Christmas Eve in the good ole US of A
Or, how to do something totally different.
Guess who started the day with eggnog? Can you tell?
Damn, that stuff is good. About a million calories a sip, though. You buy it premixed in the supermarket and then add your own alcohol, which in this case was bourbon.
Or, how to do something totally different.
Guess who started the day with eggnog? Can you tell?
Damn, that stuff is good. About a million calories a sip, though. You buy it premixed in the supermarket and then add your own alcohol, which in this case was bourbon.
We went on to grilled oysters and mushrooms for breakfast plus champagne and orange juice.
We went to Paul's parents on Christmas Eve. All the family were there and they were very welcoming to me. They are all people with really big personalities so I didn't shine. The whole evening was great but so different to an Australian Christmas.
There was ham but that was about the only thing that was the same. They served scalloped potatoes, broccoli salad, cooked sweet apples, rolls and it was washed down with milk or water.
(Every meal here is served with those beverages, and if you go out to eat there is a huge glass of iced water immediately thrust in front of you. In 0 degree weather, because obviously I don't look quite chilled enough. If they bring a jug, I put my hands in my glass and take out all the ice, throwing it back into the jug. I am delightful to dine with. )
No crackers on the table, no silly mottos and paper hats. For dessert I had volunteered to bring that traditional Aussie icon, the pavlova. It was a huge hit and I even got kiwi fruit and mango for the top of it but, alas, no passion fruit. It was gone in 5 mins, tops.
There were quite a few highlights. I enjoyed the wall plaque above, hung directly in front of the toilet.
There was ham but that was about the only thing that was the same. They served scalloped potatoes, broccoli salad, cooked sweet apples, rolls and it was washed down with milk or water.
(Every meal here is served with those beverages, and if you go out to eat there is a huge glass of iced water immediately thrust in front of you. In 0 degree weather, because obviously I don't look quite chilled enough. If they bring a jug, I put my hands in my glass and take out all the ice, throwing it back into the jug. I am delightful to dine with. )
No crackers on the table, no silly mottos and paper hats. For dessert I had volunteered to bring that traditional Aussie icon, the pavlova. It was a huge hit and I even got kiwi fruit and mango for the top of it but, alas, no passion fruit. It was gone in 5 mins, tops.
There were quite a few highlights. I enjoyed the wall plaque above, hung directly in front of the toilet.
Paul's Dad let me hold one of his guns (he has 32; enough for a People's Liberation Army somewhere).
He let me hold his handgun, too, but then took it back off me because I wasn't holding it in the right way. We had a little conversation about it.
Him: "Don't put your finger inside the trigger guard"
Me: "This thing? (waggling my finger around in a circle sort of thing)?"
Him "Yes! Don't"
Me: "I thought you'd at least unload it before giving it to me."
Him: "It is."
Me: "So, I'm not pointing it at anybody, its unloaded, I don't even know what a trigger guard is and I am in trouble?"
Him: takes gun back firmly
I am never shooting one of those things.
Then Christmas presents under the tree. People gave me stuff too, which really touched me. I had no money (no money means $10 Aus) and didn't give anybody anything, even Paul. The family all drew names for Christmas presents, one person each. Plus kids got more and parents gave more. I got a teapot set and a coffee set. Just what I needed, non-pilfered chinaware, that doesn't say "Alderwood Engineering" on it.
It was really sad calling up my girls on their Christmas Day. I did it from Paul's parent's house as it had been suggested that I should at a predesignated time. So I did and then went into the bathroom to cry for a while. Nobody noticed so that was good. Paul brought me a couple of shots of Canadian Whiskey on the sly and I felt better. Strange to be around a Christmas celebration where there wasn't copious amounts of booze.
That about concludes Christmas Eve.
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