Another year has come to an end! Time sure does seem to go faster and faster these days. Rob started the holidays by decorating the house for Christmas. It’s a little hit and miss here whether or not people put lights up which seems strange given you don’t have to try to do it while your fingers are stiff with cold! But Rob puts ours up each year. He also makes sure to add a bow to George – he’s growing up so fast 🙂 And this year, in addition to our regular little Christmas tree (showcasing Rob’s favourite Christmas gift this year), Rob decided to decorate a friend’s plant we agreed to babysit for the holidays.
Unlike Christmases of old, we spent the holidays relaxing at home this year. It’s much more motivating to do that when we are surrounded by sunshine, palm trees, and warm weather. Pictures from family and friends this year definitely reminded us how much we DON’T miss the cold and snow at this time of year in Canada! My poor parents, grandmother and brother (and family) were without power, heat, or water for a few days which was a bit worrying, but fortunately, they were all safe. Not exactly the most enjoyable of Christmases for them though! But since everyone was stuck at home, we were able to catch up with some family, those with power at least!!
After checking in and catching up with family, Rob and I spent Christmas Eve enjoying good food and wine. In Australia, people more traditionally eat seafood and/or ham for Christmas rather than turkey so rather than choose, we do a little of each, starting with a seafood spread for Christmas Eve!
Christmas Eve also meant the last day of my advent calendar for this year. This is only my second advent calendar ever and I think it was even better than the wine one Rob surprised me with last year. I think Rob will regret this one though because I’ve now decided that gin and tonics should only be made with Fever Tree!
Christmas morning began with coffee in the pool (for Rob) and then sharing gifts. I wasn’t on the ball this year and didn’t get any pics of Rob opening his gift (a beer club subscription and kitchen gadgets) but he was camera ready when I opened mine. I can’t tell you how excited I was about this present! Rob definitely had an ulterior motive (not having to help me do a puzzle over the holidays), but it was still such a fun gift!
As I worked away at building my koala, Rob was busy prepping our Christmas dinner. For Rob’s family holidays, his mother always made German potatoes and it was one of my favourite holiday dishes. Rob strongly associates the ‘ch-ch-ch’ sound of the pressure cooker with family holiday meals. With some help from my sister-in-law and a vintage pressure cooker purchase found on Marketplace, we were actually able to enjoy the tradition here in Australia this year.
And of course, Rob also made great use of the smoker for Christmas dinner with another amazing turkey.
After dinner, we enjoyed a gorgeous night time swim and then relaxed by the fire. While enjoying the fire, we were surprised with a Christmas video call from my cousin Getske and her partner from Holland. It was a wonderful way to end our Christmas day!
Boxing Day here is the start of Test Cricket which is a cricket match that lasts many days. It’s actually a really interesting sport, but definitely one Rob understands better than me. I watched it in bits and pieces between swimming, reading, and building my koala but Rob was a true Australian and watched most of it. Maybe one day we’ll get a chance to see a cricket match live.
The holidays also gave us a great excuse to use up the last of our Caesar Pleaser 🙁 Fortunately, we have friends currently visiting Canada so we put them on a mission and are hoping for a few more packets to get us through 2023.
And just like that it was New Years Eve. We started the day with a 3-hour catch up with amazing friends and finished it with more eating and drinking. Rob made us another seafood fest and then we enjoyed some Manhattans and champagne while watching the Sydney fireworks to ring in the new year. And I was pretty excited that one of the final songs of the night was an all-time favourite – Dog Days Are Over. I have so many amazing memories associated with that song I don’t think I’ll ever tire of it!
Thankfully, I didn’t have to go straight back to work after New Years so I’ve been enjoying a few final lazy days before the chaos begins again. Most of those days have included lots of reading by the pool but we’ve also managed to watch a little World Juniors hockey and of course, a lot of tennis (January is the month of tennis in Australia). I’ve loved having so much time to relax and catch up on sleep, but will admit, I’m looking just a little bit forward to getting back to the structures and routines of work. As chaotic as it can sometimes be, I still truly love what I do!
Happy 2023 everyone!