Saturday, December 26, 2009

Christmas Eve Photo Op…

On Christmas night we had our good friends the Kalsis over for one of the best Christmas dinners in recent memory, both in terms of the friends assembled and the holiday grub. Firstly, the crowd. Preet and Manpreet arrived with their two daughters at around 18:00. The kids disappeared, playing quietly until dinner was ready. We adults sat around sipping beer and wine and chatting while a Christmas compilation (put together just in time thanks to Amazon.de) set the mood.xmas table panorama_7131 Panorama (1024x376) IMG_7126 (823x1280)IMG_7141 (1280x853)IMG_7088 (1024x683) As is our tradition, we outsourced most of the dinner preparation to the Bolz Metzgerei in Kirchheim. They outdid themselves this year. The ham, as usual, was off the charts. The duck breasts were so big I still have trouble believing they came from normal ducks. I’ve almost convinced myself that there’s a race of super ducks that still haven’t unwound decades of  steroid abuse and genetic engineering foisted upon them in the former East Germany. I made mashed potatoes in the pressure cooker but, having peeled them this year (under duress from the Mrs.), they didn’t come out right.IMG_7150 (1024x683)IMG_7151 (1024x683)Luckily, B overbought (as usual). Saturday is a holiday in Germany meaning grocery stores will have been closed for essentially 4 days straight. Somehow we once again missed this memo. Our winter hoarding instincts saved us from starvation. Sor far, we haven’t grown tired of ham, duck and the five-minute miracle that is Stovetop Stuffing (thoughtfully purchased for us by some friends in the military).   IMG_7152 (1024x683) Before the festivities commenced, we took enough pictures to scar the retinas of our gorgeous progeny. Enjoy.IMG_7001 (853x1280) IMG_7012 (853x1280) IMG_7050 (834x1280)IMG_7054 (853x1280) IMG_7112 (1280x853) IMG_7157 (1280x853) IMG_7162 (1280x853) I love the natural majesty Emily displays in the pose below. We’ve always considered her our little princess, but this takes the cake.IMG_7051 (853x1280)In case you’re wondering, the ring in the picture above is worth its weight in pencil shavings.

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