There were four of us here for Christmas dinner yesterday – neighbors and family, too, if you count that Tucker and I are fourth or fifth (or maybe sixth) cousins, probably several times removed, on the Espy side.  Ralph figured it out once, but I’ve forgotten.

We divided the labor – Tucker and Carol had oven duty; us, stovetop.  And each of us had an assignment – Carol the turkey plus dressing and gravy; Nyel the cranberry sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and the rolls which turned out to be bread, instead; Sydney, the spinach casserole and the platter of crudités and other condiments; Tucker the Marion berry pies (four individual ones!) and ice cream (from our freezer.)

The festivities began with a tradition that Carole Nordquist had started in the village when she hosted Christmas dinners at her lovely home two properties south of us – Christmas crackers!  This year they were shaped like Santas and came apart with a big pop.  Well, not mine.  I don’t have the knack.  Inside, each of us found a paper crown, a toy, and a paper of riddles and trivia information.  And then the eating began!

Afterwards, we ‘retired’ to the library and spent the better part of the evening doing what we do best – talking and laughing.  We talked about most memorable Christmases and about the best present we ever got as kids.  That segued into whatever happened to our toys – Tucker still has his; Carol said she mostly got socks and underwear; Nyel and I each still have ‘issues’ with our parents who got rid of our toys before a move.   And what about those pets who “were now on a farm with plenty of room to play…”

This morning Tucker sent a bunch of photos!  I don’t know whether they capture how much fun it was or if they don’t really do it justice.  We’ll take on that topic of conversation another time.