The Twelve Christmas Highlights

The presents are opened, the carols have been sung, I have gained my 5 Christmas pounds...it saddens me to say it but the Christmas of 2006 has been put to bed. It was a great Christmas - full of great food, friends and Charlie Brown dancing.

The Twelve Christmas Highlights

1. Going to St Paul's Cathedral for Christmas Eve Carol Service (free) and getting great seats right under the dome. It was a beautiful service in a pretty magical place and those little boys sing like angels.
2. Seeing the huge long queue for the butcher on my block as I left the house on Saturday and being thankful that I was not buying a Christmas roast or goose.
3. Borough Market on Saturday when it wasn't crowded. In fact, NO WHERE in London was crowded (except St Pauls). Christmas is a magical time in London when you can always get a seat on the tube, find a table in a bar, or go to the shops without fighting crowds.
4. Listening to non-stop Christmas music and dancing like the Charlie Brown characters.
5. Baking and cooking and cooking and baking. I don't think I have spent that much time in the kitchen the whole time I've lived here. We made roast beef, green beans with roasted tomato salsa, rolls, spinach salad with cranberries and candied almonds, red velvet cocoa cake, candy cane cookies, sugar cookies, black bottom cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, 2 breakfasts of eggs, bacon, and more and EVERYTHING on that list was made from scratch. Jess even candied the almonds herself. I kid you not.
6. Bubbly and bubbly and bubbly and more bubbly (I won't even tell you the bottle count after 2 days)...which might explain all the kitchen accidents including the small fire, Jess burning and cutting herself, Lauren burning her mouth (on the candied almonds that weren't cool) and me dumping all the flour on the floor (thankfully it was AFTER the last of the baking was done). We knew when we got to three accidents each day we were done...which was good to know that there was an end point.
7. Being introduced to Low Country Dinner on Christmas Eve. Cook it all in a pot and then throw the food on the table. Eat with your hands. SO FUN and SO RELAXED! New Xmas Eve tradition in my house for sure.
8. Walking in Hampstead Heath on Christmas Day decked out in St. Claus hats. We were a sight to see as we tramped through the tall grasses to climb Parliament Hill and see London laid out below us.
9. Boxing Day. One of my new favourite British traditions. You don't work on Christmas or the day after. On top of that, we went to see the Wizard of Oz on Boxing Day at the Everyman Cinema - my favourite movie theatre. It was funny to see it after seeing Wicked. I just kept thinking of all the characters ulterior motives!
10. Getting my mobile phone back when it got lost. I had it before I went into St Pauls and noticed it was missing on the way home. However, unlike many other places in London, apparently if you lose your phone in a church, you actually can get it back. (Have it back now!)
11. Calling my dad just as the roast was cooking and realizing that we really had no idea what we were doing when it came to beef. Many thanks for the cooking tips, the wine tips, and not mocking your daughter too much when it came to her ability to roast, Dad! I know now. 17-20 minutes per pound. 120 degrees in the middle!
12. Realizing that no matter where you are in the world, it's the people you have in your life that make it special. Many many thank yous to the Dobberstein/Schaefer clan for making my holiday so wonderful.

Hope all of your celebrations were as much fun as mine and that you are all well and happy and feeling slightly overfed. Now on to Italy for New Year...

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!!