave Cally her very first train set.  I had suggested that she should open it quite early so she would have something to occupy herself while we were all doing Useful Things. It was such a successful present that it proved impossible to convince her to eat her bacon sandwich.  Or, indeed, to do anything else at all.

She quite liked the pirate tent The Builder and I had got for her. Except it is so huge that we had to put the train set away to make room for it in our lounge room.  I hadn't realised quite how big it was when i bought it!

We talked to Austin, Kaori, Tatsuki, Freyja, Lindsey, Stella, Tony and everyone else who was at Mount Helen for Christmas Evening. Skype is a wonderful thing!

The sun shone and the winds were gentle and the birds sang and it was all good.  Cally says it was the Best Christmas Ever.  But I don't suppose she really remembers any previous ones :-D

Click here to see the Christmas photo album