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I
worked on the Christmas photos this morning so we could get
one mailed off. Linda and Ivor have lots of holiday tasks to
complete in preparation for 3 days of celebrating. First
problem was a frozen turkey, not a fresh one as ordered.
Fortunately they found one at another butcher. There are three
butchers in the immediate little shopping area and 2 groceries
which also sell meat. Daniel and AD left to take a train for a
12:15 movie. They returned to tell us the trains weren’t
running until later this afternoon. DW and I were heading down
to Chatswood anyway so we all went by bus.
DW & I dropped the boys off at the theatre to see the new
Loonie Tunes movie. They were confident in their ability to
catch a train back to Lindfield. (It is only 2 stops north on
the northbound train.) We went to both of the malls in this
district. They are only 2 blocks apart. The streets and stores
were jammed with last minute Christmas shoppers like
ourselves. A few things we wanted were sold out. Last minutes
shoppers must get used to that frustration. Before returning
to Lindfield, we stopped at an internet location and sent off
our Christmas Greeting email. What a surprise it was to find
Daniel and AD had beat us back.
L & I had a 5 PM cocktail party at a friend’s house. DW & I
fixed grilled chicken and Caesar salad for dinner. That’s
certainly an easy one. We had found our favorite salad
dressing in a store. Sydney has a tradition of fresh seafood
during the holidays. The fish market is open 24 hours a day on
Christmas week. L & I and Martin drove down to buy prawns and
oysters for the coming feast. We stayed back and played
hearts. Noise attracted our attention in the back yard. There
was a family of owls in the trees, making the strangest
sounds. Josie wouldn’t stop barking at them and had to spend
the night in the house.
Big day of preparation lay ahead of us.
Ivor spent the entire day cooking for two big days of
partying. Tonight, the Claydons are having a Christmas Eve
party for 20. Linda and DW drove off after breakfast to find
vegetables and have some auto repair work done. Ivor walked to
the butcher to pick up the fresh turkey, ham and sausage.
Problems loomed for the day. The girls couldn’t find green
beans or asparagus at the green grocer. On the third stop they
finally did but also got a parking ticket! Then Ivor came home
with a frozen turkey. “Just won’t do”. He took it back and
after multiple phone calls found a fresh one.
Once
the cooking began, I spent my time trying to be the chef’s
assistant by cutting up stuff and keeping the kitchen clean.
Ivor had a regular production line running. He made mince
tarts, sausage rolls, spring rolls, Tandoori kabobs, and many
others things. As well as working on tomorrow’s feast. The
boys seemed to be tired of each other. Which doesn’t come as
any surprise. No one else wanted to swim (I did with AD).
Some
of the company arrived at 7:30 PM. The food was brought out in
waves. Fortunately two more boys came and that brought the
others alive. They swam and ran around. The adults sat at the
picnic table talking. We met some of Linda’s oldest friends
and a family from Daniel’s school. No one stayed very late and
each family had a designated driver. OZ is very strict about
drinking and driving. After company left, we sat on the patio
and Daniel played some CD’s for us. He’s has a very eclectic
sense of tunes.
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