Views From Paradise

Well Christmas has come and gone for another year.  Remarkable this year for us in that all our children, their spouses and our grandchildren were here with us to enjoy.  Most evenings we sat 15 people around an extended table that required moving other furniture to fit in.  Lots of meals and lots of dishes and lots of refreshments

Christmas Eve Janine and Vedran organized BBQ pizzas with everyone getting their choice on toppings.  10 pizzas were prepared and for the most part all were consumed.

Christmas day was the traditional Turkey dinner.  This year we arranged for a fresh 23 pound bird and with the crowd we only had enough leftovers for soup and a few sandwiches.

Boxing Day dinner was prepared by Sean and Andra a standing pork rib roast.  They did this in character as that was the night of our murder mystery and Sean was the butler and Andra the maid.  Great meal and we had a wonderful mystery investigation afterwards.  Everyone had a role and everyone played it out well.  A surprise development was the character played by 10 year old Mason was the secret lover of Pat (playing the sister of the first murder victim)  and therefore the father of  the nephew of the murder victim played by James.  Janine, Meagan, Bronte and Ariana were having affairs with either the character played by James or the Pool Boy played by Bryndon or the chauffeur played by Chandler.  Vedran was the lawyer and Jorg the corrupt accountant with Monique playing the family shrink.

In the end Chandler was the murderer and played his role perfectly.

The days were filled with hiking in the forests trails due to the lack of snow on Mount Washington which precluded skiing and snowshoeing.  Lots of jigsaw puzzles were completed and each evening ended with group games.  Weather was overcast but mostly warm so outdoor activities were very comfortable for the twice daily dog walks.

As each of the kids headed home Pat was able (with a little help from me) to bring the household back into shape.