First Christmas Day Luncheon

Sunday, Dec. 25, Copenhagen (Part II)

I went to Evy's and Arvind's at 1:30. It was so nice to see everyone again. Gitte, Carit, and their daughter Sascha were there. Neils, his partner Helle, and his twin children Teddy and Sabrina were also there. I've been a part of their family for so many years that I think of them as family. And I know they think of me that way, too.

As usual, Arvind had made a Christmas centerpiece for me. Over the years, he has always done this only for their children and for Arne and me. And Evy had a jar of her homemade pickled herring for me. They updated me on all the happenings in their lives and showed me photos of the new campground where they now have their caravans as summer houses. Arvind has built a small guesthouse, and Evy suggested that Sue and I should come in the summer and stay there with them.

The Christmas luncheon was a huge feast. There was brown (rye) bread and Evy's homemade white bread for making smørebrød (Danish open-faced sandwiches). Among the toppings, which were so numerous that I can't remember them all, were: pickled herrings with onions, herring in wine sauce with onion, herrings in curry sauce, smoked eel with scrambled egg, gravlax and smoked salmon with honey mustard and dill, meatballs with pickle, boiled eggs with caviar (red and black), paté with fried bacon, shrimps with lemon and mayonnaise, etc. We had beer and snaps (akuavit) to drink. Then all of that was followed by a cheese tray (brie, cram cheese with garlic, Norwegian sweet cheese, typical Danish cheese, etc.) and various kinds of crackers. Next came rice-almond pudding with cherry sauce. Then we left the dining table (after 2 1/2 to 3 hours of eating and visiting) to move to the living room where we had coffee with Danish Christmas cookies (klejner, Finskbrød, cocos kranse, pepper nuts, etc.).

For the first time every, Sascha felt comfortable enough to visit with me in English. And Teddy, who is 13 and has been in a gifted and talented program for years, visited with me quite a bit. He's matured so much since I last saw him two years ago. He has a very outgoing personality and sweet facial expressions.

I excused myself at 7:30 and caught the bus back to Grethe's. She had shared a Christmas luncheon with her brother Morten and his wife Helle and then had done laundry. I now have clean clothes! We tried to watch a movie, but I was just too tired. I went to bed at 9:00.

Monday, Dec. 26 (Second Christmas Day), Copenhagen (Part I)

I was quite miserable all night with my stuffy nose and irritated eyes. Grethe thinks I have a cold, but I'm pretty sure it is allergies. My nose is drippy and the mucous is clear when I blow into a tissue. I wish I had some Claratin; I think it would clear up immediately if I did. I may try taking a part of an antihistamine tablet that I have with me to see if it will help. I 'm just worried about it making me sleepy all day.

I also forgot to take my melatonin last night at bedtime. I usually take it the first 3-4 nights to help me adjust to the time zone changes. Since I didn't take it, I awoke earlier than usual this morning. I still slept about 9 hours, however.

Today is still a holiday here in Denmark. People branch out to spend this second Christmas day (third day of holidays here) with friends. I'll see Jens and Ro ert this morning, then Grethe and I will go spend the late afternoon and evening with Old Grethe.