Then pressies ... yay! I was thoroughly spoilt by all concerned - a shitload of comestibles of all descriptions from the folks and family back home (a wise move given that I'm departing soon(ish): now I'll just arrive back a big tub o' lard, ah well) as well as the usual stocking stuffers (CDs, calendars, magnetic poetry, books, etc). Thanks to Joshua Marshall, my Secret Santa, too for the Coupland and Vonnegut titles ... some wonderful holiday reading there. Calls to home also featured, when at last we got through. And Jodi saw fit to donate a pack of playing cards featuring naked men to the cause which was met with unusually high levels of interest from the straight boys. Christ, you'd have thought they'd never seen another erection before in their lives. Oh, um, right ... I see your point.
Dinner preparations began in earnest after that. I'd whipped the turkey into shape the night before (recipe for stuffing), so I proceeded to rustle up a batch of candied pistachio ice-cream (recycled from here), a whack of hummous and some smoked salmon on rye nibbly bits. All in a day's work for La Pannett, don'tcha know. I scarpered in time for Luke & Co to rustle up some tasty leek and potato soup, then it was the Lads & Co into the kitchen to organise the main. Which took a long time but turned out pretty damn fine I think: it's no mean feat feeding fourteen people as some of you will know. Well, all was going well until the oven decided to do it's best Mount Doom impersonation ... acrid smoke pouring from the damn thing half-way through boded ill but like the troopers we are, we soldiered on. Christmas hangi anyone? Anna and Richard topped matters off with the mother of all deserts: all the faves including pavalova, trifle, fruit salad, pineapple chunks, my ice-cream and such. Wanted to move after that. Couldn't.
Boxing Day was spent generally lolling around before venturing out for a dose of The Lord Of The Rings action. What can I say but wow. Admittedly, I was distracted by the scenery which, as predicted, left me very homesick but the whole package was so fantastic ... just really epic. I really enjoyed the performances too - the "face scenery" you might say ... craggy/open/ruined/desolate/serene ... take your pick. Perhaps people will now start to say they really do make them like they used to. I for one hope so.
So that was Christmas in a nutshell: a pretty big nutshell granted, but that's as condensed as I'm going to get. I hope yours was as enjoyable!
‹ 29.12.01
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