(no subject)
Well then. Christmas festivities are somewhat over. Yes, somewhat. Prepare yourself for a gigantic entry.
Christmas Eve
So, Christmas officially started with Christmas lunch at my maternal grandparents’ house. Octopus…mmmm…. Not to mention the fact that we could legitimately eat all the Christmas sweets that had been sitting on the side table…not that I’m obsessed with food or anything.
Anyway, after that we (oh joy!...yes, that was sarcastic) went to my paternal grandmother’s house. Bleh. There’s really nothing to do there, but there happened to be balloons for some reason (!?!?!?!?!) and Tomàs, me, and Nini played monkey in the middle with a balloon. It was funny cause Nini (who’s 21 and in college) and I were twice as tall as Tomàs so whenever he was in the middle he couldn’t reach the balloon. It got really interesting. Then we ate dinner, which consisted of boiled cod (better than it sounds) and assorted vegetables (no potatoes…*tear*). No meat till midnight, y’see. The cod was good even though my grandmother was all offended cause none of us ate much (saving up space for Midnight Dinner…). I ate lots of cheese though. Heehee. After dinner Operation Distract Tomàs started, meaning that Nini and I went to play cards with my brother while my parents and grandparents finished drinking coffee and put the presents under the tree. (My brother still believes in Santa Claus; he was going through a period of disbelief but my mom and I saved him…my paternal grandmother was astonished he survived this long believing, which annoyed me. She kept saying, “He still believes in Santa Claus? How is that possible?” again and again and again. Bleh.)
My brother was thrilled with the bow and arrow, which came complete with target and a quiver full of arrows. He also got a dartboard, chocolate, and a watch. My parents got lots of Tupperware and I got three things: a necklace and earrings that they bought in Brazil made out of Rose Quartz…not necessarily pretty jewelry however, much as I hate to say it, a turtleneck t-shirt from Burberry’s (which also wasn’t quite my style…if I even have one. I’m really picky about my clothes; it’s rather funny. I either love them or hate them with a burning passion.), and (wait for it)…
A tablecloth.
Yes, that’s right, a tablecloth. Because I, at fifteen years old, appreciate receiving tablecloths. Oh sure, in a few years (more like, when I’m married and settled down…in other words in a good ten years) I’ll appreciate it, and I’ll “be reminded of my dear grandmother when she’s no longer here to remind me herself” (of course, I really want to be reminded of her?) but honestly, who gives tablecloths to a fifteen-year-old girl? My mom liked it, not me! And she’s been doing this ever since I turned 11! Every year it’s something practical that I’ll use in the future: a table cloth, napkins, etc.
Seriously. A tablecloth?
I have no further comments.
Anyway, after a hell of a lot of dilly-dallying (cause that’s what we do at my paternal grandmother’s house) off we went back to my maternal grandparent’s house, loaded with gifts (not really). There “Santa Claus hadn’t arrived yet”, so we sat around watching TV and talking (we = me, my parents, my brother, my assorted aunts and uncles (there are a lot), my grandparents, and some of my 6 cousins, 5 of which are under the age of 11) waiting for the last of my aunts to arrive with her 3 children (Gonçalo, Carlitos, and Afonso, for those of you might recognize names). Suspiciously, Santa arrived about 5 minutes after they did. *chuckles*
So Santa arrived with the soft tinkling of a bell and the distant sound of someone going “Ho! Ho! Ho!” that sounded a bit like my grandfather. And off everyone ran to the old kitchen to find it completely flooded with presents, all neatly organized by family. (If you’re giving presents to 17 people, you better have some organization.)
And so we started with the smallest one there, Afonso. (Bernardo, who is actually my youngest cousin, was put to sleep so as not to add to the confusion and received his presents the next morning.) Little kids are so funny when they rip of wrapping paper. After a good 45 minutes all the kids (Diogo [who’s 10] down) had opened their presents and there was already a fight because Zé Alexandre (who, poor thing, had the chicken pox the entire time) didn’t get any Gameboy games and my brother got 5 and everyone else got at least 1 except Afonso who doesn’t have a Gameboy since he’s only 3. My brother was really sweet, running from person to person after opening their present (except, of course, the ones labeled “Santa Claus”-my brother discovered that not only does Santa Claus distribute presents but that we give presents to one another, hence explaining the bags full of wrapped things my mom have been taking from place to place as we visit our various friends) and hugging them to thank them. He liked my present, which is good, but lost the irony that he was the one who decorated the wrapping paper. I hope he likes my birthday present to him.
My presents were substantially more satisfactory than the other set. My dad gave me German chocolate, my brother gave me a Robin Hobb book, and my mom, aunts, uncles, and grandparents gave me lots and lots of beautiful clothes that I love…I’ve been wearing new clothes for the past two days. I’m so happy. No tablecloths. My mom also, in a subtle attempt to start me knitting (again), gave me a “Knitting for Beginners” set, a book full of step-by-step instructions for scarf making, and lots and lots of yarn. Very subtle. I think I’m going to knit people Christmas presents instead of actually going out and buying them, but more on that later.
The absolute best present, however, was from my parents together. It was in this colorful box, and as I opened it I took one look and I knew what it was…
An iPod.
I think my parents went crazy. They spend too much money on me… Not that I particularly mind. I love my new iPod. It’s all shiny and pretty and already full of music (almost 3 GB) and I knit it this really pretty case that was supposed to be for a cell phone but whatever and I love it. RealOne Player betrayed me by refusing to transfer all it’s songs (and I have a good 800) into the AAC format, but what do I care? I have my beautiful iPod. I spent most of this afternoon transferring CDs into iTunes and, with the aid of my brother, guessing their titles (we only bring copied CDs to Portugal just in case). *sighs contentedly* Marvelous.
After that off we went to eat again. As I said before, Christmas is all about food in my family. The turkey was excellent, as were the large amounts of sweets there to eat. Food… It’s wonderful stuff. Specially when home-cooked by your amazing Grandfather who spends days in the kitchen getting ready. And cheese! Cheese is wonderful.
Christmas Day
I woke up with shouts from my cousins, as usual. It’s all they do, shout and play PS/Gameboy/some machine-oriented game that ruins your eyes and makes your mind go numb. I got up, and felt very happy. I took a shower, dressed in all new clothes, excluding underwear, and…went to my paternal grandmother’s house. Turkey again, as well as the small baked potatoes that have azeite (my English is failing me) dripped all over them and are just so good… mm… , cabrito (small goat?) and the annual crepes de ameixas (plum crepes, I think. Someone translate ameixa for me, I can’t remember what it is in English) that I hate with a burning passion (as does my mother, who was forced to eat one, albeit small). Food is good.
I started knitting after lunch, and did a good fourth of my iPod case, as well as the practice piece. I kept forgetting to switch the string because the pattern was a knit-purl-knit-purl (stitch-by-stitch) and I messed up a lot, so much that my mom started getting annoyed at having to pause her own knitting to fix mine, but I think that one project finished in a day for a beginning-knitter is pretty good (I don’t count what I did in 4th grade…I’ve forgotten it all. All I remember of my mom’s first attempt to get me knitting by enrolling me in knitting classes is that I kept calling Bekki Becca, which really annoyed her.) I’m proud of myself anyway.
Then back to my maternal grandparent’s house we went for Christmas Day dinner which was leftover turkey for those who (like me) don’t like leitão (boar). My grandmother took credit for making a cool chocolate-mousse-filled cake (my grandfather was probably the one who actually did the work) that I can’t remember the name of. There was no bolo d’avo (I’m missing an accent), which is this recipe that has been passed down from each generation since the great grandmother of my grandmother. So, my great, great, great grandmother (is that right?). Luckily, she’s making it for Wednesday.
But what, you may ask, is on Wednesday? Wednesday is my maternal grandmother’s birthday and that entire side of the family (all 17 of them) are coming to our lovely beach house for lunch. My dad is terrified because my cousins are a terror, especially my little cousin Afonso who, according to his mother, has the face of an angel and the heart of a professional demolition-person. My uncle Zé, grandparents, and Tia Guida (mother of Afonso) spent all of Christmas Day night telling stories about their respective terrors, which has frightened my father beyond words. All he can say is, “When I suggested to have a party for you mother, I said to invite your brothers and sisters, not their devilish children!” (to my mother, obviously…and it’s translated). I got plenty of amusement from this discussion, whilst finishing my knitting.
December 26, 2004 (today, but technically yesterday)
So then. I was woken up by the triumphant shouts of my cousin Zé Alexandre because they had finished the Gameboy game of the Incredibles in two days. My brother threw a fit because he wanted to play this contorted version of Monopoly that he got for Christmas and Diogo and Zé (the only cousins present besides Bernardo who can’t play such things since he’s only one) wanted to play Playstation. Eventually everything resolved itself and my cousin Diogo was very subdued because he had a really high insulin level (100-something) and his mother was imposing herself (he has diabetes).
Anyway, after that (more like during) my mom packed the car and I got ready (in phases you see, I’d interrupt the game to go and brush my teeth, or comb my hair, or something). Eventually my aunt Kati (Diogo’s mother) and my aunt Sofia (Zé’s mother) took me, Diogo, Tomàs, and Zé to O Palacio de Gelo, the local shopping mall/skating rink. The little ones played in the arcade while I went off to Parfois, the jewelry store there, to see about those Christmas presents I’ve been delaying.
I was shocked by what I found. Everything was either ridiculously expensive or ugly beyond imagining. It was awful. There were these really cute scarves that cost 16€ (≈$21) and two nice necklaces, which I bought (and think I’m going to keep for myself…). I don’t know what to do about presents. I think I’m going to knit someone a scarf, and then see what I can do either at the huge shopping mall here in Lisboa (onde a vida é boa) or the local one in Lourinha. (To clarify: the house we live in is in Areia Branca [White Sand] which is a suburb of sorts of the town Lourinha which is just a small town. Lisboa is about 45 minutes away without traffic, so we’re relatively close.
After the disappointing shopping escapade, my aunt dragged my cousins/brother away from the arcade games and into the car to take me and my brother to my paternal grandmother’s house. Joy. There we had leftovers, as well as some small lobsters which I actually dared to try and were pretty good. After that I checked my e-mail and was given full-strength coffee (which almost never happens, my parents are always careful to give me watered-down coffee), which is the reason I’m still wide awake (it’s 3am as I’m typing this). Then we drove down here to Areia Branca where we settled into our house.
For dinner we went to the house of some friends of ours who live in Lourinha. Tó (I call him Tio Tó, which means Uncle Tó, but when I was little I couldn’t say that and I pronounced it Ti-Tó [Tee-toh] instead. The name stuck.) and his wife Kikas (also a nickname) live in Lourinha. They have one son, Nuno, who is the most spoiled person I know. His parents are the nicest people alive, but Nuno… ugh. I could fill a book with stories about Nuno, but honestly they’re not worth telling. He annoys me. Dinner was excellent though.
And so, here I am, at 3:08am, importing songs into iTunes and typing this. I hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as I did. I apologize for the insane size of this entry. I miss you all!
-Cisca
Christmas Eve
So, Christmas officially started with Christmas lunch at my maternal grandparents’ house. Octopus…mmmm…. Not to mention the fact that we could legitimately eat all the Christmas sweets that had been sitting on the side table…not that I’m obsessed with food or anything.
Anyway, after that we (oh joy!...yes, that was sarcastic) went to my paternal grandmother’s house. Bleh. There’s really nothing to do there, but there happened to be balloons for some reason (!?!?!?!?!) and Tomàs, me, and Nini played monkey in the middle with a balloon. It was funny cause Nini (who’s 21 and in college) and I were twice as tall as Tomàs so whenever he was in the middle he couldn’t reach the balloon. It got really interesting. Then we ate dinner, which consisted of boiled cod (better than it sounds) and assorted vegetables (no potatoes…*tear*). No meat till midnight, y’see. The cod was good even though my grandmother was all offended cause none of us ate much (saving up space for Midnight Dinner…). I ate lots of cheese though. Heehee. After dinner Operation Distract Tomàs started, meaning that Nini and I went to play cards with my brother while my parents and grandparents finished drinking coffee and put the presents under the tree. (My brother still believes in Santa Claus; he was going through a period of disbelief but my mom and I saved him…my paternal grandmother was astonished he survived this long believing, which annoyed me. She kept saying, “He still believes in Santa Claus? How is that possible?” again and again and again. Bleh.)
My brother was thrilled with the bow and arrow, which came complete with target and a quiver full of arrows. He also got a dartboard, chocolate, and a watch. My parents got lots of Tupperware and I got three things: a necklace and earrings that they bought in Brazil made out of Rose Quartz…not necessarily pretty jewelry however, much as I hate to say it, a turtleneck t-shirt from Burberry’s (which also wasn’t quite my style…if I even have one. I’m really picky about my clothes; it’s rather funny. I either love them or hate them with a burning passion.), and (wait for it)…
A tablecloth.
Yes, that’s right, a tablecloth. Because I, at fifteen years old, appreciate receiving tablecloths. Oh sure, in a few years (more like, when I’m married and settled down…in other words in a good ten years) I’ll appreciate it, and I’ll “be reminded of my dear grandmother when she’s no longer here to remind me herself” (of course, I really want to be reminded of her?) but honestly, who gives tablecloths to a fifteen-year-old girl? My mom liked it, not me! And she’s been doing this ever since I turned 11! Every year it’s something practical that I’ll use in the future: a table cloth, napkins, etc.
Seriously. A tablecloth?
I have no further comments.
Anyway, after a hell of a lot of dilly-dallying (cause that’s what we do at my paternal grandmother’s house) off we went back to my maternal grandparent’s house, loaded with gifts (not really). There “Santa Claus hadn’t arrived yet”, so we sat around watching TV and talking (we = me, my parents, my brother, my assorted aunts and uncles (there are a lot), my grandparents, and some of my 6 cousins, 5 of which are under the age of 11) waiting for the last of my aunts to arrive with her 3 children (Gonçalo, Carlitos, and Afonso, for those of you might recognize names). Suspiciously, Santa arrived about 5 minutes after they did. *chuckles*
So Santa arrived with the soft tinkling of a bell and the distant sound of someone going “Ho! Ho! Ho!” that sounded a bit like my grandfather. And off everyone ran to the old kitchen to find it completely flooded with presents, all neatly organized by family. (If you’re giving presents to 17 people, you better have some organization.)
And so we started with the smallest one there, Afonso. (Bernardo, who is actually my youngest cousin, was put to sleep so as not to add to the confusion and received his presents the next morning.) Little kids are so funny when they rip of wrapping paper. After a good 45 minutes all the kids (Diogo [who’s 10] down) had opened their presents and there was already a fight because Zé Alexandre (who, poor thing, had the chicken pox the entire time) didn’t get any Gameboy games and my brother got 5 and everyone else got at least 1 except Afonso who doesn’t have a Gameboy since he’s only 3. My brother was really sweet, running from person to person after opening their present (except, of course, the ones labeled “Santa Claus”-my brother discovered that not only does Santa Claus distribute presents but that we give presents to one another, hence explaining the bags full of wrapped things my mom have been taking from place to place as we visit our various friends) and hugging them to thank them. He liked my present, which is good, but lost the irony that he was the one who decorated the wrapping paper. I hope he likes my birthday present to him.
My presents were substantially more satisfactory than the other set. My dad gave me German chocolate, my brother gave me a Robin Hobb book, and my mom, aunts, uncles, and grandparents gave me lots and lots of beautiful clothes that I love…I’ve been wearing new clothes for the past two days. I’m so happy. No tablecloths. My mom also, in a subtle attempt to start me knitting (again), gave me a “Knitting for Beginners” set, a book full of step-by-step instructions for scarf making, and lots and lots of yarn. Very subtle. I think I’m going to knit people Christmas presents instead of actually going out and buying them, but more on that later.
The absolute best present, however, was from my parents together. It was in this colorful box, and as I opened it I took one look and I knew what it was…
An iPod.
I think my parents went crazy. They spend too much money on me… Not that I particularly mind. I love my new iPod. It’s all shiny and pretty and already full of music (almost 3 GB) and I knit it this really pretty case that was supposed to be for a cell phone but whatever and I love it. RealOne Player betrayed me by refusing to transfer all it’s songs (and I have a good 800) into the AAC format, but what do I care? I have my beautiful iPod. I spent most of this afternoon transferring CDs into iTunes and, with the aid of my brother, guessing their titles (we only bring copied CDs to Portugal just in case). *sighs contentedly* Marvelous.
After that off we went to eat again. As I said before, Christmas is all about food in my family. The turkey was excellent, as were the large amounts of sweets there to eat. Food… It’s wonderful stuff. Specially when home-cooked by your amazing Grandfather who spends days in the kitchen getting ready. And cheese! Cheese is wonderful.
Christmas Day
I woke up with shouts from my cousins, as usual. It’s all they do, shout and play PS/Gameboy/some machine-oriented game that ruins your eyes and makes your mind go numb. I got up, and felt very happy. I took a shower, dressed in all new clothes, excluding underwear, and…went to my paternal grandmother’s house. Turkey again, as well as the small baked potatoes that have azeite (my English is failing me) dripped all over them and are just so good… mm… , cabrito (small goat?) and the annual crepes de ameixas (plum crepes, I think. Someone translate ameixa for me, I can’t remember what it is in English) that I hate with a burning passion (as does my mother, who was forced to eat one, albeit small). Food is good.
I started knitting after lunch, and did a good fourth of my iPod case, as well as the practice piece. I kept forgetting to switch the string because the pattern was a knit-purl-knit-purl (stitch-by-stitch) and I messed up a lot, so much that my mom started getting annoyed at having to pause her own knitting to fix mine, but I think that one project finished in a day for a beginning-knitter is pretty good (I don’t count what I did in 4th grade…I’ve forgotten it all. All I remember of my mom’s first attempt to get me knitting by enrolling me in knitting classes is that I kept calling Bekki Becca, which really annoyed her.) I’m proud of myself anyway.
Then back to my maternal grandparent’s house we went for Christmas Day dinner which was leftover turkey for those who (like me) don’t like leitão (boar). My grandmother took credit for making a cool chocolate-mousse-filled cake (my grandfather was probably the one who actually did the work) that I can’t remember the name of. There was no bolo d’avo (I’m missing an accent), which is this recipe that has been passed down from each generation since the great grandmother of my grandmother. So, my great, great, great grandmother (is that right?). Luckily, she’s making it for Wednesday.
But what, you may ask, is on Wednesday? Wednesday is my maternal grandmother’s birthday and that entire side of the family (all 17 of them) are coming to our lovely beach house for lunch. My dad is terrified because my cousins are a terror, especially my little cousin Afonso who, according to his mother, has the face of an angel and the heart of a professional demolition-person. My uncle Zé, grandparents, and Tia Guida (mother of Afonso) spent all of Christmas Day night telling stories about their respective terrors, which has frightened my father beyond words. All he can say is, “When I suggested to have a party for you mother, I said to invite your brothers and sisters, not their devilish children!” (to my mother, obviously…and it’s translated). I got plenty of amusement from this discussion, whilst finishing my knitting.
December 26, 2004 (today, but technically yesterday)
So then. I was woken up by the triumphant shouts of my cousin Zé Alexandre because they had finished the Gameboy game of the Incredibles in two days. My brother threw a fit because he wanted to play this contorted version of Monopoly that he got for Christmas and Diogo and Zé (the only cousins present besides Bernardo who can’t play such things since he’s only one) wanted to play Playstation. Eventually everything resolved itself and my cousin Diogo was very subdued because he had a really high insulin level (100-something) and his mother was imposing herself (he has diabetes).
Anyway, after that (more like during) my mom packed the car and I got ready (in phases you see, I’d interrupt the game to go and brush my teeth, or comb my hair, or something). Eventually my aunt Kati (Diogo’s mother) and my aunt Sofia (Zé’s mother) took me, Diogo, Tomàs, and Zé to O Palacio de Gelo, the local shopping mall/skating rink. The little ones played in the arcade while I went off to Parfois, the jewelry store there, to see about those Christmas presents I’ve been delaying.
I was shocked by what I found. Everything was either ridiculously expensive or ugly beyond imagining. It was awful. There were these really cute scarves that cost 16€ (≈$21) and two nice necklaces, which I bought (and think I’m going to keep for myself…). I don’t know what to do about presents. I think I’m going to knit someone a scarf, and then see what I can do either at the huge shopping mall here in Lisboa (onde a vida é boa) or the local one in Lourinha. (To clarify: the house we live in is in Areia Branca [White Sand] which is a suburb of sorts of the town Lourinha which is just a small town. Lisboa is about 45 minutes away without traffic, so we’re relatively close.
After the disappointing shopping escapade, my aunt dragged my cousins/brother away from the arcade games and into the car to take me and my brother to my paternal grandmother’s house. Joy. There we had leftovers, as well as some small lobsters which I actually dared to try and were pretty good. After that I checked my e-mail and was given full-strength coffee (which almost never happens, my parents are always careful to give me watered-down coffee), which is the reason I’m still wide awake (it’s 3am as I’m typing this). Then we drove down here to Areia Branca where we settled into our house.
For dinner we went to the house of some friends of ours who live in Lourinha. Tó (I call him Tio Tó, which means Uncle Tó, but when I was little I couldn’t say that and I pronounced it Ti-Tó [Tee-toh] instead. The name stuck.) and his wife Kikas (also a nickname) live in Lourinha. They have one son, Nuno, who is the most spoiled person I know. His parents are the nicest people alive, but Nuno… ugh. I could fill a book with stories about Nuno, but honestly they’re not worth telling. He annoys me. Dinner was excellent though.
And so, here I am, at 3:08am, importing songs into iTunes and typing this. I hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as I did. I apologize for the insane size of this entry. I miss you all!
-Cisca