Under the Weather For My Down Under Christmas

Darwin, Australia
Saturday, December 25th, 2010

It goes without saying that Christmas in Australia was going to be a little bit different than back home. No snow or cold or turkey or Christmas tree. Yes, things would be a little different but we tried to keep some things the same. Of course in my true fashion my 4 days off work started and I started to feel very sick. Christmas eve, I slept through most of our traditional movies (including National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation) and snacks and that pattern would continue through most of Christmas Day. But I did manage to open some presents first.

Our Christmas tree. Ok so we just dressed up one of the house plants to look the part but it played the role pretty well.

The living room after the presents were opened..... kind of reminds me of when we were kids. Please make notice of the new couches. They are a very recent addition to our apartment......and we are very happy they showed up before today.

Showing off one of my presents from Deb and Scott. This is Tabitha (the turtle) and is the newest addition to my zoo (which now contains Teddy the bear, Croco the crocodile, and K and Baby K the koalas.)

Debi holding one of the gifts from me......it's a wok. I had cleverly disguised the handle with a gift bag. It would not had been much of a surprise had I not. The bag contained all the nice rubber tipped utensils they are allowed to use with their nice shiny new wok.

A little video of Deb entertaining herself while Scott brings in her present. It makes me laugh so I had to share.

Deb's gift. She is very happy to announce that this is the first wooden plant basket she has owned that she didn't have to steal.

I was told that BBQ is the norm in Australia for Christmas so we were planning a feast on the rooftop. There are a lot of others around who do not have any family in the area so we decided to host an orphans Christmas. There would be food and drinks and fun.

Jimmy, Stef and Benny showed up at noon with all this......we knew then it would be a good day.

The whole gang on the rooftop....Me, Debi (taking the picture) and Scott, along with Stef, Jimmy, Tommy, Benny, Streven, Zoe, Kyle, and Noel. A few others showed up later but honestly I'm not sure who they all were. I spent most of the day sleeping (couldn't stay awake much more than a couple hours at a time....then I needed to take a nap) but I'm being told it was the best Christmas ever.

A little bit of the food that was eaten. That's prawns and mud crab and sausage rolls but there were also oysters and pate and lamb and bruschetta and black bean dip and pavlova (a traditional Australian dessert that was severely excellent) and of course lots and lots of drinks.

Stef, Scott, Jimmy, Deb and Benny.

Yes, I am drinking straight orange juice. And yes Debi did take this picture. You can tell because it is crooked. She likes to do that.

There were some serious games of ring toss going on. Who knew such a little game could entertain so many grown men for so long. Here's Stef making a go at it. The ring only made it on the pole once or twice but that didn't stop them from trying.

Jimmy......the first one to get that little ring on that little pole. That kind of made him The Champ.

Tommy on the guitar. When the Ipod got tired he started playing. There were some good sing-a-longs going on.

Noel in the spa. That is Scott's floating device he is hanging out it. Some how it was deemed necessary. He looked like he was having fun so there was no need to say anything.

Deb and Scott having fun before the storm.

And the storm was coming. Deb managed to capture this photo. About an hour later, that storm was right on top of us and forced us off the rooftop. The party was moved to the lower balcony but that certainly didn't stop the celebrations.

A small video of some of the lower balcony party. I assure you everyone had a great time.

Unfortunately my not so good health sent me to bed long before the celebrations were over, but I did get to fall asleep to the sounds of the balcony singing.

I still have a few more days off. Over here with Christmas Day and Boxing Day being on a weekend, Monday and Tuesday have also been named public holidays. For me that means more days off. I feel sleeping and eating will be in the plans.

So that was my first warm weather Christmas. Not exactly how I wanted it to go but very much how I expected it. Certainly a holiday to remember.

Julie