Post Christmas and walking the dog

Christmas festivities done and dusted and despite any reservations about the commercialised craziness, I enjoyed every minute. My 88 yo mum joined the Christmas Eve dinner at Dave and Pauline’s, along with an Italian couple whose friendship dates from Dave’s school days when Matteo was an exchange student. For Matteo’s wife Martina’s first southern hemisphere Christmas the cool, wet weather let Sydney down badly, but we made up for it with Dave’s Hungarian feast, followed by Aussie seafood Christmas lunch. 

      

Dave had been to the fish markets at 4.30 am on Christmas Eve for the best and the freshest and even at that uncivilized hour, the markets were “heaving” showing how far many stray from the regulation turkey and ham. Adding more international flavour to the mix of food and drink we inserted the wicked Irish humour of “Mrs. Brown’s Boys Christmas Special” ... hilarious! 

Another cold wet day in the Blue Mountains on Boxing Day but any outdoor activities we missed were made up for with lunch. Along with the traditional ham, Dave and Pauls treated us to rare roast beef and a plethora of delectable vegetable dishes. A great plate of kale, asparagus, beans and other crisp, bright greens, slow roasted tomatoes, finely sliced and grilled aubergine with sour cream and pomegranate seeds, a salad of artichoke hearts, fennel and roasted almonds, rissoni with nuts and a huge tray of the standby, traditional - roast potatoes!. Wow, a vegie lover’s delight and to hear Dave say “gee I love kale”, made me very optimistic for the health of my future grandchildren!

Then back to my dog-sitting duties in Balmain. While dear friends and their grown children set forth on Christmas Day for Paris, then on to their apartment in Ste. Foy I was commissioned to walk the stay-at-home dog and that was very much George’s modus operandi. Warned that he was stubborn about walking (or not walking more to the point) I was clear about a change of orders. We walked! Christmas and all it brings might mean comatose but George and I are setting a cracking pace heading into the New Year.