A Frogpond Christmas Eve

 

Christmas Eve started out relaxed, with everything in place for dinner at the house with Mama, Ian, Becky and Alan.  The house clean, presents wrapped, decorations up -- all, amazingly and most atypically, done.  In mid-afternoon, Bruce and I, with nothing left to do, drove up to Angels Camp to pick up a few last items at the grocery store.  We lingered and enjoyed ourselves because, of course, we had plenty of time. 

However, when we got home, the day decidedly changed tone.  There was a message on our machine from a neighbor telling us that she had been walking her dog on the road and saw a fountain of water spouting from the pipe that leads from our well to the water tank.  This is bad news to hear at any time, but is infinitely worse towards sundown on a Saturday.  And the bad news factor is exponentially compounded if this sundown on a Saturday also happens to fall on Christmas Eve.  The people who service our well were out on two other repair calls when Bruce called them (wells have a perverse 6th sense about these things and tend to break down on the holidays).  They couldn't come.  As we walked back up to the house, I was considering the option of perhaps putting off the festivities until the following day when, hopefully, the pipe would be repaired. 

Even as I was thinking about calling our dinner off, Bruce was pondering the situation and decided that he could probably fix the pipe himself.  This was provided he could find a hardware store still open and that they carried the pipe sizes he needed.  Lots of "ifs" there.  Just as we reached house, the phone rang and it was Mama telling me that she and Ian were about to leave for our house.  The plan had been for her to come up and prepare the meat for the rouladen here.  Without water, things were decidedly looking more problematic for preparing a Christmas feast, not to mention having four guests (two of whom were spending the night) in a house where it wasn't possible to flush the toilet.  I suggested that perhaps it might be more prudent to postpone our dinner until Christmas Day.  But Mama, bless her heart, was adamant that a lack of water shouldn't spoil our Christmas Eve.  So I took a breath and said to come on up. 


All the hardware stores in Copperopolis were already closed, so Bruce immediately drove down to Manteca, about 45 minutes away, to get the pipe parts that he needed. 


The Spirits and Spices for Glogg

 This year I'd heard a lovely interview on Public Radio with a woman from the Danish consulate.  She described a drink of hot mulled wine called Glogg.  I was intrigued with a  recipe that's supposed to make the house smell like Christmas, with its spices of clove, cardamom, orange peel, ginger and cinnamon.  It also contains one cup of Aquavit,two cups of burgundy and two cups of port.  Good times!  I decided that I would have Glogg steaming in the pot by the time Bruce got home.  I got to work putting together one of the most fun recipes I've ever followed (and it didn't require any water to prepare).

 

The Danish woman on the radio spoke the truth: the house absolutely smelled like Christmas by the time I was finished.  Naturally, I sampled it to see if it was up to par. 
It was.

Bruce got home after dark and I was able to hand him a glass of the hot brew before he got to work.    I love the Danes! 



Bruce gluing together pipe joints on Christmas Eve



And then my stalwart husband glued together the pipes and, fortified by Glogg, he and Alan set off down the hill to repair the damage.  I stayed up in the kitchen with Mama.  She settled herself on a stool and rolled the rouladen while I busied myself with doing all the other things that needed doing.  Cooking without water in the kitchen is a challenge!  Mama made it work, though. 



Mama preparing rouladen without water on Christmas Eve












 In the end, Bruce the Hero fixed the pipe and water was restored.  He did cut the palm of his hand rather badly on the severed pipe.  On the upside, this injury sidelines himself from any holiday dish washing duty (and only fair for the guy who got the water going again so that dishes could be washed).  A bit of silver lining there!

The dinner was excellent.  Everyone had a good time.  The Glogg flowed.  Presents were opened with enthusiasm. 

And, for once,  it actually was a treat to be able to wash the dishes afterwards. 

Christmas came to Frogpond -- and it was good!







The Austrian Angels





 

 










  





Running water: the best gift of all



Merry Christmas!