We sure live in the land of milk and honey. There ain't no better place to be. Alberta. Christmas morning, we woke up to clear sky and a pink reflection on the mountains to the west.
I put the turkey in the oven around noon and we took the old girl down to the river for a walk. The pathways were clear and the temperature was warm, nearly 10 +C. She wanted to walk for miles. Not bad for a nearly 14year old shepherd cross.
At home the wonderful smell of roasting turkey filled the house and I set the table and started to prepare the vegetables.
We didn't expect anyone over until late in the afternoon for gift opening. This is the first time in our lives that we have not had a Christmas morning of gift opening. It was just the two of us, well three but she slept through it all.
Erin and Walter had both worked until late in the night on Christmas eve. Erin bartending and Walter dj'ing. Like a full time job at the university wasn't enough!!
It was the Christmas of body parts and appliance attachments. Erin gave Walter a pair of lamps which were featured in her favourite Christmas movie, A Christmas Story. Walter was somewhat flummoxed because he hadn't seen the movie, but non the less impressed with getting a pair of lamps of stylized women's legs in fish net stockings..
He returned the favour to Erin and gave her a dressmakers form. Which quickly became the bodice to the legs.
Ashley surprised me with some laundry art. She knows how I like laundry art and she gave me a plate by Ron Philbeck. He makes marvelous earthenware in his studio in NC. I just love it and can't wait to hang it up. My job for this afternoon.
Wayne and Ellen arrived and things went into full swing with paper and ribbons flying. Every year I swear that we should slow down the gift opening procedure and open one at a time. I know that it took me way more time to choose the gift, the card, find the wrapping paper, cut it to size, round up the tape and carefully wrap the parcel and add a ribbon that it takes for the recipient to rip off the paper and scan the gift. I know that we are better people than this but the monkey of greed just jumps on our backs.
Our dinner was perfection, so tasty and even more wonderful becaue everyone pitched in to help. Ashley had made an amazing sweet potato pie from scratch...really scratch, she worked hard and it was worth it. This is a new food path we are on, imagine our family usually so stiffly directed by tradition casting aside the mincemeat pie, plum pudding and brandy sauce and stepped into the american sweet potato pie world
We should have had many more at our table to share the bounty.
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