2.5 Down, One to Go

Well, we promised three Christmases, but had a surprise visit this afternoon from our friends Sjoerd and Michael from next door.  We discussed politics, talked about having Frisian horse butts outside your kitchen window, and had a glass of prosecco in the middle of the afternoon.

Last night, we had a lovely dinner with Grazyna and Howard, consisting of:

• Prosecco (seems to be a theme...)
• Cocoa truffles
• Grilled salmon
• Cabbage and mushroom perogies
• Borscht with dumplings
• Steamed asparagus
• Steamed fresh potatoes
• Couscous with cranberries and pecans
• Chardonnay
• Brussels sprouts
• Apple strudel
• Kutia - Polish / Ukranian/ Slavic charoset
• Kenyan coffee liqueur
• Israeli honey liqueur
• Tea

I don't know if all of that was authentically Polish, but it was authentically pretty terrific.  And then we stayed up until just past midnight solving the world's problems; although, since we didn't fully agree on everything, we have some work left to do.

Back home, crashing into bed.  Then up this morning at about 9:00 to finish wrapping the last of packages, and then Christmas morning with Mom.  A fun fabulous time; as Mom said, every gift was clearly intended to be exactly for whom it was for.  There were no generic "oh, gee, that's really nice..." moments.  (It's unseemly to talk about one's Christmas loot, but Nora and Mom conspired to have a brand new Theirry Layani pool cue delivered from Montreal...  My gosh, it's gorgeous!)

We made scrambled eggs and bagels and cheese for lunch, then cleaned up enough (both the apartment and Nora & I...) to be presentable for Sjoerd and Michael's arrival.  Now we're cleaning up once again, and will leave for Ellis and Joanna's in about half an hour.

A lovely weekend thus far, with more to come.  We hope that yours has been terrific as well.