Christmas 2010.

Christmas lunch was non-traditional, in the sense that there was no turkey to carve, instead J's older brother made beef wellington. But because i don't eat meat, he made one with salmon and a champagne white sauce especially for me - which was super yummy.

And as side dishes; potatoes and brussels sprouts. It's taken me over thirty years to fully appreciate the taste of brussels sprouts. I can safely say, i can eat them now without gagging.

The trick to brussels sprouts comes down to not cooking them for too long but most importantly, boiling them in milk first.

And for dessert, Oma M's homemade apple cake.

Then after dinner it was time to open presents...


I had baked vegan shortbread cookies and bought some IKEA jars the day before. Wrapped them up and gave them as presents to J's grandmother, mother, his two brothers and their girlfriends.

Oma M bought me a black scarf which is featured in the third photo from the bottom of this post.


This year Santa [J] bought me a pair of house socks/slippers which i found out later were super expensive. They're so nice, i'm scared i'll ruin them by running around the apartment. Plus a knee-length coat with embroidered flowers that are a wee bit too feminine for my liking and one size too big.

J said it would look much nicer if the coat was more fitted and suggested the next time we're ever in Hannover, we could go back to ey Linda where his friend works to exchange it for something else.

I'm not usually the kind of person to ever exchange presents but with this coat, i may just have to make an exception.

So what did i end up getting J for Christmas?


A tealight holder made out of pink quartz which is said to bring love, calm and harmony. Intended it to be placed beside his computer to relieve stress and perhaps, more for my benefit, bring me at peace with him and his gaming.

Rose Quartz enhances and strengthens all forms of love, including self-love, parental love, platonic love, and romantic love. It can attract love and bring unconditional love to a relationship. It can dissolve blockages to love and help develop, rebuild, and renew love. It strengthens family unity, kinship, friendships, and all other relationships. Placed throughout the home, rose quartz will fill it with love and harmony. [source]

So far so good, we've only argued once. I think it's working.

We then drove to his mom's house which was only 10 minutes away and spent the rest of the evening learning how to play Mahjong.


It was the first time i had ever played and by the end of the night i had even learned how to read numbers one through nine in Chinese characters - my mom will be so proud when she finds out.


There wasn't any Triple Sec in the house so we improvised and made pink margaritas instead.


After 8 hours of playing Mahjong and actually winning because i had the most chips, we decided to call it a night. It was 2:30 AM already and it had dipped down to -11˚Celsius by the time we drove back to J's grandmother's place which is where we had our own room.

***

After sleeping in and later taking Oma for a very short walk up and down the street so she could get some fresh air, it was already time to say our farewells.

With Oma M, she's a whopping 87 years old.

And there's us, standing outside his parent's house where J grew up in as a child.

It took us just over two and a half hours to get home because on certain parts of the highway there was still ice on the ground. Sections of the highway that would normally have no speed limit was brought down to 80 km to prevent accidents. Hence the reason why it took so long to get home.


And when we finally got home, we saw how much more snow had fallen in just one day. The small snow hill that we had created last week had grown.

***

The next day, J came home with another present saying that Santa had forgotten to give it to me. And inside was a massive and very heavy Himalayan Salt lamp. It measures to about 31 cm in height and sits right beside my computer. It's absolutely beautiful.

Himalayan crystal salt lamps are carved from natural Himalayan salt crystals, which are prized for their purity and clarity... Himalayan salt lamps, which actually originate in the Himalayan foothills of Pakistan...

There are also many claims of health benefits from Himalayan crystal salt lamps. Salt lamps are said to be ionizers: objects that release negative ions, which are believed to purify air and promote good health.

Natural salt lamps are said to:

• Improve air quality by reducing air pollution, airborne dust particles, and airborne bacteria and viruses
• Reduce symptoms of asthma, allergies, bronchitis, sinusitis, and other respiratory diseases
• Reduce the effects of Season Affective Disorder (SAD) and other mood problems
• Reduce stress
• Improve concentration
• Relieve headaches and migraines
• Reduce feelings of fatigue and insomnia

So yea, that was my Christmas. How was yours?

***

Oh yeah, on Monday we went to choose the final touches to our new IKEA kitchen. We've gone slightly over our estimated budget but that was expected. We're going to go and pick it up next Monday, i'm so excited!

But i seriously need to stop procrastinating and get back to packing.

This Friday we're going to drive to Köln to pick up the keys to our new place. Our plan is to stay just after the countdown and spend the first few minutes in our new home before we have to drive two hours to get back here and finish packing.

Which really doesn't leave me much time. The movers are coming in to take our things on Sunday.

Can you believe it? Four more days!

P.S. Have i told you how much i loathe packing?