The 12 Days Before, During and After Christmas

It's been a while since our last post, we've been quite busy trying to survive the holidays.

The week before Christmas was very full with preparations even though it was just going to be the two of us. Adding to the insanity was some of the craziest weather Aberdeen has seen in quite some time. Snow and temperatures consistently below freezing left the roads in an awful mess. Aberdonians not used to icy roads proceeded to make an even greater mess. Airports were closed, flights were cancelled. Then came the rain, followed by more freezing temperatures, so now a few weeks later we still have a thick layer of ice everywhere. It was nice to have a white Christmas, but now it is getting old.

We also had trouble shaking the colds we had developed early in December. While the worst of it was gone in time for Christmas we both had nagging coughs that still haven't gone away.

We had a great Christmas Eve, though. I worked for a half day before coming home. We had decided on a somewhat non-traditional dinner of buffalo wings, which worked out perfectly. It also gave us a reason to invest in a deep-fryer, which we couldn't quite bring ourselves to do before.

We also got a good start on our Christmas puzzle. Having finished one already this season, we were in the groove and mostly done by the time we called it a night.

Christmas morning we had a good sleep-in, one of the first times we've done that, and then tackled the pile of presents left by a generous Mr. Claus. I scored some blu-rays and hiking equipment (for my planned assault on the peak of Ben Nevis in May) while Fiona received some jewelry, books and a some painting equipment - artistic painting, not industrial.

We put a great turkey in the oven and experimented with the British tradition of roasting potatoes in goose fat. Add sprouts and cranberry sauce and Christmas dinner was complete and fantastic. Gladly there was enough left over for a turkey and leek pie the next day.

We haven't been out and about too much during the holidays (icy roads, remember), but the last couple of days we've managed to go see the new Sherlock Holmes movie (average at best) and attend the annual Aberdeen Snow Ball, an event we loved last year. Then we went with a large group, but with the exodus of ex-pats this year we couldn't scrape the necessary people for a full table. We decided to go anyway and found that the organizers has set a table for two for us in amongst all the other tables for 10. It was nice for dinner, but a little lonely afterwards. Fortunately some kind people came over and invited us to join them. A great table full of Scots willing to teach us a few more of the dances we didn't already know. Fiona went round the floor doing a Gay Gordon and I joined a group for a Round of 8 Reel. Both of us sat and stared in amazement at the complicated maneuvers involved in the Reel of the 51st. Maybe next year we'll be fleet enough of foot to give it a try.

Snow shoes ...

Fiona and I have both been quite ill lately. No worries, nothing swine-y, just a pretty bad cold. I started and Fiona ran herself down taking care of me and succumbed a couple of days later. Hers, of course, is worse than mine was.

So we were both in need of a pick me up this afternoon, and we got one in the form of a wonderful, thick, fluffy snowfall. It was really beautiful to see all that white covering up the dull greyness of Aberdeen in winter.

I think there was one in our family that enjoyed it even more. Casey ran around like an absolute nutcase, burying her nose in it, trying to catch snowballs and thoroughly loving every minute. We think it reminded her of her puppy-hood back in Canada. She used to come back into the house with gigantic "snowshoes" - clumps of snow that accumulated on her paws, and she'd sit in front of the fire and let them melt on our rug. Today she's decided to try and lick them off. How considerate.

The Christmas Spirit

We're a little miffed that we're missing the snowy weather in Houston. It snowed the day before we arrived 5 years ago, and now again after we're gone. But we're having no problems getting into the Christmas spirit over here, for a couple of reasons.

The first of which is that it is Sinterklaas tonight - the Dutch Christmas. If you've been good all year, Sinterklaas and his assistant Zwarte Piet (Black Peter) will leave presents in your shoe and throw candies in your door. Fiona and I have been ever so good and will be singing at the top of our lungs tonight in an effort to score some pepernootjes.

Second reason - fabulous neighbours. We had our old neighbours from Belgrave Terrace over for dinner last night. We had a great time. Fiona made her signature ribs and everyone laughed at the giant platter I hauled in from the barbeque, but at the end of the night there was not one left. Death By Chocolate for dessert and a fabulous new shrimp recipe as an appetizer meant that we were all too stuffed to think straight for the games of Sequence that followed. At least that's my excuse - the ladies trounced the men 3-0.

Third reason - Christmas movies. We just finished watching Fred Claus. Quite amusing with a great soundtrack that will be playing while we finish our Christmas cards tonight.

Fourth reason - a well-decorated Christmas tree. It is up and it always seems to change the atmosphere of the room. Just puts you in a good mood to see it there.

Fifth reason - a big pot of chill cooking up in the kitchen.

Sixth reason - ESPN America. Got signed up just in time for the big Alabama-Florida game this evening. Football, a brewski and a steaming bowl of chili - fabulous!

I'm freezing cold ... and I'm not going to take it anymore!

The weather has taken a turn for the worse, something I didn't think was possible a few weeks ago. It has gotten cold, with nights well below freezing, and the rain continues. We're having to drag Casey out of the house for the walks that she used to beg us for. We'll walk out of the house and she'll stop dead in front of the car and look at us as if to say, "Don't you think a drive would be a better idea?"

We tried to heat things up by trying once again to replicate our favorite Texas fast food restaurant, Chipotle. We met with the greatest success we've had to date. Chilli corn - check. Lime-cilantro rice - yes. Carnitas - perfect. Salsa and guacamole - flawless. Did we write down any of the recipes? No. Lightning in a bottle, I guess.

We've been a little remiss with updates recently and that's because our beloved MacBook spent the week fighting for its life. Having already died and been ressusitated twice, it lost the third of its nine lives via a full glass of wine and a clumsy dog. We were completely hamstrung and unable to function. We were trying to write Christmas cards, but the addresses were in the computer. Trying to study for the driver's exam - no access to CD-ROM, computer is out. Want to look at photos - sorry, computer's down. A little disappointing that lack of CPU can cause such distress, but we're 21st century digital creatures.

I did pass my driver's theory test today. It comes in two parts, 50 multiple choice questions followed by 14 video clips of normal driving scenes where you have to click to identify the hazards. You need 43 out of 50 on the multiple choice and 44 out of 75 on the hazard perception. I scored 48 on m/c and 63 out of 75 on the hazard perception. I now know that you are not to use your horn in a built up area between 11:30pm and 7am. The world is a safer and better place. And now on to the practical ... and good luck to Fiona, who writes her test on Monday.