We almost always have our Christmas Day activities at home. On one occasion years ago we went to the Crown Plaza Hotel for Christmas lunch, but it's usually at our house.
Unfortunately, having Christmas at home means that Christina does most of the food preparation. I clean the covered area outside the family room and kitchen and do most of the dish washing. But, it's still a lot of work getting ready and Christina has vowed that next year for Christmas we will be on a cruise somewhere. I agreed ... I think that's a great idea.
We'll sit back like Sir and Lady Muck and have someone else do all the work. After eating, drinking and conversing with our fellow travellers, we'll be able to totter off to bed and leave someone else to do the cleaning up. Wonderful idea ... gets my vote!
Now, I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to Christmas 2014.
Christina had to work from 2 pm Christmas Day, so we modified our Christmas arrangements to suit. We arranged a "brunch", you know, the lunch you have between the normal times for breakfast and lunch, about 9:30-10:00 am. Christina and daughter Meredith knocked up a couple of plates of waffles and pancakes which everyone tucked into with syrup, jam and other condiments of which there was quite a variety.
Our whole family consisting of Christina, me, son Dale and his wife Yen (pronounced Ian), daughter Meredith and grandson Tory was present. Our friend Pam who was on her own for this Christmas also joined us.
This time of year in Central Australia is usually hot and dry. Thanks to Mother Nature, we had had a couple of days of rain beforehand and it was lovely and cool, maxing out at about 24 degrees Celsius. How good's that?
We sat, ate and chatted until about 11 am and then called it a day.
Before Pam arrived we had opened our presents which you can see in the photo above. Everyone got something they wanted and perhaps a few other things they could have done without. I'd hinted earlier that I wanted to try bourbon and lo and behold, I received a bottle of Wild Turkey American Honey bourbon from my daughter.Earlier in the year I had visited a Dan Murphys Liquor Barn and picked up a free booklet about whiskies and how to drink them. Although I have always been a beer and red wine man, I decided it would be nice at my late stage of life to give whisky a go. Bourbon, the book said was the nicest to drink.
Although I don't usually drink alcohol during the day, (well, never before lunch) I just had to try a drop, so I got a small port glass out of the glass cabinet and did a taste test. Absolutely lovely stuff. The taste just rolls off one's tongue.
It's pretty potent stuff, so I still have to experiment with how to drink it. That is, will I sip it straight like a port or sherry, or place 30 ml in a glass and add a bit of water. Watering it down seems like such a waste. More research is needed.
Christina toddled off to work at the Midwifery Unit of the Alice Springs Hospital, Meredith, Tory and Pam went home and Dale and Yen went to visit Yen's auntie and grandmother and family. I spent the rest of the afternoon alone.
I did a little surfing on the laptop, watched the local news on the television and had a half hour snooze. Sometimes it's nice to be alone to do your own thing ... or not do it as the case might be. In the evening I watched a couple of editions of Covert Affairs with the lovely Piper Perado.
Today is Boxing Day. Christina is not working today, so we are having our roast pork and vegetables for lunch and have invited a few friends over. It promises to be another lovely day too, with unusually low temperatures and a coolish breeze coming through the house.
If this is climate change, give me more.
Robin
