I guess this thing won't write itself...

Man, a neglected blog is the worst! The longer it goes unwritten, the harder it is to write. I've started composing blog posts three or four times, but clearly, haven't been able to finish one. Until now! Armed with a brand-new tiny little laptop that my parents brought down as a Christmas parents (Thanks Mom and Dad!!), I'm determined to get on the ball with this blog thing.

So, much has happened since the last installment. In a nutshell, we had Christmas at the farm, which was interesting and different, and fun. Christmas is celebrated here on the night of December 24th, with a big dinner, which is often made up of cold dishes, since its the middle of the summer. I won't describe all of them in detail, but let's just say that there was a lot of canned tuna, mayonnaise, and stuffed, rolled, and boiled foods involved. Here's a picture of the dinner:

I contributed a "special" dish my family eats on Christmas and Thanksgiving—a molded tomato soup-cream cheese-mayonnaise “salad” with radishes, celery, and green onions. While my siblings and I grew up loving this wobbly, salmon-colored appetizer, extended family and friends with whom we’ve shared our holiday meals usually take a polite sliver and fumble over inquiries about the contents and origin of the dish. I was psyched to attempt it using homemade cream cheese, mayonnaise, and vegetables from the garden, and to see what the family and other volunteers thought of it. Plus, given the 1960s theme of the meal, and Argentines' obvious fondness for mayonnaise and gelatin, my odd little addition had never been so "at home."

We sat down to eat around 10:00, and were still at the table when midnight struck. We toasted with pineapple-flavored sparkling wine, and then exchanged gifts. Cynthia had made each of us chicas (volunteers) a personal "Pan Dulce," the Argentine, much-better version of a fruitcake. It's like an Italian "panetone," and Cynthia's is really good. Jenny, Kat, and I (the December volunteers), had made a book for Cynthia, Nacho, Fede, and Sol, filled with recipes, photos, pictures, and poems. It came out really well, and it was great to see their reactions to it.

So that was Christmas! On the day of the 25th, we went down and did the animal chores in the morning, so Cynthia could sleep in, and I spent the rest of the rainy, chilly day in front of the wood stove, reading and journaling. It was cozy and quiet. Which was perfect, because the next few days were anything but!

(dot dot dot)