Our Christmas was wet, mild and quiet. My uncle came for lunch on Christmas Day, otherwise we were among ourselves.
We had a minor uproar, when my Dad incinerated a mincemeat tart. My parents had bought a package of mincemeat tarts and a jar of brandy butter. The mincemeat tarts came in aluminum foil cups, which had to be removed before heating them in a microwave. While peeling off the aluminum foil cups, one of the tarts broke apart, so I set it aside and put the remaining tarts onto a plate to heat them in the microwave. A bit later, my Dad announced that he was going to fix the broken tart. He took off into the cellar (my parents’ microwave is in the basement – don’t ask). “Don’t forget to remove the foil”, I called after him. After a few minutes, there was a pang and a nasty smell from downstairs. Turns out that my Dad did forget to remove the foil and promptly incinerated the tart. Luckily, no real damage was done and we still had enough tarts left over to eat.
And now for some photos:
Our Christmas tree. This tree must have experienced a growth spurt in the past year and has long, spindly branches. The branches were also surprisingly strong, so that I could put even the heavier ornaments onto the higher branches. For decorating purposes, this was a very good tree instead.
Close-up of the top of the tree. I shot this without flash, so it’s kind of dim. Note the lit beeswax candles, the woodshavings angels, porcelain cone ornaments, 1960s paper apples, Hallmark Tasmanian Devil, rhinestone studded gold heart and various Erzgebirge style wood ornaments.
Another Christmas tree close-up, also somewhat dim because it was shot without flash. You can see one of our natural beeswax candles, an angel on a golden ball, a bell with holly branches and a red cardinal, which my parents bought in the US in 1978 and a Scandinavian style moose ornament.
I’ve always called this thing the “Madonna of the glowing heart”, It’s
a china ornament lit from the inside by a votive candle. It’s approximately 25 years old now and a great favourite of my Mom’s. My Dad and I don’t particularly like it. But this shot came out really well, so here it is.
This year’s Christmas card haul.
My Mom and my Dad on Christmas Eve.
My uncle and my Dad. The wreath on the fireplace was handstitched by my Mom approx. 35 years ago. It’s always been a great favourite of mine.
Wrapped Christmas presents – my Dad’s.
Wrapped Christmas presents – my Mom’s
Wrapped Christmas presents – mine
Unwrapped Christmas presents – my Dad’s. I “censored” the calendar for those browsing at work.
Unwrapped presents – my Mom’s. I’m trying to get her into Steampunk.
Unwrapped presents – mine. There’s a necklace (from my aunt and uncle), some Belgian chocolates, a mini calendar, lots of books, including the long awaited fifth and sixth books in Shanna Swendson “Enchanted Inc.” series and a Kobo Glo e-reader, which is currently displaying a selection of Pegasus Pulp e-books.
A close-up of my new Kobo Glo e-reader displaying some of my own books.
sending...
I love the way that your parents’ living-room has its liberal dosage of nippes. Reminds me of my parents’ living room (we also have leather sofas ^^). Also love your dad’s love for alcohol and sexy ladies (and that your mom doesn’t mind – mine would be up in arms about that calendar).
Welcome to the ebook reader owners, may it work well for you for a long time.
Various good and free ebooks at Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/249822
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/63279
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/18799
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/118713 – this one only makes sense if you’ve read the previous trilogy which isn’t free
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/86334
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/14856
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3738 – recommended by the Booksmugglers, I have yet to read it.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/31003 – I really enjoyed this book and have a few of the follow-ups already on my reader.
And of course those daily deals at DearAuthor.com might be of interest now, romance-wise.
My Mom actually bought him that calendar. That is, I ordered it at Amazon for her, so she doesn’t have to drag it through the city and endure snickering stares from young bookstore employees, because elderly ladies are not expected to buy sexy calendars. The bottles are mostly from friends and business partners (and my uncle). We got a lot more when I was a kid and it was more common for companies to send gifts to their business partners.
Thanks for the e-book tips. I’ll check them out.
heh ^^. I like your mom’s sense of humour.
When my dad still was CEO for the company he worked for, we got a lot of alcohol for Christmas too – oh and ham and salmon. Heh.
We always got lots of salmon around Christmas, too. But this year, there wasn’t any for some reason. Back in the 1980s, we also got coffee table books sometimes and once a set of cooking pots.
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