Merry Christmas!
Well it's Christmas Eve here, and although that means tomorrow the Wanke's will be at Aunt Perla's enjoing tamales and hot, hot chili sauce, I can't help but miss all those familiar traditions that my family, friends, and country indulge in this time of year.
For the past few days it's been a lot of family visits- mostly on Alison's side as her sister turned 60 on Friday and the surprise party was at the Vedder's home. Where fruitcake in America is a cruel joke, it's absolutely coveted here! Alison had baked her sister a fruitcake with an inch think layer of icing (marzipan) and everyone just died over it. I looked at that dark, dismal cake filled with candied fruits and super thick marzipan and graciously took it when offered. Bruce caught sight of my "funny expression" and I played it off by telling him we don't "have this in America" and the whole room just gasped. It actually wasn't as disgusting as I expected. In fact, it was pretty tasty, and Alison confessed it was the burbon that allowed it to keep so moist- she'd baked it over a week ago and stored it in the cupboard until the party! No ice cream on birthdays, no chocolate cake or brownies. They get fruitcake.
God Bless America.
For the past few days it's been a lot of family visits- mostly on Alison's side as her sister turned 60 on Friday and the surprise party was at the Vedder's home. Where fruitcake in America is a cruel joke, it's absolutely coveted here! Alison had baked her sister a fruitcake with an inch think layer of icing (marzipan) and everyone just died over it. I looked at that dark, dismal cake filled with candied fruits and super thick marzipan and graciously took it when offered. Bruce caught sight of my "funny expression" and I played it off by telling him we don't "have this in America" and the whole room just gasped. It actually wasn't as disgusting as I expected. In fact, it was pretty tasty, and Alison confessed it was the burbon that allowed it to keep so moist- she'd baked it over a week ago and stored it in the cupboard until the party! No ice cream on birthdays, no chocolate cake or brownies. They get fruitcake.
God Bless America.
More to come, & I'm uploading pictures to send soon too. In the meantime, have a Merry Christmas, and if you happen to get a fruitcake this year remember, there are children in New Zealand who are starving for it!
2 comments:
Merry Christmas, Chrissie! It looks/sounds like you're having an amazing time in NZ. I'm so proud of you. Enjoy the journey. You're in my prayers, and I'm counting down the days 'til you return. (PS: I LOVE marzipan! With an inch of it, I bet you barely even tasted the fruit cake...then again, it is fruit cake...so maybe not so much...)
Aunt Perla's was really good this year! They had the best Chile Relleno I had EVER tasted and Cecelia made two kinds if chili for us. I barely tasted the tamales because I had so much chile relleno! Everyone missed you and asked about you.
Sean really opened up to Tyson and they talked about Algebra, BB guns, and sports. Then we all (Brian, Lydia, Tyson , Sean, me) played Texas Hold Em Poker. Sean won. :)
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