Early Christmas

A few good friends came over for Christmas dinner and a little gift exchange tonight.  It was quiet and low-key, exactly how I like it.  My flatmate, Tara, had decorated our apartment for Christmas a few weeks ago and it looks great!  (She decorated the houseplant because I said something about how the decorations weren't tacky enough.)  I made ham, mashed potatoes, and green beans a la Wendy (since I didn't get them at Thanksgiving); Tara made rolls and carrots, Jo brought pavlova and berries for dessert, and Andrew brought drinks.  This almost felt like a family celebration; this is my Wellington family.

Tara, Jo, and Andrew

(They're not flipping me off...it's this "fox" thing that they do.)

Even though I like spending Christmas doing outdoors-type things, and even though I don't miss the snow AT ALL, it still feels weird to be playing Christmas music when it's 26 degrees (80 degrees Fahrenheit) outside.

After this Friday my office shuts down until 3 January.  I'm taking advantage of the holiday to do some more backpacking, this time on two of New Zealand's Great Walks in the South Island, the Kepler and Routeburn Tracks.  They're both four-day hikes (Kepler is 60 km and Routeburn is 32 km) and I have three days between them to recover.

So have a merry Christmas, everyone!  I love you all!