圣诞节快乐: Merrrrry Christmas!

In case any of you were worried about not having a great Christmas, don't worry, it's all under control - we've already had it here, and it was fantastic. Last night turned out differently than Poppy and I had planned; we wanted to go to Christmas Mass and sing the Christmas hymns, but despite our best print and Internet research skills, we couldn't find info on where to go. Concluding that higher powers had decided we weren't meant to crowd with the masses, we cut our losses and picked up Sleepless in Seattle, which we watched snuggled under my duvet while sipping hot chocolate and Bailey's (miss you, Laura).

I woke up today to gorgeous sunshine and generously mild weather - it has been really chilly here lately. Poppy came over early to open prezzies together, and although most of my parcels were returned to Canada due to a faulty address (thanks, landlord), I did have two to rip open, revealing highly-coveted books, magazines, coffee, a Starbucks french-press mug, smoked salmon, chocolate, a month's supply of energy bars, tea, and Icebreaker long underwear! Thank you, thank you, Dad and Gregor! Before long, our friends began to arrive for our breakfast potluck and a secret Santa gift exchange. With many cooks in the kitchen and contributions from everyone, we managed to produce a feast of pancakes, strawberries, whipped cream, oranges, pomelo (yummy Chinese giant citrus), and bacon, with hot chocolate, Columbian coffee, and mimosas to drink. It really doesn't get any better.

Photos:

1. Present bonanza with Poppy before everyone arrives
2. Me, Jenny, and Linh on pancake duty
3. Check out the spread! Can you spot the snowman-shaped marshmallows? Adoooorable...
4. My plate. The diamond of a wholly terrific food week
5. We are territorial about our mimosas