On Christmas Day we slept in, which nixed our plans of
seeing an early show of The Hobbit,
which we still have not seen. (I clutch my geek crown against my head and
stubbornly refuse to let go, despite the truth.) We ate breakfast, exchanged
gifts, as one does. The night before we opened one gift, and mine was a special
episode of the British SF comedy show Red
Dwarf. I had no idea they were still making episodes. On Christmas Day, I
opened my next present and laughed and laughed and laughed: A boxed set of the
first eight seasons! And apparently season nine is on order. Goodness. Or “smeg
off, you smeghead.”
That afternoon we went to Ken’s dad’s wife’s son’s house
(don’t worry, it confuses me, too, sometimes). We go there once a year,
descending right about the time a sumptuous buffet dinner is served, and yet
they greet us, near strangers, with warmth and hospitality, for which every
year I am humbled. They gave us a bottle of merlot, and then Ken’s dad and wife
gave us an automated wine bottle opener—once again, I laughed and laughed. They
all swear they were not in collusion
over this!
We then came home, watched the Doctor Who Christmas special (I’m liking Oswin/Clara/?? and am
intrigued by her possibilities), and fell over.
We got up early this morning to work out with our trainer,
although with both of us still being sick, wasn’t the most strenuous she’d ever
put us through, but at least we were there and tried. We came home and dove
into brunch preparations, as Ken’s brother and wife and three boys, along with
Ken’s mom, were headed here for Boxing Day. (Although I’m apparently the only
person who calls it Boxing Day, much to everyone else’s confusion.) Steve and
Joelle haven’t had the chance to visit us since we moved here eight years ago,
so this was quite a treat! We hauled out the china and I realized I had to
polish silver (dammit), and we bustled around and thankfully they got a late
start so we were able to get everything ready in time.
The menu:
- build-your-own-breakfast-burrito-bar: wraps, scrambled eggs, spicy chicken sausage, hash browns, mushrooms, green onions, green pepper, kalamata olives, cheddar, feta, salsa, sour cream (I hope I’m not forgetting anything…!)
- scones (delicious! made by Ken’s mom) with pomegranate jam and lemon curd and clotted cream
- fruit salad (made by Joelle—so many nummy fruits!)
- mimosas
- bloody marys (nobody had any, which was fine)
- juices
- coffee and tea
I had an amusing moment when we decided mimosas were the
drink of the day: I removed the foil and twisty wire bit from the champagne,
then turned to fold a kitchen towel to place over the cork (because I know the
proper way to open champagne is to hold the towel over the cork and gently
twist the bottle). As I was turned away, the cork blew! It bounced off the
ceiling, hit me on the head, bounced up again, landed on the floor, and rolled
under a cabinet. I confess I shrieked in surprise. But nary a drop was lost,
which is the important thing (that, and no light fixtures were damaged, unlike
when Ken opens champagne).
The boys had brought their new Christmas bicycles, so the
menfolk all rode to the beach (about 3.5 miles away) while I tried to give the
house tour to Joelle (and Mom, but she’s been here tons of times), but we were
drinking mimosas, so it took a little longer than usual.
When we opened presents, I had to laugh again—apparently the
theme of this holiday was food and cooking and whatnot. Steve & Joelle gave
us homemade spiced nuts, along with pizza oil and a flatbread pizza crust mix,
and Mom gave us glass food storage containers (see my last post! but I
overheard Ken suggesting this to her earlier, so…) and a garlic grater and a
baked potato bag. (My sister Donna had given us an oil sprayer and a bottle of
Carmel Valley oil, and then of course there was the previously mentioned wine
and wine bottle opener.)
Eventually they had to head home, and I spent the rest of
the evening doing rounds of dishes (lots and lots of my grandmother’s china and
Ken’s grandmother’s silver), in between curling up to watch various things with Ken.
