The Jean Who Saved Christmas, 25 Dec 2012

Christmas eve Jean and I went to midnight mass at Trinity College with the Canterbury Fellowship. Great music, but a bit heavy on the incense, and lasted until 1:30am. So Christmas morning started with a late breakfast of fruit toast french toast on the deck. Fruit toast is like cinnamon raisin bread, but "it has sultanas in it." (This is what every person who I've talked to about how delicious fruit toast is has responded.) Thanks to Google, I can tell you that a sultana is a white seedless grape that's dried. Thanks to the Christmas experiment, I can tell you it also makes delicious French toast.

We enjoyed some quality time with the dogs, and then headed out to the Melbourne aquarium on free public transport. Thanks to all the tram and train drivers who worked on Christmas so people could enjoy the holiday with their families!

Jean and I thought the aquarium would be pretty quiet on Christmas day because everyone would be home with their families. Turns out many Jews, Hindus, Muslims, atheists and other non-Christian folks thought the same. It was pretty busy. The penguins had a lot of people to check out.

Fortunately, having all those other people around meant that it was easy to find strangers willing to take a picture of the two of us. Although maybe we were the strange ones...

Jean wanted to go diving with the sharks, but alas, they were all booked during her time here. So we both vowed to do diving lessons so we could do the Great Barrier Reef next time she visits...

In place of diving with the sharks, Jean got a picture with a squid. Now she's telling people that's what happened to her back. Apparently "attacked by squid" is a more glamorous tale than "therapeutically suction cupped by a secret Asian man."

When we got back to the house, preparations commenced for the Christmas meal. I played the dual supporting roles usually held by our mom and grandma. So I was MommyG, sous chef ("what can I do next Jean?") and Grandma Thelma (washing dishes galore). Jean really does use every pot in the kitchen - some of them twice.

After we got all the bits of the lasagne ready and the lasagne assembled, we realized we couldn't remember how to light the aged gas oven. Janet had showed us before she left, but all Jean and I remembered was that she basically climbed into the oven with a lighter. I tried that, Jean tried that, but besides it being a tight fit (Janet is smaller than we are) nothing happened. No gas coming into the stove. So our eyebrows were safe, but things didn't look hopeful for the lasagne.

At this point it was around 6:30 pm, the breakfast fruit toast and the "Lord of the Fries" chips we shared before the aquarium were a distant memory. I was getting the kind of irascible I get when hungry. Not exactly embodying the Christmas spirit. Couldn't reach Janet for assistance...I was thinking of throwing some chicken on the grill, or calling the fire station around the corner to give them some entertainment and get us some help. Jean was undaunted. She hopped on the internet and figured out there was a little lever we needed to wiggle to get the gas flowing - and the stove lit no problem. Christmas dinner was saved!

With the meal under control, I decided to give the dogs a bath - they are supposed to be white but had been darkening shades of gray since our arrival. And stinky. Particularly since we'd given them real bones from the market that they'd been gnawing on outside all afternoon. Each one had bits left on their little faces, which would later be in the bed with us. Ick. Nice to have dogs that fit easily into the laundry sink.

Dogs clean, food prepared, Jean and I sat down for a fabulous Christmas dinner, including home made rhubarb apple crisp. When we were finished we looked at how much was left, and agreed we'd never eat it all. So we took most of the left overs over to the fire station. That was more fun than having them come to our place because we blew up the oven.

Janet had thoughtfully left presents for Jean and I (and the dogs) under the tree. This was fortunate, because Jean and I didn't get each other anything and I had already opened the presents from home. (Thanks, family!) I got a cute handbag sized umbrella. (Janet has been nagging me to get one - apparently looking like a drowned rat isn't particularly professional. I have been resisting because I don't want one more thing to carry around while I'm walking everywhere. Plus, every time I've gotten wet, I dry out after. It's not like it lasts forever.)

Jean got an apron and a tea towel. If we had opened gifts first, she totally would have worn that while cooking!

We wrapped up the day lounging on the couches and watching NCIS re-runs on TV, just like we would at home in Kalamazoo. So while we were far from family (we video skyped with them the next morning), and the couches are too short, it still felt like a Gullickson Christmas. I am so glad Jean was able to come and bring that home-feeling along with her for my first Melbourne Christmas!