Feliz Navidad

This year I was invited to spend Christmas with Roisin's family. I got to decorate their Christmas tree. Aside from fulfilling a secret childhood fantasy (having been deprived of even a Chanukah bush in my youth), I also got to experience an Irish-flavoured Christmas. Both Roisin and I chuckled (later on skype) at how funny it was that I was spending Christmas with her family as her replacement, and she was in Jerusalem celebrating Chanukah with my fellow brethen!

I even attended Midnight Mass. I am completely guilty of falling asleep during the service, but in my defence, I wasn't the only one. The cherry on top was not understanding a single word the Head Priest had to say until he wished us all, "Feliz Navidad". I was reassured later - when in the car and out of earshot - that I too wasn't the only one lost.

Feliz Navidad!

The most fascinating part of this holiday has got to be the food. It is quite the production. On the Eve, Roisin's mother prepared roast ham flavoured with cloves and grapefruit juice, and an array of delicious trimmings too long to list. I thought this was the "big meal", until Roisin's father started to calculate at which hour the turkey needs to be in the oven the following day. Stuffed to the gills, we attended Mass to return home only to continue cooking. I helped Roisin's mother prepare the Christmas breakfast special until 3am in the morning! It pretty much is a monsterous casserole consisting of the following layers (bottom to top): wonder bread, leeks, green pepper, cheddar, bacon & ham (for the vegetarians, shitake mushrooms), another layer of wonder bread, soaked in an egg-milk mixture, topped with Special K cereal, and drenched with maple syrup. The name's "Christmas Morning Wifesaver". (It's okay to laugh).

For the millionth time, too much food was consumed and I was in need of exercise again! Using the dog as an excuse, Roisin's father and I took the dog out for a walk, when it was really us who needed to go for a walk. Roughly, 3 hours of it! We ventured along Homestead Trail, Seymour Trail and up around Rice Lake. One of the most magical hikes ever!

On the way up...

Frost evaporating...


A tree stump is a place for new growth...


Frosted tips on a cedar sapling...


Winter has arrived...


Meet Venus! She's part chow...


Frozen winterland...


It deserved a close-up...


Tiny frozen pools...


Shattering icerods...

At first, I thought this was cotton wood. Turns out, it's ice! I am guessing that moisture or sap emanating from this particular type of tree, at this specific altitude and temperature, freezes into fine puffs of ice, creating ice forms as fluffy as cotton.

Seymour river...


The riverbed...


Downstream...


Upstream...


Final destination: Rice Lake!


On the way back...

Remnants of a turn-of-the-century
logging community...


I wouldn't mind living under this tree...

That evening, we stuffed ourselves silly again, only this time with the traditional Christmas dinner of my dreams. On the table was a turkey with sausage drippings, decadent gravy, shitake bread stuffing, homemade cranberry-orange sauce, boiled purple potatoes, and spicey brussell sprouts. Although this meal completely reversed the good the walk had done us, it was well worth it!