Christmas in Belgium 2015

This year’s Christmas was a completely new experience. For the first time since I’ve met my wife, we haven’t had family close enough to spend time with on Christmas day. We’ve always either hosted or been to family for Christmas lunch. This would break the day into opening presents, the hectic dash and then the exhausted wind down of the day with the realization that Christmas has been all about rushing, stressing and being crazy-busy all day.

This was the first year we didn’t have family to visit or hosting family for Christmas lunch. The family we had in Belgium moved back to South Africa, their son who still lives in Belgium had gone to them for Christmas and there was no visiting family in our little apartment.

This year we would be…

 

alone!

 

Christmas this year was a quiet, intimate affair and it’s been the best Christmas I’ve had in years! Christmas lunch was a quick but luxurious eating experience with my amazing wife and daughter. We had eisbein with mashed potato, sauerkraut and ratatouille vegetables accompanied with red wine and cherry cola for my daughter. She loved the eisbein, the sauerkraut…not so much.

Christmas lunch with my little family.
Christmas lunch.

We don’t have Thanksgiving or any holiday like it before Christmas in South Africa or Belgium. For me it’s always been rolled into one. I’ve always been thankful for the gifts under the Christmas tree but also more than that – the things I can’t take pictures of. For me, Christmas is a time to reflect and be grateful for the things and privileges I have.

So, first the things I’m grateful for that can’t be expressed in a single photo:

The privilege of living in Belgium.

The feeling of safety for my little family, knowing that when I come home from work that they’ll all be okay.

Safer traffic conditions than I was previously used to.

The ability and right to be able to change employer without the hindrance of law that discriminates against me because of the colour of my skin.

Public transport that works.

A government that looks after the interest of its people and not their own personal interests.

All in all, I’m grateful for our quality of life here in Belgium.

…and what was under the Christmas tree for me?

A chocolate orange with dark chocolate. Yes, Belgians love their dark chocolate.

Chocolate Orange.
A chocolate orange. So British!

This is big for me. A really amazing gift and I’ll tell you why. I’m pretty much deaf in my right ear because the mechanisms between the outside world and the nerve parts of my ear don’t work. This means that if the sound were to be able to get to the inner parts of my ear, I could hear with both ears. I’ve never been able to appreciate music in true stereo. My wife, with this gift, has made that possible! I tried it and it works! It’s like a little miracle in a box!

Thank you Mrs. Awesome!

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Bone-conduction headphones.

I think Mrs Awesome’s hinting that I should awaken my artistic side again. It’s time I produced some drawn art again. I like that idea.

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I love manga style drawing.
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High quality colour pencils.

A mojito kit for summer time.

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Summertime kit.

I love liver pate. Here is the assortment I got under the tree. Perfect for a breakfast slice of toast.

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Pate selection.

I love gaming. It relaxes me. I can’t wait to really get into these!

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Some free-time activities.

And that was everything under the Christmas tree!

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas with all the good things you wanted and perhaps some good things you were simply granted because you were such a good boy or girl!

Ciao for now.

Christmas Eve 2015

A walk in the woods seems to be becoming a tradition on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, no matter how cold. My daughter was kind enough to join me.

Off we go.
Off we go.

Some houses have that little extra Christmas spirit, with visible decorations for passers-by to enjoy.

2 Blue Door 2015
The blue door and wreath.

It’s strange to have Wolvenberg, a little forest area, so close to home in the city as it were. It’s a quite extensive green area and well established.

3 The Woods 2015
Entrance to the woods.

Our winter has been exceptionally warm this year in Belgium, even getting a hash-tag of #lenteindecember meaning “spring in December”. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like we’re lounging around in our swimwear. It is cold but not as cold as it usually is. We haven’t dropped to below zero temperatures…yet.

The bare winter woods.
The bare winter woods.

The woods are very bare this time of year with skeletal trees reaching for the skies, waiting for warmer times.

Walking through the woods at this time of year gives me pause to contemplate. To review what has been, what is and what will be. It’s my personal “A Christmas Carol” experience.

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Still some green.

There’s even some green still to be seen among the trees and the ground was very wet from the rain of the previous night. It can make walking a little difficult as the mud can be rather slippery.

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Skipping through the forest.

There’s nothing more wonderful than my daughter skipping through the woods. Even in winter the woods deserves a little skipping through. It brighten things up a bit.

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Pools of moss.

We found pools of moss at the base of the trees in this spot. It’s fantastic how some things occur in some places and not in others. Only in this little region did the moss grow like this.

My daughter pleaded with me here to go to the play area across the road for a bit. Well, why not? Today there’s no urgent appointment to be going to. Today is for us and I’d like nothing better for her.

Off we go then across the bridge.

8 Over the bridge 2015
Across the bridge to the play park.

From the bridge we can see all the busy people of the world below. Rushing to their destinations on the road below.

9 The Park 2015
Playing at the park.

We had a really pleasant time in the park. My daughter got to burn off some of that young, crazy energy and I got to relax and enjoy the fresh air. After an hour or so, the clouds started looking very heavy and moving really fast. Being winter, the sun began to set far sooner than we’d have liked. Too soon it was time to go home and prepare for Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Ciao for now.