(after delivering bowls of rice pudding covered in fresh raspberry sauce)
Dad: (whispering to RJ) I think it’s monkey brains.
RJ: (whispering) No. It’s not.
(a few minutes later)
RJ: (yelling) It’s Santa brains!!!
Dad: But doesn’t Santa need them?
LR: Naah. He’s done that trip so many times, he doesn’t need brains to know where to go.
RJ: He’s so good, he doesn’t need them, and we get to eat them up!
We took advantage of the long weekend to get our Christmas tree and ornaments taken down (trees dry out fast here, and end up looking like something out of Dr. Seuss). LR ran into a bit of trouble with the lights, but after some detangling we got her sorted out.
There's a small problem with the lights!
The picture we posted on Christmas was a gingerbread house that Mum and the kids made. On Christmas night, the kids get 5 minutes to eat as many lollies and bits of candy off it as they can, then the battered remains get put in the rubbish. Thanks to LR for the green laser effects on the xmas tree!
Merry Christmas Everyone!
In Australia some families (ours included) carry on the British tradition of the Christmas pudding. It’s a magical beast, vaguely like a fruitcake (in the same way a rhinoceros is vaguely like a lamb), but heavier, denser, drenched in brandy and delivered to the table covered in blue flames. Fantastic stuff.
One of the traditions when making the pudding takes place after the ingredients have been put together and mixed. Everyone in the house gets to stir the bowl and make a wish. This year, the kids (LR, RJ and their cousins from Melbourne) helped out.
Grammy: And after we mix everything together, we each get to stir the pudding and make a wish!
LR: Why do we get to make a wish?
Grammy: Because the pudding is magic.
LR: Why? When does the magic get in there?
Grammy: After you put everything in and mix it together.
LR: (inspecting the bowls of ingredients in front of her) But where does the magic come from? Is it in the ingredients?
Grammy: No. It just happens after it’s all mixed together.
LR: … but…
Grammy: It’s like birthdays when you cut the cake. You just get to make a wish, okay?
(Unsatisfied with the explanation, LR drops the issue and adds it to her long list of the nonsense that adults insist on believing.)
Sorcery! Witchcraft! Complete and utter rubbish!
