This Christmas I will be.......
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This is such a lovely thread!I had a wobbly moment a couple of weeks ago when the boys and I were putting the tree up; realising what a different place I’m in compared to last Christmas.Usually we head down to Perth on Boxing Day to see all our family. But this year, after my whirlwind 3 months of BC upheaval, which included many trips to and stays in hospital in Perth I have demanded we stay home this year.I’m so grateful for my health, my body recovering and my strength returning.I’m grateful that I found my lump, took myself to the doctor and was brave enough to go for my mammogram.I’m grateful my surgeon and her team looked after me so well.
I’m grateful the cancer had not spread beyond my breast and the only post-operative treatment I require is 10 years of Tamoxifen.
I’m grateful for my sense of humour which has helped me and is still helping me through all the terrifying and shitty moments.I’m grateful for the incredible support that has been made available to me, not only medically but also groups like this where I have found reassurance, understanding and kindness.
I’m looking forward to spending time with my husband and boys, stuffing my face with good food on Christmas Day. We’ve planned our meal and already made a practice dessert!
Xxxx lots of love to you all8 -
Here’s my recipe for Mum’s Boiled Fruit Cake! It is all made in one big saucepan ..... then pour into a lined cake tine and decorate as you please ... the perfect Xmas Cake!
https://onlinenetwork.bcna.org.au/discussion/18971/what-are-your-easiest-tastiest-meals-quick-to-prepare-when-you-cant-think-of-anything/p11
Don’t forget to whack up any cool, easy recipes on the thread!
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Ah Christmas, I love the whole shebang. Normally there is the tree, the decorations and Christmas lights. However not this year. I think that age, weariness, fatigue and an inability to get these lungs of mine working properly has contributed.
My "Husband and I" enjoy a quiet Christmas - just the two of us. Christmas food though is much to the fore and usually we cook for twenty even though there is just we two. This year we have scaled the food down somewhat, but not the traditional Christmas Pudding which is an event in itself.
The fruit is soaked in sherry and stirred daily from the beginning of November and then the pudding is steamed for six hours in early December. Ah, this year it turned out lovely. And the best outcome, the bottom did not fall off, and did not require jamming back on in the hope that no one will notice unlike last year!
From now until Christmas Day a cap full of sherry will be lovingly poured over to marinate. Opening the back verandah fridge requires one to hold their breath to avoid being overcome by the fumes.
Now, acquiring a bottle of sherry in our Kimberley town is an art in itself, because of our alcohol restrictions fortified wines are not permitted under our Alcohol Accord". Whiskey, brandy, rum all allowed - but not sherry!
So, you sidle up to your friendly bottle shop owner muttering the password " it's Christmas Pudding Time", to which there is a reply of " I guess you are going to need one of these" and out from under the counter comes a brown paper bag containing the requisite fortified wine. Cash changes hands and you leave, innocently clutching the brown paper bag. Many a time I have been tempted to find a park bench on the way home, but the pudding requires its marinating.
On the day, said pudding will be decorated with plastic holly to look authentic and then set alight with brandy (after plastic decorations are removed, not like one year!)
I like the weeks leading up to Christmas, the build up of the wet season, the afternoon thunderstorms, the Christmas lights competition that usually is drowned out by the thunderstorms, the touring of town to view the lights competition in the rain, the quietness of the town when all the government employees leave to escape the heat and when the NGO's leave to return to their southern capital cities after having "saved" us all year.
Yay.
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This xmas I will be................partying with my crazy xmas loving family.
It's hard to believe four years ago xmas day was two weeks after my first chemo. Crazy how time flies.
The tree is up and gorgeous. Three out of four of my girls have left home and I text them all to say I was putting up the tree that afternoon and they all showed up after work to help with wine. How nice is that?
You never know how xmas day is going to go here. 2018 was so hot we packed the whole xmas lunch and our eskies on the back of the ute and found a big shady tree in the paddock for lunch. You can't get much more Aussie xmas than that!
Inevitabley it will end up with everyone getting thrown in the pool at some stage and more than likely a very rowdy game of cards to finish of the night.
Loooooveee xmas
Remember.......
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This Christmas i will be enjoying my family with no work stress. Awesome!7
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Our family's Christmas pudding memories are these. My most beloved mother-in-law (known by the kiddies when little as Annie and grandpa who was Pumma) would have collected five cent pieces over the year. The resulting loot was then boiled for a good ten minutes then drained and cooled.Her two small apprentices were perched on wooden steps and armed with a wooden spoon each. As each coin was added one at a time they would alternately stir in the coin with this chant... "I wish I wish a jolly good wish...and I wish that my wish would come true" Next coin...rinse and repeat. After putting in the pot to steam, Annie would then (with her helpers of course) make a delicious chocolate cake, making sure that there were plenty of leftovers in the bowl to be scraped and licked up.6
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@AllyJay
I still have my mother's collection of Christmas Pudding sixpence coins from my childhood. Each year the Christmas Pudding was "loaded" and Mother made sure that in my younger brother's and my slice of pudding was a sixpence or two.
This was in the 1950's. I missed those sixpences when decimal currency was introduced - just was not the same.
After Mother died, I was given her beautiful jarrah sideboard (still have it) and when I was cleaning it out, there in one of the drawers was the little bag of Christmas sixpences.
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Oh dear, @jennyss - I know just how upset I would have been if it was my best uke!
Love it, @AllyJay - it really is as much about tradition & family heritage as anything!
One of my Grandmothers actually had a little bag of solid silver 'trinkets' she used to put in the cake instead of coins. (Coins were bigger tho & probably easier not to accidentally swallow!) Everyone was in fear of swallowing one of these trinkets, cos they knew they'd get a dose of 'something' to make it 'come out' again sometime soon ...... so we used to squash the pudding flat, to find them, before ingesting them! LOL4
