The ho-ho-holidays

And so quickly Christmas is over. It was fun. It was delicious. It was a bit strange.

We determined that morning that our car was most definitely stuck in the snow. Transit was running sporadically and it would be safer and more comfortable to stay at home. Luckily we had gone grocery shopping the night before just in case this happened, so we were prepared.

We went with Plan B. I made a small Danish feast of frikadeller, brune kartofler, rødkål and seared kale. Our friends Simone and Racan joined us and it was quite lovely. I even decorated our living room table with nisser.

For dessert there was ris ala mande. I think it is one of my favourite desserts and it's always a treat since I only have it at Christmas. This was the first time that I had made it and I thought it turned out quite well. Racan found the almond and was given a giant Kinder Surprise as a prize. It was filled with a pirate game. Very exciting.

We spent the rest of the evening drinking winter ales and playing Guitar Hero.

I phoned my family out in the 'burbs to wish them all "God Jul!" and listen to the din of their conversations over the phone. It was strange to not spend Christmas with them, but as I said to my Mom the next day it wasn't as if Sean and I were stranded in our apartment, alone and with bowls of cereal for Christmas dinner. We had our friends over and we ate until we were stuffed. We even had Christmas crackers, paper crowns and a high-definition yule log to keep us warm.

Still, it was my first Christmas Eve not with my entire family singing carols and trying to hear everyone over everyone else's voices. Thank goodness for the phone! My Dad actually had to find a room at the back of my aunt and uncle's house in order to hear what I was trying to say to him over the phone...Merry Christmas!

So, that was Christmas Eve. Christmas Day was another event all together...

Again, we determined that the car would not be taking us anywhere that day. My parents called, surprisingly early, and I answered groggily. My Dad told me that my sister had an accident and that her leg was broken. She had slipped on some ice on the stairs and fallen down. An ambulance came, along with a fire truck, and they took her to the hospital. The rest of my Christmas morning was spent wondering and waiting for news about what happened next.

While I waited, Sean went out and shovelled snow for our landlords. I made us breakfast (french toast casserole with warm blueberry compote and creme fraiche). We ate and it was delicious. Then we opened our presents to each other.

After presents we watched some episodes of "Extras" and then I took a nap and waited for my Mom and Dad to call. I ended up taking the train out to the hospital to visit my poor sister and her leg. Not only was her leg broken, but it was broken in THREE places. I can't really describe how badly I felt for her seeing her in the hospital bed and in a morphine daze. She is one of the kindest, sweetest and most thoughtful people that I know. She also loves Christmas more than most people I know, so to have this happen now is extra super sucky. I did bring some of her presents to the hospital, which was sort of fun but, unsurprisingly, she couldn't really get into it. I e-mailed a friend that after the operation to reattach her bones with screws and metal plates my sister would be one of the kindest, sweetest and most thoughtful bionic people that I know.

Janna called her boyfriend and demanded that he bring my presents to the hospital so I could open them in front of her. I assured her that I could wait until she was out of the hospital, but she was having none of it. That's my sister in a nutshell. Travis brought them. I opened them as she drifted in and out of sleep. Then he drove me back to their place so I could see my parents. My parents offered to drive me home, which was wonderful because it was cold and the snow was still blanketing the city.

The nice bit about this was that my parents were able to come over to our place and open their presents there. This is something that we haven't done for years due to our apartment being too small for them to stay with us.

Despite the snow and my sister's broken leg (and the worry it has placed in my heart and head), my Christmas was wonderful. The last three days have been mostly relaxing and indulgent and warm. Now I'm off to the hospital to bring my lil' sis some bananas and hugs.