Beginning to look like Xmas

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….well it has for about a month really!! I’ve really enjoyed the Xmas spirit over here, it’s cold, hot chocolate is perfect, the lights and decorations are fantastic and the feeling is just like a Hallmark movie. Not to mention, out come those silly Xmas sweaters. Can’t see us wearing them when we get back home!!

After the disappointment of stopping flying, I found a way to fill my spare time by volunteering in the kitchen at a homeless shelter. The Embassy has chosen this shelter to support this Xmas by donating food and clothes. It is called Christ House and is a medical respite for homeless men. While they provide a medical clinic to walk-ins, they are a small medical facility with beds for about 40 men to recover after surgery in hospital. These men are homeless and not able to care for themselves properly after surgery given they are homeless so the House takes them in, cares for them and also helps them to tackle the underlying problems of their homelessness.

So I have been volunteering 2-3 shifts a week in the kitchen to help with both preparation and service of the lunch meals.  Each shift is about 2-3 hours long and very easy work under the guidance of staff chefs. The staff and patients are super friendly and extremely grateful of a volunteer’s time. In the kitchen, I have made sandwiches, cut meat, vegetables and cornbread and stacked foods in the fridge of pantry. I have served meals to the patients and staff who eat in the dining room and meals are prepared for about 60 people. Christ House relies heavily on food support programs and donations so meals are planned based on what food is on hand at the time. It’s interesting to see how creative the chefs get - this is great experience for me. Meals are generally simple as the patients are not accustomed to fancy food such as mushrooms, avocados or artisan breads. But the meals are nutritious and really tasty – you can trust me on that. My friend Aussie Bob encouraged me in my first year to volunteer for a shelter but I never did. I will continue to volunteer through January until we leave but I’m sorry I only got started now. 

The Chicken Whisperer. We took a wander around the city again to see the big blue rooster called Hahn/Cock sculpted by a German artist. It’s a sculpture of a giant blue cockerel. Initially displayed in London’s Trafalgar Square in 2013, it was moved to DC National Gallery of Art in 2016. It stands 4.7m high and there is a second version in Minneapolis. It was absolutely freezing that day and we met our friends A&PH again for a city wander and lunch. They walked us to the rooster and left us to get our photos. Deb once again took some great shots and even caught the Capitol in the background. I’m not sure if it looked as tall as I expected but the photos certainly show me as a midget. The photo of the black post is outside the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church near the Embassy – this is where Abraham Lincoln would hitch his horse while he attended mass. The church has a stained glass window with Lincoln and the pew that Lincoln family rented (as a way to donate money to the church). Love these history pieces.

The Embassy kids Xmas party was held and once again, catered for the party. This was my third time so I followed my usual menu of sausage rolls, little sandwiches, chicken nuggets, cookies, cake and fairy bread. The plates were left empty and the sausage rolls flew off the plate. I managed to sit on Santa’s chair and check out the pressies before the little ones arrived.

We also attended the annual Xmas party for our American friends (I look at them as our adopted family now). They have been so wonderful to us. We went last year and it was nice to be welcomed again by familiar faces. Our friend made gingerbread cookies and if you look carefully, she made some kangaroos which was very sweet. I got asked to bring a pavlova again as it was popular last year. The key event of the party is Dirty Santa – you know the game where everyone brings a present and one by one, you pick a present. If you don’t like it, you steal someone elses, who then steals someone else’s and so on goes the game. There is always a mix of funny gifts, nice chocs or wine or some gift that keeps getting returned each year as a dud gift. Well, this year I got a small doll of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Most Aussies won’t know her but she is a US Supreme Court Justice. She’s 84 and an icon over here. She has fought for equality all her life and is highly regarded in every way. There is a movie coming out about her life on Xmas Day called ‘On The Basis of Sex’. Make sure you see it !!  Anyway, I got the doll and well, it was THE gift of the night. It got stolen from me but I managed to get it back. Phew. I had to watch her all night cause she was definitely going to end up in someone’s bag if I wasn’t careful. I said she was coming home to Australia and will sit on my shelf with all my Batman figures – she is a superhero after all. 

My goal each year is to see the National Xmas Tree at the White House. We had a nice dinner with our friends and wandered down to see the lights. It's a beautiful tree but I love the big train set around the base of the tree. Biggest I've ever seen and the trains are moving all over the place. Then there is one smaller tree (about 6ft) for each state and territory. It is decorated by a school or organisation from that state. It's nice to see the different ornaments on the tree that are unique to each state. Deb took some lovely photos with the Washington monument in the background in one direction, and the White House in another photo. 

And here is Santa on his surfboard with the kangaroo's on top of the Embassy.

The dogs are progressing through their vet appointments as part of the process to go home. I have paid the final payment for the travel (Visa card is on fire) and have their flights booked. For now, they are blissfully unaware that they are leaving on a big plane and continue to enjoy their daily adventures in the forest with the squirrels.

The next blog update will be at Xmas and we are hoping and wishing for snow. Until then, enjoy the last few days of Xmas carols and shopping and, we'll see you after the big man has been.