Multiples of Christmas

This year's Christmas marks a big change for Paul and I. We are used to staying in Boston for Christmas, which means we had established really low key traditions for ourselves. We would take the dogs somewhere to run around off leash, have phone calls with friends and family, open presents, make a yummy dinner and relax at home. That is so not the case this year. Like many of the adjustments we have made as part of our move, one is not necessary better or worse than the other, but it is definitely different.

This year Christmas is happening for us in 5 stages. The first of which occurred on Christmas Eve. My sister and my dad came over to have Christmas dinner with Paul and I. We enjoyed an evening of eating, drinking and being merry. The "being merry" part included talking, opening gifts and watching A Christmas Story "Pulp Fiction Style", as Paul would put it. Since the 24 hour marathon had started before we had finished eating, we turned it on in time to watch the end of one showing and the beginning of the next.

We had a dinner of roasted veggies, quinoa, kale and, for the meat eaters, smoked salmon.

"We" didn't include Jessy, who, after taking one look at dinner, opted for a sandwich. She claims her taste buds are too sensitive for the veggie mix I had concocted, not to mention her strong aversion to the texture of mushrooms and "mushy" vegetables. Luckily I had anticipated her reaction and had sandwich fixings on hand.

I had spotted this recipe for Baked Apples a while back and had been saving it to make for our Christmas dinner. I made a modified version of the recipe and, for Jessy, an even more modified version. It was delicious!

Jessy brought gifts for the dogs which they smelled the second she walked in.

Christmas day brought the second round of Christmas celebrations this time at Paul's parent's house. It had been a really long time since I had seen Paul's sister and her family. It was great to see them, to get to know his nieces better and to meet his nephew. The last time I saw them their little boy was still in utero.

Paul's mom put out a FEAST. We all ate well and took home massive amounts of leftovers. In the corner of this photo you can see Paul's mom taking a photo with the camera she got for Christmas last year. I was sort of lazy with the picture taking, so I neglected to get photos of the other attendees: Paul's mom and dad, Paul's grandma and her boyfriend and Paul and I.

2 down, 3 to go :)