Waterzooi

Day 5: This is the picture that best sums up my day –

Waterzooi, Belgian seafood stew, source here

My absolutely wonderful husband arranged for two absolutely fantastic friends to swing by after work to watch the boys for a couple of hours. About what a speed-date might feel like, we managed to fit dinner at a swank new restaurant in downtown Greenville, complete with dessert, and my tottering to and from said restaurant in ill-fitting heels into those 1.5 hours. I felt like an adult, with no food on my clothes, finished sentences and a perfectly prepared meal set down in front of me. Go to Trappe Door, eat their fantastic Belgian specialties, have a beer from the incredible list of Belgian beers, but save room for dessert.

Christmas activity for the day was the construction of a gingerbread house. Kit as seen here, icing here, final product not yet ready. I’m under the illusion that I will be able to make some icing trees or at least some mini-wreaths to decorate the house, so pictures to follow in a later post.

Day 6: I felt like a new woman after the mini-vacation yesterday, and our jam-packed day reflected my more positive attitude. We started the day off at the Greenville zoo with our friends from England. As today’s high was about 20 degrees lower than that of two days previous it finally felt a little like December, but the animals were out with complete disregard for the weather. Kiko and parents, elephants, the lions and monkeys, all put on quite a show for us. They’ve got their letters to Santa posted on their cages (with something for every budget: from pvc piping to old blankets, maybe our family will help Santa out with something for the ocelots) and the zoo looking very nice in preparation for the Santa Safari this Saturday.

That's the lion upper-center - very impressive

After lunch some Latvian friends dropped in for coffee and hot chocolate; it was a pleasure watching all four kids play together, instead of next to one another. I love visitors even more than usual this time of year because the house looks so cozy with the Christmas tree and decorations. If only I had some piparkūkas to offer… Something to keep me busy this weekend!

Your turn! Any Christmas/holiday tasks crossed off the list this week? Big plans for the weekend? Ideas I should add to my list? (Just kidding!) Have a wonderful weekend!!