Christmas celebrations

[calissa]

Merry belated Christmas to all those who celebrate it. The last few days have been a whirlwind of friends and family. I recognise that I am very fortunate that this was the case. At the same time, it has been very draining and I have been a bit short on energy. Today was a relatively quiet day and I have been very grateful for it.

There were a few last preparations to be done on Christmas Eve. Sahaquiel and I made two batches of north Indian potato salad (sour cream, Greek yogurt, mustard seeds, chilli flakes, lemon juice and mint. Best potato salad ever). I also made bonbons for the dogs. This involves wrapping a used toilet roll in tissue paper and stuffing it with dog treats. I was almost done when I got busted.



Christmas Day was cool and grey. After the heat of the past week, there were no complaints, though we dragged out our jumpers to eat an outdoor breakfast with Sahaquiel's family. Tropical fruit salad, fresh baked cranberry muffins and banana bread are traditional fare, though the food waits until presents are done. Sahaquiel's family all have a knack for gift giving and I got some very lovely presents. This included Corvus: A Life with Birds which had been put on my wish list after a recommendation from onewhitecrow.

The dogs also got some new toys and enjoyed their bonbons very much. Once things wrapped up (if you'll pardon the pun), we left them with Sahaquiel's family while we headed to my mum's for lunch.

To make life easier for my sister and her new baby, my divorced parents decided to celebrate Christmas together this year. I am very grateful that they still get along well enough to be able to do this, not least because it makes my life a bit easier. As an introvert, Christmas is stressful enough without trying to jam the three families in on one day (which is how the breakfast tradition with Sahaquiel's family got started).

My nephew, William, was sweet enough to sleep through lunch and was very well-behaved, on the whole. My grandmother got to meet him for the very first time and a photo was taken of the four generations together. There were many hugs and much laughter.

Finally, Sahaquiel and I returned to his parents' place for dinner. On the way in we saw this Christmas beetle.



We talked Sahaquiel's family into watching the Muppets Christmas Carol (a gift from my mum to Sahaquiel) before rounding up the dogs and heading home.

All in all, it was a lovely day. Just a bit long.

Comments

[alee_grrl]

Glad you had a lovely day, even if it was a tad long. The dogs are adorable, and that beetle is quite lovely.

[calissa]

<3 Thank you!

[clare_dragonfly]

I'm glad you had a nice day! Is that beetle really called a Christmas beetle?

Thank you for the lovely card!

[calissa]

Christmas beetle is a common name for an entire genus (Anoplognathus). They are members of the scarab family and tend to be out in numbers around this time of year. Most of the ones I see tend to be tan, sometimes with a bit of iridescent green. This one was quite spectacular!

I'm glad that the card arrived safely :)

[darakat]

Sounds like a nice but very busy time. Watching Muppets Christmas Carol has become a xmass tradition for us.

[calissa]

I had noticed that on Instagram. It sounds like a very fine tradition and one I'd consider instituting myself :D

[ofearthandstars]

So glad you were able to have a lovely day. We found our Christmas to be good but exhausting, as well. Also, the dogs are adorable.

Much love to you. ♥

[calissa]

I am glad to hear that you enjoyed it, despite how draining it was. Christmas can be such a challenging time of year.

Love back to you <3

[onewhitecrow]

That is a very bonny beetle.

[calissa]

Agreed! It was a lovely surprise.

[onewhitecrow]

Have you opened Corvus yet?

[calissa]

Not yet, I confess. However, I did finish off the book I was reading last night, so I think I might dive into Corvus next.