t minus 36 hours and counting

the danes think christmas is the 24th, even tho' they do refer to it as christmas eve, as one should. they torture their children by making them wait all day, until after the food is consumed and the dishes put away before finally letting the sugar-crazed, zombie-tired little darlings tear into their gifts. imagine how much more peaceful the day would be if they just waited until actual christmas, let the kids open their gifts in the morning like normal people and then they had their new games and toys to play with all day while the adults cooked. you know, like the normal order of things.

at our house, we try to do a bit of both. it works out because sabin's big sisters come to our house on the 25th, which is actual christmas, and i save a stocking of small prezzies for sabin to have in the morning. we do our big christmas meal that day and just have a good soup of some sort - tho' not my mom's oyster stew because i can never find oysters 'til after christmas - and some good bread on the 24th.

nigella fruitcake #95

as of this moment (midmorning on december 23), the only tree we have up is the little lego tree pictured above. and as you can see, the presents don't really fit under it very well. i baked up a storm yesterday - making a beautiful and easy fruitcake from nigella's christmas cookbook, a couple of loaves of cranberry-orange bread (recipe coming soon to domestic sensualist) and a thyme focaccia. when i wasn't baking, i was playing outside in the snow with husband and sabin and her friend, so there was no time to put up the trees (one big one and a little one for sabin's room), which we went out and cut down on monday.

after seven nearly uninterrupted hours of playing in the snow yesterday, around 8, sabin began complaining of a stomach ache. her cheeks got rosey (not in a good way) and her eyes glassy.  her friend, who was going to stay overnight, reluctantly tore himself away from her computer and went home with his parents who had come by to inspect the fort and have a bit of hot apple cider and freshly-baked nigella fruitcake. it was a good thing he did, because she spent the entire night throwing up, then fitfully sleeping for a little while, then throwing up again. and it's no better this morning, tho' now her little tummy is empty, so there's not as much throwing up. what a way to spend christmas!