Cash and Carried in the City

(Have a look at the pictures in the sidebar of the festivities so far!)

After having both of our flights cancelled we had to accept the fact that we were not planning on coming home for the holidays. We had planned not to go home next year, but not having the choice was a bad pill we had to swallow. After a couple of depressing days we finally decided to go out and get a tree, grab some decorations, mingle with the shoppers, and have a dinner out. We had several offers to spend Christmas with others but with the trains shut down and the tube closed it was easier just to stay put. We went shopping for groceries (especially considering I had just cleaned out the kitchen of food thinking that it would spoil before our return). We loaded up on Christmas movies and spent tons of time talking to family over the phone.

Christmas day we watched the Elf movie (a Hopper Christmas Tradition) and got up and opened the random gifts we did have for eachother. We laughed about it all but appreciated the time we had together to enjoy eachother's company. We started to cook a meal big enough for 8+ people and had a late lunch...at about 3pm. I think this was the first Christmas EVER that I spent the entire day in my 'pajamas'....guess when Mom isn't there hounding me!

Boxing Day (don't ask me what exactly that is!) we went over to our American/British couple's house and had Round 2 of food and drinks. It was a nice day to just have some additional company and sit around and catchup and play Phase 10. Martin wooped us all though by finishing first (I would have won with the least amount of points if I wasn't 2 phases back!!).

I'm off of work all week and haven't been up to much except watching tv, knitting, cooking, cleaning, talking with my stateside friends and family. Tomorrow we plan to get out and see the city a bit. Matt has been working hard on his stuff so he needs a break. New Year's is still up in the air. I'm not sure either of us are prepared for standing out in the cold to cheer in the new year with the other millions of people on the cold river Thames. Big New Year's Day parade is scheduled to push forward despite several 'acts' being held up in the Northeast snow but we may see if we can get there too.