England - Happy Christmas at Nether Burrows Farm

I woke up late on Christmas morning and went downstairs to find Steve and Dana in the kitchen.  Steve was working on blueberry walnut pancakes (vegan) for breakfast.  No sooner had I had my breakfast than Dana asked if we were up for a hike.  Absolutely!

The girls and Mike were sleeping and had no interest in joining us so the four of us headed out.

We stopped at the local church where I had intended on going to Christmas service but had decided sleeping in was a better idea.  It was a beautiful old church dating back to the 1600s but I noticed most of the gravestones were 19th century.

Except for this beauty from 1750.

Yours truly

A paved road!  Yay!

More mud

By the time we got back to the cottage, the girls were up and had eaten breakfast.  We scavenged the kitchen for leftovers for lunch knowing in a few hours we'd be having our Christmas feast.  There's nothing like working up an appetite during a long walk and then having an unconventional meal after.  Famished!

For dinner, Dana had gotten a roast but all the sides were vegan for me and Steve.  Dana and Roger were hard at work in the kitchen and the girls set the table with the Christmas crackers none of us were familiar with.  

They were so unfamiliar with them, the girls stood
them on end instead of laying them down.  Cute!

We enjoyed a wonderful meal and opened our crackers at the end.  The tradition, so I'm told, is that you hold the end of the cracker in your hand, cross your arms and share the end of the cracker with the person next to you.  Everyone pulls at the same time and they POP! open to reveal goodies inside.  All of these have a silly joke, a crepe paper crown and a little toy.  We crowned ourselves and took turns reading our jokes out loud amidst groans due to the punniness of them.

The Princesses with their crowns

It was right about this time my phone rang for a FaceTime chat with my family back home.  Everyone had gathered at my sister's house so I was able to say hello to my mom, sister, and daughter and see my precious granddaughter, Juliana.  We missed them but I felt better knowing they'd gotten together despite our absence.

After dinner, the Christmas pudding was served.  Definitely not vegan, the rest of the family thoroughly enjoyed this traditional English Christmas treat.

Must. Find. Vegan. Recipe.

We didn't have any gifts to open and it certainly wasn't like any Christmas the girls and I had ever spent together but it was probably one of the best ones I've ever had.  I had my girls and my darling man with me.  He was happy to be spending the holiday with his wonderful kids at the end of a year that was heartbreaking and life changing for all three of them.  All was right in our world and we felt peaceful and happy.

Our English Christmas