Post by wheelspinner on Dec 24, 2011 6:24:35 GMT -5
It's Christmas Eve here in Melbourne. We have spent a baking hot day shopping, running around, cleaning, decorating the house, wrapping presents and a thousand other things to get ready fot tomorrow.
We are having most of my family around tomorrow for lunch, which will probably go through to dinner and beyond. It will be a pretty hot day - 30 degrees, with humidity building to a thunderstorm in the afternoon. So we won't be doing roast turkey with all the trimmngs. Instead, it will be platters of antipasti, seafood, sliced meats and salads. Oh, and enough desserts to sink a ship, no doubt. We do "bring a plate" catering, and every family member does his or her own speciality. Mine is a mixed bean salad with basil from the garden and a lemon vinaigrette. My nephew, who is a chef, is doing our pudding, which I'm keenly anticipating.
Since being diagnosed last Christmas, I have had to abandon the sweet stuff and drastically limit my alcohol intake. So tomorrow is my chance to get out some of the wines that I can no longer drink and share them around. The highlight will be an award-winning Coonawarra cabernet from 1998. Hopefully the years have been kinder to it than to its owner.
When we were young, post-prandial tradition was for us all to head out into the street for a neighbourhood cricket match, while the (far more sensible) adults had a nanna nap. The thunderstorm might prevent that, but we will see what we can do in the park at the end of our street. My little nephew is now a six foot three inch fast bowler, so the family cricket games are a little more challenging than they used to be.
I have two gay relatives, and they will both be bringing their partners. It's great that they are so at home with us. I have always felt a little sorry for my Uncle Teddie, a gay man who kept his partner separate from the family all his life. Ian, his life partner, was merely a bystander at his funeral. The passing of the years has seen some changes for the good.
As a family, we have had our ups and downs this year. My mother, my brother and I have all had health scares to make you sit up and take notice. On the other hand there have been major birthdays, many babies and my 30th wedding anniversary. It can be easy to glower about the bad news, but we will grin about the good instead. We are all still here and there are a few more of us to welcome, exchange gifts with, and fuss over.
Merry Christmas to you all.
Greg
We are having most of my family around tomorrow for lunch, which will probably go through to dinner and beyond. It will be a pretty hot day - 30 degrees, with humidity building to a thunderstorm in the afternoon. So we won't be doing roast turkey with all the trimmngs. Instead, it will be platters of antipasti, seafood, sliced meats and salads. Oh, and enough desserts to sink a ship, no doubt. We do "bring a plate" catering, and every family member does his or her own speciality. Mine is a mixed bean salad with basil from the garden and a lemon vinaigrette. My nephew, who is a chef, is doing our pudding, which I'm keenly anticipating.
Since being diagnosed last Christmas, I have had to abandon the sweet stuff and drastically limit my alcohol intake. So tomorrow is my chance to get out some of the wines that I can no longer drink and share them around. The highlight will be an award-winning Coonawarra cabernet from 1998. Hopefully the years have been kinder to it than to its owner.
When we were young, post-prandial tradition was for us all to head out into the street for a neighbourhood cricket match, while the (far more sensible) adults had a nanna nap. The thunderstorm might prevent that, but we will see what we can do in the park at the end of our street. My little nephew is now a six foot three inch fast bowler, so the family cricket games are a little more challenging than they used to be.
I have two gay relatives, and they will both be bringing their partners. It's great that they are so at home with us. I have always felt a little sorry for my Uncle Teddie, a gay man who kept his partner separate from the family all his life. Ian, his life partner, was merely a bystander at his funeral. The passing of the years has seen some changes for the good.
As a family, we have had our ups and downs this year. My mother, my brother and I have all had health scares to make you sit up and take notice. On the other hand there have been major birthdays, many babies and my 30th wedding anniversary. It can be easy to glower about the bad news, but we will grin about the good instead. We are all still here and there are a few more of us to welcome, exchange gifts with, and fuss over.
Merry Christmas to you all.
Greg
Hope the thunderstorm doesn't last long or do damage.
