Now that the New Year is upon us, my computer seems to be covered with ads touting various diets and physical fitness schemes. I always thought that this was related to one of those silly New Year’s resolution things where everyone seems to pledge to eat healthier and get more exercise in the new year. I have always avoided those kind of things in the past, but this year I might have to jump in the boat with everyone else. It’s not that I have a sudden wish to be healthier and loose weight, it’s just that our Christmas celebrations this year seem to all have involved a holiday meal, and there were lots of them!
Our first holiday meal was actually the Hill Hardware employees Christmas party. We had it at the El Patrone Mexican restaurant in Middlefield and Jared, Paul and his wife Marge, as well as Mary Anne and I all attended. I love spicy food, and we had a great meal and marked the end of another year at the Old Hardware Store. “Faliz Navidad!”, as they say.
Our next Christmas dinner was during our family Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve. All the kids and their families, as well as Mary Anne’s nephew, brother, his lady friend attended. We exchanged gifts and pulled the tables together for a big family meal. Mary Anne and I made a turkey and everyone brought a side dish to share. By the end of the evening I was stuffed (just like the turkey).
Our dinner on Christmas day was much smaller, but just as special. My wife and I took dinner over to my Mom’s house, as she had been unable to attend the family dinner the night before. Mary Anne cooked up Mom’s favorite, lamb chops, and although we had a little trouble rounding up the requisite mint jelly, it all came together in time for a nice meal.
The final Christmas dinner was the next day, as my sister and her family drove in from Maryland to visit. We were about done with formal Christmas dinners by then, so we just picked up some Chinese food at a restaurant in Chagrin and had that. We had gifts again, and had a great time. I guess that as long as the family is around, Christmas dinner can be anything. Now that the last meal was over it was time to start eating sensibly. Of course our next activity was New Years’ up in New York at Chad and Kate’s new cabin. There wouldn’t be any outlandish meals there…