It's Christmas Day

Christmas Day in Canberra yesterday was cloudy and cool, barely reaching 22oC by the time we were at Maxie & Rod's in the late afternoon, sitting on their south terrace and raising our Majella filled glasses to the good health and happiness of all the family members who were not with us (and who we missed) on this special day.

Angus and Ollie were the only young ones present and the centre of our attention - it was so nice to see them eagerly awaiting our arrival!  I was very mean though and delayed giving them our presents until we'd got our fair share of welcome cuddles from these gorgeous boys!

Then it was time for (early) dinner : Maxie's turkey breast roast a la Nigellissimo (yummy!) and my creamy baked potatoes, green salad and Ottolenghi carrots and beans cooked in coriander seeds and garlic and a reduction of orange juice, red wine, star anise and cinnamon (quite a bit of which was spilt on the car seats on the drive over!).

It's really obvious in the pic below just how seriously Ollie is regarding his meal - he came back for another three helpings of turkey after demolishing this lot so obviously he had it all planned right from the very start.

Angus set the table for dessert (Claire's Christmas pudding icecream). He made sure he set out the biggest pasta bowls in Nanny & Pa's kitchen cupboards - to make sure there was plenty of space for the icecream (and caramel sauce).

One of the nicest things about yesterday was being with family AND having contact during the day with family in other parts of the world (and Australia).  We had family in Ubud, Bali, in Sandy Beach and Sandbach in Cheshire to share our day with and enjoy happy stories via pictures, emails, sms, phone calls and video.

The London branch sent us this remarkable "our Liz" for the Christmas tree, which we have now hung with pride. Isn't she wonderful (and she looks so at home here)?