I am enveloped in the peace and quiet of Christmas morning -- and loving it. Whereas when the kids were young, this morning was filled with excitement and activity (and I loved that too), these days Christmas morning tends to be quiet and relaxed. I anticipate that, after last night, everyone will sleep in fairly late. Except me; I can never sleep in. Sometimes it's a curse!
We arrived home in the early evening of the 22nd, exhausted after 24 hours of travel (we might as well have gone to Europe!) and -- in my case -- food poisoned! Turns out I had eaten some bad cream cheese at Starbuck's and I spent the night whining and writhing on the floor in the bathroom. It was a MOST unpleasant experience!
I had no choice but to bounce back quickly though because we had ONE day to prepare for Christmas -- which we celebrate on the 24th. Those preparations included storm-related tasks, like removing rotten food from the fridge and freezer. (Amazingly, most of it was still good!) We battled crowds to do some very-last-minute shopping and to buy a tree, then came home and started decorating! It's the smallest tree we've ever had in this house because we inherited the piano this year, but I think it actually looks good -- and the cats love it!
Eva, our AFS exchange student from Koeln joined us to make some last-minute cookies and for our traditional German Christmas Eve "bescherung," and we all had a wonderful time, with much laughter, good food (Mom's traditional Bavarian fare) and great company.
We arrived home in the early evening of the 22nd, exhausted after 24 hours of travel (we might as well have gone to Europe!) and -- in my case -- food poisoned! Turns out I had eaten some bad cream cheese at Starbuck's and I spent the night whining and writhing on the floor in the bathroom. It was a MOST unpleasant experience! 
I had no choice but to bounce back quickly though because we had ONE day to prepare for Christmas -- which we celebrate on the 24th. Those preparations included storm-related tasks, like removing rotten food from the fridge and freezer. (Amazingly, most of it was still good!) We battled crowds to do some very-last-minute shopping and to buy a tree, then came home and started decorating! It's the smallest tree we've ever had in this house because we inherited the piano this year, but I think it actually looks good -- and the cats love it!
Eva, our AFS exchange student from Koeln joined us to make some last-minute cookies and for our traditional German Christmas Eve "bescherung," and we all had a wonderful time, with much laughter, good food (Mom's traditional Bavarian fare) and great company.
It looks like you got Chrismas together in record time!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you and yours, Carol, and may all the roads you travel be smooth next year.
You went to Hawaii at the best possible time, looks like, and got back to find the lights on again. Eva will be glad to know it was more Christmassy in Seattle than in Bergisch Gladbach, the temperature around the freezing mark but no snow anywhere outside the Alps.
ReplyDeleteOn Christmas Eve we finished with Feuerzangenbowle, a holiday tradition here which involves a mulled wine heated on the table over an open flame, and suspended above it is a big sugar cone which has been soaked in rum and set on fire so the sugar slowly drips into the wine. Yum.