Christmas at the Whistling Ducks Farm

On Saturday, December 24, Robbie and I got up early and put on our funny Santa Hats, jumped (hah) in the truck and went to deliver Christmas surprises to our neighbours, most of who happen to be working with us. Only Emilia didn't get a present, because she was invited to the party next day, and John and Lennard couldn't be woken up so early in the morning, so John came over later (with a wonderful home made lasagna). First we went to Martina and gave her our little presents, then to Anette, and then David's house (who was already in town, so he came over later, too) and our neighbour Javier. Now, our little village of San Jorge (not on the maps, because it belongs to the village of Santa Familia) is all one huge family: Emilia is the aunt of David, Javier, Juan (Martina's husband) and Reuben (Anette's husband), who are all brothers. There is another brother living in the village, who we don't know that well, and Anette's sister with her husband is right there, too. We had John Denver Christmas songs blaring (German: schmettern) in the truck and it was a really nice little event.
Then I wanted to started cooking. OUR turkey had already been put to sleep by Anette a few days earlier and when I started washing him I noticed the fat breasts he had and I said to Robbie: NO way I can cook this bird, there is not enough meat on him for 12 to 16 people! All his weight is mostly breast fat! So Robbie was a darling and drove to town to try to get a frozen one. Remember, it was in the meantime 10 am on December 24 ... She got lucky at one store in town and we were just hoping it thawed in time (German: auftauen)... So I just cooked a side dish and we cleaned the house for the party on the next day.
The next day I got up at 4:30 am to check on the status of the turkey: still a bit frozen, so I went back to bed. 7 am was the right time! I made the stuffing, prepared the glaze (honey, brown sugar and lime juice) and the syringe (German: Spritze) with the melted butter. Off Mr Turkey went into the oven and we could relax.
Robbie got to open her present shortly afterwards, and the doggies got their Christmas treats, too! No present for me this time, as I had just gotten a laptop from Robbie for my birthday, so that was enough for one year!
The first guests on Sunday came at 12, just when I gave the turkey its last basting (German: to baste = mit Glasur bestreichen). I still gave myself a few minutes in the hammock to relax, before I took a shower to freshen up a bit. Everybody came almost on time and we started eating around two. The first guests were Max and Elly, then came Hanna, Karli, Joe and Helene, a little later Daniel and Dorothee with Katja (a German physiotherapist/Krankengymnastin), then John Acott (a Rotarian friend) and Tobbi and Eva, and finally Emilia.
The food was great, everybody brought a nice side dish, salad, or dessert and of course we had way too much too eat. So Robbie went over to John and Lennard to bring them a HUGE plate of food, Emilia took some home for her dad, and Max and Elly took their pan home for Guatemalan friends who were visiting. There is still a lot in the fridge ...
Everybody was gone between 5:30 and 6 pm, mostly because they had either animals to take care of (feed chicken, dogs or sheep), or because they had a longer drive and needed to get back home before dark.
It was a nice party with a lot of laughter and fun. Everybody had brought presents as requested, just small packages with a value of about 5$, and we tossed dice (German: Würfel) to pick packages from the big green tub. Robbie got a bottle of Noni juice (VERY healthy) (the website I am linking to is just for your information - Belize makes its very own Noni juice, but is just not promoting it that vigorously yet) and me a carved face which also functions as bottle.
Just when I was finishing up the dishes (which wasn't so bad, because some of the girlfriends helped cleaning up during the party), Tyson called and asked if he and Eddie could still come over. And those two were just the "icing on the cake" (German: Tüpfelchen auf dem "i"). We had some drinks (coconut rum with Sprite or Coke, lime juice and coffee with baileys) and sat outside and chatted. It was really great and we enjoyed ourselves tremendously, as we had all day.
Couple of more dishes around 10 pm and that was it: a GREAT CHRISTMAS DAY!
Thanks to all who made this day so special!