Well, our little vacation is drawing to a close. It's been fun, but a bit hectic. I've gained three pounds as of today, so it's maybe a good thing the holidays are over. Have to get back on my bicycle when we get back to Norwich.

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Christmas was festive and full of gifts. The poor tree was almost dwarfed by the amount of presents underneath it. According to Kristen and Jenna, this was the most presents in recent memory. We've got a lot of new kitchen utensils and other useful items to bring back!

The Catholic Mass on Christmas Eve was an interesting experience. Though I am far from being religious, I'm always intrigued by religious customs. It was enlightening to be a part of this, despite feeling grossly out of place and a bit overwhelmed by the in-unison responses to the priest's sermon. Kristen and Jenna were as flumoxed as I was, I think. At the beginning of the service, as everyone was arriving, people were so noisy. It sounded like a cafeteria in there! Even I was a little appalled at this. It just seemed like people should have had a little more decorum, but that's just me.

Christmas dinner (on the 25th) was divine. We ate around 4:30 in the afternoon. The meal was cooked by J-Mom, Kristen, Jenna, and I. Before Mass, on Christmas Eve, I injected the turkey with homemade marinade, something you usually do when you are going to deep-fry the turkey. However, we cooked this turkey in an oven bag. Now, I have been swearing for years that the ONLY way to get a juicy, succulent turkey is to deep-fry it (not as greasy as it sounds, by the way). I have now seen how wrong I was. J-Mom's oven-bag method worked wonders! Definitely a great alernative to the hassle of dealing with 4 gallons of peanut oil and an outdoor cooker. But I digress... in addition to the turkey we also had honey-glazed ham, sweet-potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, homemade gravy, mustard sauce, cranberry sauce (whole and gelatinous), and deviled eggs. We had brought some "Christmas Crackers" from England which we pulled before dinner, so we could all wear the silly paper crowns while we ate. No dessert on the menu, but I did steam a small English Christmas Pudding which three of us shared. Not bad. A lot of raisins in that thing, though!

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We had leftovers tonight and earlier today for lunch. Kristen and J-Mom made the pumpkin pie which was supposed to be for yesterday. They had decided to make it tomorrow, but I lobbied steadily for it to be made today and they conceded.

Tomorrow is packing day. We have a lot of errands to run. Need to go to the storage room and Borders (for Kristen to use a gift certificate). We're going to try to squeeze in a lunch at Markum Inn which was our "last meal" here before we moved to Belgium a little over a year ago. It might be the last time we can go to it because J-Mom and Jake are moving from Aurora. Anyway, I hope we can fit all of our crap into the suitcases and still be within the weight limit (70lbs MAX).

We fly out at 6:20am on the 28th. Have to be at the airport at 4:00am. Sheesh! We arrive in London at around 9:00am on the 29th. Then we have to pick up our rental car and drive to Norwich. We are going to be some tired little bastards!

-RP-