christmas debrief

here's our first christmas away from the house in around 10 years - rated - with pictures...

happiness at sharing our 'cookies for santa' tradition with family.....

6 icing knives happy

cavities required if you dare eat these...

more than my husband's retirement is worth

how much the neighbours loved my sister-in-law and her hubs (pictured) hosting christmas eve carols in their barn

well, let's just say they've been welcomed into the bosom of the neighbourhood

the kids even got into the act. check out the manger. that's a 50 year old doll lent by one of the neighbourhood's "founding family's"
cute rating of miss 6?

immeasureable

(not my child/christmas miracle, but my husband's niece)
i wish i had a fireplace *sigh*

the fun we had with these 2...

miss 12 has always been scared of dogs, but took to lottie (left) instantly. lottie lives in wellington in an apartment and until 3 weeks prior had never seen grass (which is why he pees on the gravel). lottie took to 'doggie boot camp' with gusto. you may recognise ed from my very first blog post

there she is again! (before she ended up wearing half a hay barn)

coffee and champagne. the ONLY way to start christmas morning (well, any morning for that matter)

3 guesses which one of my idiot children is under this santa sack...
my BIL. his christmas hams are legendary
almost as legendary as his musical knowledge and guitar collection

how much i loved receiving not one, but TWO pieces of jewellery for christmas this year

A LOT!!! anklet from the hubs to show off new tattoo and gold hoop earrings from miss 19

yay me.

cousins. they all used to live here in wellington, so enjoyed hanging out for a few days
hubs agreed to be santa. AGAIN. i think he would have been happy to let someone else dish out the presents. given that there was like - a TONNE of them and he had to wait until the end to open his!
AND they have a pool table. with a little practice, i am QUITE the pool sharp.
this is stewart the lamb. he's very friendly. we had his cousin sooty for dinner boxing day. he was good eatin' too
sadly, a visit to the country shows up my CITY girls for the, well, city girls they are.
nature! it's all over me! get it off!
no kiwi christmas lunch would be complete without a game of cricket later in the afternoonplease don't be too impressed. i totally suck at sports. especially ones that involve hitting a ball (of any size)
this is bruce. he used to be a paparazzi photographer in london. he's now a plumber in the hawkes bay. he's acutely aware that one vocation adds way more to the planet than the otherisn't it idyllic? i could have stayed forever...
consider this also as my happy new year to you all too!

here's hoping that 2009 is all that you plan it to be