Norfolk Christmas

We were so busy in Norfolk that I wasn't able to keep up on the blog. But now that we're back in Ross, I've finally been able to filter through all my pix and share some with you.

This collage captures some of the highlights of our time together with Olivier, Terry and Jennifer. We first went to a cute little pub called the Three Pigs and had a wonderful dinner of pig parts while Dominic and Olivier exercised their wit over a few games of chess.

On Friday, we celebrated Christmas Eve for Olivier, and had a fantastic and festive feast of goose, specially prepared by Terry; complete with all the trimmings, including an English Christmas pudding alight with brandy butter. Delish!!! We also had homemade Christmas crackers made by Jennifer, which were loads of fun. Balloons that squeaked and twirled were treasured by Olivier and Freya, and they gave us grown-ups the benefit of testing our lung capacity... which seemed to be sadly lacking!

Dominic, Olivier and I also attended a "panto" in Sheringham -- my first ever. For those of us non-UK types, it's a theatrical performance that is humorous and interactive and designed for kids. We saw "The Wizard of Oz" - but it wasn't the show you'd expect. The Wicked Witch engaged the audience by having us scream BOOOO at her, as her Boo-meter registered our decibels (man, little kids can be sooooo loud!!!). We also had to respond to the actors with phrases like "Oh no you don't" and "Behind you!". I had low expectations going in, but it was quite fun!

Olivier also got to open his gifts from Santa. And as a good boy, he left out a snack and glass of sherry for Santa, along with a bowl of milk for Rudolph. But he was stunned to discover that Santa is a kleptomaniac! His comment was, "Santa's a cheeky bugger! He stole our glass and bowl!" Ooops! Good thing he didn't look in the dishwasher ;-)