Merry Xmas to you!
Christmas just came flying in! With the chaos of my parents staying at my place and my grandma still in the hospital, and me working until almost xmas eve, it was c-r-a-z-y! But fun! Mom, Dad, Lisa, James and I did our best to celebrate this supposedly joyous time of the year together (Grandma and Aunty Pat decided it would be better to celebrate together at their place another evening).
This year, I oh-so-gladly volunteered to be in charge of the xmas dinner, which would be held at my new pad. This is the first time in our family history that Mom didn't have to do the (cooking) work! (Mom, of course, did well being Santa Claus). It's a good thing she didn't have to cook because she wasn't feeling so hot this year. The poor woman was in bed most of the day but mustered up enough energy to peep her head out of the bedroom for present-opening (btw, if your wondering, there are no pics of Mom here at her request).
I admit I was nervous cooking a whole friggin' turkey for the first time. Everyone in my family has different tastes and it's hard to please them all! I stubbornly went to the butcher's to get a fresh (as opposed to frozen) bird that I soaked in brine overnight. The trip to the butcher two days before xmas was a riot! There were people knocking eachother over for gourmet cheeses and spicy sausages! What a wonderful place though! I've been looking for a place to buy meat other than the chain supermarkets. This is a consequence of hanging around Mr Vegetarian Andi, whose made me more conscious of where my meat comes from.
Anyhoo, I'm super happy to admit that it turned out not disastrous. I went for the whole deal, with plenty of side dishes and 3 choices of desserts. I even attempted to make pumpkin pie, not realising that this is a dessert for thanksgiving and not xmas. So, folks, take note that pumpkin is extremely difficult to find in the stores in the month of December! Even the canned stuff!
Santa was nice to everyone this year :) As a general rule, I say screw the commercial aspect of xmas (for the past 3 years, I made my gifts by hand). Yet on the flipside, I still love receiving gifts that people take the thought and time to get me. I got a Gotan CD, a bluetooth adapter (to transfer my spontaneous cell phone pics and videos to my PC at no cost so that my blog stays pretty!), a heart-warming donation to Unicef, Lisa's DVD of a season of Wonderfalls (the most amusing yet least recognized show ever) - Hooray for recycled presents!, the third XMen DVD, an awesome guide to Montreal shopping (like, where to buy anything from gourmet pencils to organic food), and $$ and off-broadway tickets for an upcoming trip to NYC! Thanks, guys! I luv you!
So, after a big (huge) meal and present opening, we chit-chatted, like a family should, while digesting the goods in an insanely hot condo (the heat runs through the walls making it a gazillion degress all the time even with the window open).
Merry xmas to all, and to all a good night!
PS - For more wonderful pics of xmas and more, snapped using Lisa's brand spankin' new camera, check out her site!
This year, I oh-so-gladly volunteered to be in charge of the xmas dinner, which would be held at my new pad. This is the first time in our family history that Mom didn't have to do the (cooking) work! (Mom, of course, did well being Santa Claus). It's a good thing she didn't have to cook because she wasn't feeling so hot this year. The poor woman was in bed most of the day but mustered up enough energy to peep her head out of the bedroom for present-opening (btw, if your wondering, there are no pics of Mom here at her request).
I admit I was nervous cooking a whole friggin' turkey for the first time. Everyone in my family has different tastes and it's hard to please them all! I stubbornly went to the butcher's to get a fresh (as opposed to frozen) bird that I soaked in brine overnight. The trip to the butcher two days before xmas was a riot! There were people knocking eachother over for gourmet cheeses and spicy sausages! What a wonderful place though! I've been looking for a place to buy meat other than the chain supermarkets. This is a consequence of hanging around Mr Vegetarian Andi, whose made me more conscious of where my meat comes from.
Anyhoo, I'm super happy to admit that it turned out not disastrous. I went for the whole deal, with plenty of side dishes and 3 choices of desserts. I even attempted to make pumpkin pie, not realising that this is a dessert for thanksgiving and not xmas. So, folks, take note that pumpkin is extremely difficult to find in the stores in the month of December! Even the canned stuff!
Santa was nice to everyone this year :) As a general rule, I say screw the commercial aspect of xmas (for the past 3 years, I made my gifts by hand). Yet on the flipside, I still love receiving gifts that people take the thought and time to get me. I got a Gotan CD, a bluetooth adapter (to transfer my spontaneous cell phone pics and videos to my PC at no cost so that my blog stays pretty!), a heart-warming donation to Unicef, Lisa's DVD of a season of Wonderfalls (the most amusing yet least recognized show ever) - Hooray for recycled presents!, the third XMen DVD, an awesome guide to Montreal shopping (like, where to buy anything from gourmet pencils to organic food), and $$ and off-broadway tickets for an upcoming trip to NYC! Thanks, guys! I luv you!
So, after a big (huge) meal and present opening, we chit-chatted, like a family should, while digesting the goods in an insanely hot condo (the heat runs through the walls making it a gazillion degress all the time even with the window open).Merry xmas to all, and to all a good night!
PS - For more wonderful pics of xmas and more, snapped using Lisa's brand spankin' new camera, check out her site!
posted by Susan Tam at 12/25/2006
1 Comments:
gourmet pencils???
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