We intentionally chose to be here for Christmas this year... most people we know travel during the three or four week holiday season, but for the remenant that will stay behind in Johannesburg , we thought it would be a great time to just share some peaceful down time together.
This week, we hosted a Thanksgiving dinner... complete with turkey, cornbread stuffing and "pumpkin" pie (uhm... butternut squash). For some, it was their first taste of turkey... and I'm pleased to say, it came out fabulously thanks to some overnight brining. My brother and father would be proud.
Now with African Thanksgiving behind us, we are looking foward to Christmas. It will, obviously, be our first Christmas away from home, from family, from traditions, from snow. I have to admit, there is a piece of me that is internally uncomfortable with the pairing of Christmas carols and watermelon. The other day we went looking for a Christmas tree, and came home instead with tomatoe plants for the garden. Just a little surreal for me yet.
We ended up opting to pass on the shrub that looked fir-like at the least, and instead covered one of our houseplants in foil covered stars. It's a nice plant. Not quite Christmas , but we are up for new traditions. This week, I'll bake cookies with our favorite Christmas cds playing in the background... and when they are finished, i'll turn the carols up loud enough that we can hear them playing from the swimming pool. Because it sure is hot.
Swimming pool?!?! In your backyard?!?! =D
ReplyDeleteSeriously. It feels like the majority of houses in Johannesburg have at least a little swimming pool (like the one at the house we are renting, just big enough for the three kids to splash around). It's funny to look on google earth and see all the little blue blocks in all the yards. It is certainly nothing we looked for in renting a house, but it's addition has been God's special gift to the kids. They are in it every day now that it is warm... which is great because there aren't public pools or school playgrounds, or even many parks nearby. Maybe that is why so many houses are just built with pools in the first place.
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