House...at least the outside

Hi all,

My parents and I celebrated a magnificent and restful Christmas day. I hope your celebrations were amazing as well! I'm sending out "Christmas cards/change of address cards"...unfortunately most won't likely get to you until at least New Year's Day or later. I didn't order them until I knew my new address and well, I've not been moving too quickly getting them addressed. Check your mailbox early and often...it'll be there soon!

Back to Christmas! Celebrating the amazing birth of our Savior was quiet around here, particularly without the Scaggs kiddos. It was bittersweet celebrations without them. My mom and I made cookies earlier in the week and delivered them to the gate guards on the two bases I frequent routinely. I hope they enjoyed them. I love to bake and it's nice to have a destination for my goodies other than my hips! It was wonderful delivering the goodies and we later had a terrific dinner of standing rib roast with horseradish and a mix of roasted brussels sprouts, parsnips and new potatoes. Yummy! Actually sounds a bit British! My dad is a good cook!!!

Today we joined in the tradition of celebrating "Boxing Day." This traditionally was a day when servants/tenants were given a day off to go visit families and they were given boxes full of gifts and leftover Christmas dinner to take along. We drove to some villages near Stansted Airport as my cousin Rhonda and her family were flying in from a holiday skiing in Austria. We visited a pub and then went to an Indian restaurant for some good food! I had my favorite, chicken Balti. My mom had a wonderful lamb and spinach mix and my dad ate something only those with asbestos tongues should attempt. I don't even know the name for it...I'm pretty sure it translates into English as "burn and then burn some more." He even ordered "chili" naan bread. Let me just say that it took two glasses of water and several hours before I could feel my upper lip again. I don't know how he does it. I enjoyed my plain naan.

Okay so to the meat of this blog. I went over to my bungalow yesterday when we were out and about and took some pictures of the outside of the place. I don't have a key yet so I'll send inside pictures when I can get them... here are a few shots.







The place is brand new so it needs some vegetation and a window box/hanging planter or something! I'll work on that later! You can see in one picture a little glass room. That is the "conservatory." In Texas we'd melt there most of the time but here, on a sunny day, I could probably warm my entire 500 square feet, er, bungalow. Also you may note that my house number is ONE (1). I think that's pretty cool.

Well, it's after midnight here and I'm going to have to get in bed. Soon, I'll be out of holiday/move mode and will have to get up at the crack of dawn (hours before it actually, as the sun isn't rising til 8am right now...makes for a short day 8am to about 3:45pm).

I hope you all had amazing, wonder filled Christmases. When you think how incredible it is that God sent His Son in human flesh you should feel nothing BUT awe.

Until next time,

Cheers from Christie and Sydney