now to slouch on boxing day
Dec. 26th, 2011 04:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gfrancieChristmas was really lovely if loud and busy. A good sort of loud and busy. The children were excited that Santa came and left all sorts of interesting things in their stocking. They were bowled over by the gifts under the tree. Senor Onion wanted to tear into everything, Miss Biscuit wanted help with opening her gifts. There were some definite hits with both of them. For Senor Onion it was the Snap Circuits Jr. and for Miss Biscuit it was the toy barn complete with assorted animals. We had also given her some little Breyer horsies which fit perfectly in her farm. I am going on the theory that if we get her hooked on horsies that we can keep her occupied until she is eighty. "HORSIES" My brother Mike was with us and was a very good sport about the bouncing children. I made sure he had coffee. I think I won some good big sister points with the presents we gave him. Among other things, we had bought him some new thick trail socks as he is a poor college student and his socks were wearing thin and hurting his feet. Socks are worth something when you are an adult. At least good socks are. I also got him a biography of Senator Scoop Jackson,(A legendary Washington politician) some chocolate, and some coffee beans. (keep him nice and buzzed for school)
While Mr. Jenner and the kids talked on skype with his family, I began further preparations for Christmas dinner. Though I scaled back some of my ambitions for dinner; there was work to do.
Family friends began to arrive about one. The volume increased ten-fold. There was a lot of hello-ing, showing off projects, (a lot of knitters) and hugging of the kids. I distracted them for a bit with an antipasti platter, the famous cheese bacon buns, and drinks. There were ten of us there and so the business of handing out presents becomes complicated. There is a Marx Brothers quality of having my Mother, siblings, family friends, and my own family in one room together. There are times when I am slightly surprised that someone isn't sleeping on top of some ham and eggs. In time we sat down to dinner. There were chilled haricot verts in a dressing, a roasted duck, port and mandarin gravy, timpano, and roasted potatoes. People did eat until they hurt. It is an easy thing to do as the timpano is a meal on its own. We followed that predictable pattern of retiring to the living room to digest and hopefully not regret the meal. Some presents were opened, toys were played with, Tiny the pug was given love. I removed things from the dining room table and began to figure out things for pudding. Kathie had brought a blackberry pie, my friend Danica had brought ginger cookies with a lemon icing, and there was the Christmas pudding. Things had to be eaten. While we had some port, people desired many glasses of water.
Look, a bit of a flame. Mr. Jenner did a fine job of spooning the alcohol to keep the flame going. Fire at the dinner table never ceases to bring about the "ooohs and ahhhhhhhs" from one's guests. (just don't feel you need to set the tablecloth alight to excite your guests. I think Miss Manners would find that in poor taste) Mr. Jenner and I both found nickels in our pudding. He tried to do an impression of how my sister and I go, "twinsies" in a high pitched voice. It didn't quite work. I told him he lacks the estrogen and DNA to accomplish such a trick. My sister and I proceeded to demonstrate how it was done. My sister and I have this knack for buying the same sort of clothes without realizing it. We sometimes have to discuss what we are wearing so that we don't end up wearing the same pink v-neck top, scarf or hair-do. It isn't that we don't have our own styles -because we do, but we happen to both have very good taste... or something.
Anyhow....
People began to hurt more, so afterward it was decided that we needed to go for a walk. Tiny needed to be taken out, so we did a short loop around the neighborhood. The weather wasn't awful and we got to walk around in that dark blue of the twilight of a late winter afternoon. It isn't dark but the light is fading fast. (especially when you live in a valley)
There was tea/coffee and sweets I had made. Many conversations going at once, people on the phone to far away family, pictures taken, teasing, exhaustion. The early evening of Christmas. Gave my Mother more coffee while we sat in the kitchen talking about pickled herring recipes, jewelry, books, and crafting projects. The kids were tired but didn't want to admit defeat just yet, because at that age you have to hold onto Christmas for dear life. Most of the family and friends went home because they wanted to go to bed at some point. (my brother Tom remains here until the 27th)
The kids were put to bed after staying up for an extra hour or two. I tidied more. The kitchen will need a further clean tomorrow.
It was a good day. Everyone was funny and had a great time. There is a certain level of stress that comes with hosting. I so desperately want everyone to eat well and just feel welcome and comfortable. Hopefully creating a wonderful memory years later
While Mr. Jenner and the kids talked on skype with his family, I began further preparations for Christmas dinner. Though I scaled back some of my ambitions for dinner; there was work to do.
Family friends began to arrive about one. The volume increased ten-fold. There was a lot of hello-ing, showing off projects, (a lot of knitters) and hugging of the kids. I distracted them for a bit with an antipasti platter, the famous cheese bacon buns, and drinks. There were ten of us there and so the business of handing out presents becomes complicated. There is a Marx Brothers quality of having my Mother, siblings, family friends, and my own family in one room together. There are times when I am slightly surprised that someone isn't sleeping on top of some ham and eggs. In time we sat down to dinner. There were chilled haricot verts in a dressing, a roasted duck, port and mandarin gravy, timpano, and roasted potatoes. People did eat until they hurt. It is an easy thing to do as the timpano is a meal on its own. We followed that predictable pattern of retiring to the living room to digest and hopefully not regret the meal. Some presents were opened, toys were played with, Tiny the pug was given love. I removed things from the dining room table and began to figure out things for pudding. Kathie had brought a blackberry pie, my friend Danica had brought ginger cookies with a lemon icing, and there was the Christmas pudding. Things had to be eaten. While we had some port, people desired many glasses of water.
Look, a bit of a flame. Mr. Jenner did a fine job of spooning the alcohol to keep the flame going. Fire at the dinner table never ceases to bring about the "ooohs and ahhhhhhhs" from one's guests. (just don't feel you need to set the tablecloth alight to excite your guests. I think Miss Manners would find that in poor taste) Mr. Jenner and I both found nickels in our pudding. He tried to do an impression of how my sister and I go, "twinsies" in a high pitched voice. It didn't quite work. I told him he lacks the estrogen and DNA to accomplish such a trick. My sister and I proceeded to demonstrate how it was done. My sister and I have this knack for buying the same sort of clothes without realizing it. We sometimes have to discuss what we are wearing so that we don't end up wearing the same pink v-neck top, scarf or hair-do. It isn't that we don't have our own styles -because we do, but we happen to both have very good taste... or something.
Anyhow....
People began to hurt more, so afterward it was decided that we needed to go for a walk. Tiny needed to be taken out, so we did a short loop around the neighborhood. The weather wasn't awful and we got to walk around in that dark blue of the twilight of a late winter afternoon. It isn't dark but the light is fading fast. (especially when you live in a valley)
There was tea/coffee and sweets I had made. Many conversations going at once, people on the phone to far away family, pictures taken, teasing, exhaustion. The early evening of Christmas. Gave my Mother more coffee while we sat in the kitchen talking about pickled herring recipes, jewelry, books, and crafting projects. The kids were tired but didn't want to admit defeat just yet, because at that age you have to hold onto Christmas for dear life. Most of the family and friends went home because they wanted to go to bed at some point. (my brother Tom remains here until the 27th)
The kids were put to bed after staying up for an extra hour or two. I tidied more. The kitchen will need a further clean tomorrow.
It was a good day. Everyone was funny and had a great time. There is a certain level of stress that comes with hosting. I so desperately want everyone to eat well and just feel welcome and comfortable. Hopefully creating a wonderful memory years later
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no subject
Date: 2011-12-27 01:06 am (UTC)Your Christmas sounds wonderful! Loads of food, lovely people, good company, and a bit of chaos. Perfect. Hope you managed to enjoy it too. *hugs*
no subject
Date: 2011-12-27 01:08 am (UTC)What sort of storm do you have blowing? Yesterday morning the wind was blowing something fierce.
I did enjoy it, though my back always hurts when I go to bed after all of that. (standing in the kitchen doing all that cooking)
no subject
Date: 2011-12-27 01:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-27 03:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-27 01:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-27 03:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-27 03:52 am (UTC)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snap-dragon_(game)
Someone has actually tried this in modern times, if you are curious about whether it actually hurts that much to play:
http://www.schooloftheseasons.com/snapdragon.html
no subject
Date: 2011-12-27 05:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-27 05:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-27 05:01 am (UTC)