Hollywood, Florida
Yesterday we had the chance to meet up with our friends the Caldwell’s; Linda, Steve and their two children. Jessie and Sam, who had escaped the frigid confines of Ardsley to stay in Linda’s mother’s condo in Hollywood, just steps from the beach. The children loved playing with each other in the sea and back at the condo’s pool. It was a rare chance for Karen and I to have some adult conversation with people other than ourselves, and for all of us to sit down with another family and just relax. Fortunately the children get on really well, which makes it much easier for us to forget they are there even if it is for a short space in time. It is also important for the children to have company other than each other – living in such close confines is extremely stressful at times and everyone gets on each others nerves.
Today, Christmas day, was a fairly chilled out day. As usual the children woke first excited to see what Santa had bought them. With passing years it gets less frenetic, although they still are very excited. By and large Santa bought them everything they wanted – and fortunately being a wise fellow everything was relatively small to accommodate our limited living space. After clearing up the unwanted wrapping paper we joined the Caldwells for a brief breakfast after which we returned home to prepare Christmas lunch. The traditional British Christmas dinner consists of large turkey, stuffing and plenty of vegetables – not too dissimilar to a Thanksgiving meal here in the US. Obviously in a motor home the facilities are more limited but still we had roasted chicken breasts, fried potato and lots of vegetable and to follow a traditional Christmas pudding Laura had bought over with her. The most unusual aspect of Christmas lunch was sitting on the patio area and eating outside in the warm Florida air.
Yesterday we had the chance to meet up with our friends the Caldwell’s; Linda, Steve and their two children. Jessie and Sam, who had escaped the frigid confines of Ardsley to stay in Linda’s mother’s condo in Hollywood, just steps from the beach. The children loved playing with each other in the sea and back at the condo’s pool. It was a rare chance for Karen and I to have some adult conversation with people other than ourselves, and for all of us to sit down with another family and just relax. Fortunately the children get on really well, which makes it much easier for us to forget they are there even if it is for a short space in time. It is also important for the children to have company other than each other – living in such close confines is extremely stressful at times and everyone gets on each others nerves.
Today, Christmas day, was a fairly chilled out day. As usual the children woke first excited to see what Santa had bought them. With passing years it gets less frenetic, although they still are very excited. By and large Santa bought them everything they wanted – and fortunately being a wise fellow everything was relatively small to accommodate our limited living space. After clearing up the unwanted wrapping paper we joined the Caldwells for a brief breakfast after which we returned home to prepare Christmas lunch. The traditional British Christmas dinner consists of large turkey, stuffing and plenty of vegetables – not too dissimilar to a Thanksgiving meal here in the US. Obviously in a motor home the facilities are more limited but still we had roasted chicken breasts, fried potato and lots of vegetable and to follow a traditional Christmas pudding Laura had bought over with her. The most unusual aspect of Christmas lunch was sitting on the patio area and eating outside in the warm Florida air. 
