It's Christmas time

Christmas was a very low key affair this year. We began on Christmas Eve when we Facetimed Kate and Kim. They announced that they had already opened the hamper we sent and urged us to open their present to us. Of course I protested that you never open presents before Christmas Day but I was overruled and so we tackled the very large cardboard box they had sent. Oh my goodness!!!!!! Let's just say our drinks trolley is groaning under the weight.  We can't wait to try out new cocktails.

To celebrate, I made a Pisco Sour... which Steve swiftly devoured.

 

I dug out our supply of Christmas songs and popped them into the player. While it wasn't a warm night, there was certainly no snow, no sound of any jingling bells and not a snowman in sight.  And while I was listening to these songs of the northern hemisphere, it brought to mind the carols we sang in primary school - way back in the 50s. The ones I remember mentioned hot winds and dry wheat fields and bellbirds singing in fern gullies - much more Australian and relevant, I thought.

These carols seem to have vanished as I never hear them now. I don't listen to the radio anymore so perhaps they are played. Anyway I did a bit of research and found out who wrote them. They were two people working at the ABC. Together they wrote a number of Australian Christmas carols beginning in 1948. They were William James, the musical director and James Wheeler, a scriptwriter. The ones I remember and can still sing include 'The Carol of the Birds' (Out on the plains the brolgas are dancing, Lifting their feet like war horses prancing...'; 'The Three Drovers' (The black swans flew across the sky, the wild dog called across the plain') and my favourite of all 'The North Wind':

The north wind is tossing the leaves

The red dust is over the town

The sparrows are under the eaves

And the grass in the paddock is brown

As we lift up our voices and sing

To the Christ child the Heavenly king.

It was all so much better bellowing out about the hot wind blowing over the paddocks than riding in the
snow on a sleigh. All so evocative and much more appropriate.

Our Christmas Day was relaxed and happy with present opening and texting to friends who had given me such thoughtful gifts. My dear sister supplied me with healthy spreads (can't wait to try out the beetroot and chickpea one) and a book of walks in the Adelaide Hills, something to definitely look forward to. Sharon helpfully supplied me with much-needed beauty aids. Steve gave me this gorgeous book which made me yearn to visit again. The photographs are beautiful.

He was amused with this 1,000 piece jigsaw of old Australian stamps I found at Australia Post.

For breakfast we had scrambled eggs and my traditional cranberry muffins, made each year since Kate introduced them to me about 10 years ago, and which really are yummy. Lunch was delicious with crayfish, prawns and salads.  We even had the first tomato from Steve's crop.

The evening meal .... well, we didn't feel like much, and made do with a slice of ham and the salad leftovers.  The end to a lovely Christmas and - for a whole year - no more Christmas carols, crayfish, cards and carbs!