Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve we attended a church service in Horncastle with Neil, Richard, my mom and Ian. It was a candlelight service so we each got to hold a candle. The church was neo-gothic renaissance in style, as only those who have visited hundreds of European churches would know. We admired the gothic stone archways and interesting wood ceiling. We sang Christmas songs together and listened to Mary, Joseph and a shepherd give their eyewitness account of the big night. It was a nice evening, we all agreed.

The weather on Christmas Day was everything you could hope for. In the morning there was bright blue sky. The air was crisp and clear. A dusting of snow lay over our car and on the ground outside. By the afternoon, the sky had clouded over and snow began to fall. It was quite lovely sitting in the parlour with the Christmas tree and fireplace lit, surrounded by brightly wrapped packages and people we care about, watching the snowflakes fall.

My mom and Ian came to our cottage for breakfast and presents. We had our traditional breakfast meal of cheese soufflé, bacon and sweet rolls. Tom spent a loooong time whipping the egg whites to get them stiff for the soufflé as we don’t have beaters. That’s real dedication to a breakfast.

At noon we went over to Neil and Shelagh’s house. Neil is Ian’s brother. His sister, Alison was there as well. It was the first time in many, many years that they have spent Christmas together and it was fun to be a part of that. Neil and Shelagh have a lovely old house filled with beautiful furniture and decorations. Our Christmas dinner was also very traditional with turkey, brussel sprouts, carrots, potatoes and more. For dessert we had Christmas pudding, mincemeat tarts and a stollen. We stayed to share gifts and conversation until almost ten o’clock. It was a wonderful Christmas Day in Horncastle, England.