Multitudes of Christmases, celebrations and food

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We had to leave the house pretty early my first day in Little Rock to go and see Daters’ grandparents. We packed up all of the family Christmas presents and set off for Hot Springs. We stopped at a small gas station where I grabbed a drink and some lovely homemade cookies. We went the back route to their house which was great because I got to see more of the countryside of Arkansas, it was pretty obvious why it is called the Natural State. We got to see some of the marshes and forests between Little Rock and Hot Springs. Daters’ grandparents live in a retirement village near Hot Springs. For the British amongst you, a retirement village is like nothing we have in the UK. It was giant, for the Midlanders of you, it was about the size of Loughborough. They have three lakes, shops, businesses and all the conveniences that you could possibly want. Houses were divided up into sub-divisions and had yards and many of them backed directly onto the lake. The entire area was beautiful and you had to go through security to get in so it was very safe as well. Daters’ grandparents’ house was amazing and they made me feel very welcome as soon as we got there. Not long after we arrived Daters’ brother, Adam and his wife, Valerie arrived with their little boy, Hayden. Hayden woke us all up a lot, it was very hectic but a lot of fun to have a little kid running around and he seemed to be having a good time. Daters’ dad and his wife, Gretchen arrived a little while later and soon we were all sitting down to dinner. We had stuffed pork chops, potatoes, gravy, French beans, eggs, it went on and on and on. There was so much food, luckily Thanksgiving had prepared me for American celebratory eating habits. I was very full and very happy by the end of the meal. something that I hadn’t realised was that people seem to eat dessert in the same sitting as the main course. Often without a break at all, which I still can’t get my head around. Daters’ father and Gretchen had to leave soon afterwards but we then sat down to open presents. I was completely blown away as Daters’ grandparents had given me a Christmas gift, it was so unexpected and lovely. We had a great time and because it had been Valerie’s birthday, Adam had bought an Oreo birthday cake so we could sing and celebrate. It was wonderful but then I felt about ready to explode. We headed out at about half past four in the afternoon and went a little way before we stopped to look at a barn that Daters had seen many times but never been to see properly. It was in a field over a locked gate so she has some pretty impressive pictures of me in a skirt trying to climb over a gate. We spent a good while clambering around in the field and exploring the barn before we got so cold that we couldn’t move let alone take pictures so we went back to the car to warm up. The drive back seemed shorter but maybe because I was half asleep, it was again very lovely to look at. On the Monday, Daters had to go into work and so I got to have a lie in, she picked me up on her lunch break and we went to a place nearby to meet a friend of hers. Sara knew Daters for a long time but now lived in North Carolina and was around for Christmas. We had a wonderful lunch, I had a bacon, cheese and lettuce toasted sandwich which was about the best thing I had eaten. I was then dropped into downtown Little Rock, by the Library and spent a happy few hours reading some of the cookery books before venturing into the city itself. I went into a great shop called Bath Junkie where you can make your own perfume and I got a lovely roll on perfume that will be safe to bring home. There was a woman in there who commented on my accent and then called her daughter in to hear me speak. Alex, her daughter was auditioning for a part in the play of ‘Wind in the Willows’ (my favourite childhood book) and so we talked about the book for a while and then I helped her with a few words she was having trouble with. I walked around the banks of the river and the market there which was great. Then I found a bookshop - big mistake. The library that I had been in gets about fifty boxes of books donated to it each week and the best ones go to this bookshop so all of the books are cheap and in great condition, plus the money goes into reading programs and support for the library in general. I spent about two hours in there and left just before it closed so that I could go and grab a cup of coffee before I went to meet Daters. She picked me up and we popped in to see her dad and Gretchen for a chat and a couple of drinks which was fab. I really like both her father, Tim and Gretchen they are great fun and I loved getting to know them, talk to them and spend time with them. Afterwards we had some errands that we needed to run and went to grab some groceries and fabric that Daters needed. It was getting a little late so we headed home where Jeff had made fajitas for us for dinner. We ate and watched a movie before going to bed.
In the morning we got up at a good hour and had some breakfast before we started to make the blanket that Daters was making for Jeff. We just about got it finished before he got home. In the afternoon we went to the Clinton Library which was something that I had wanted to see for a very long time. The amount of information that they had in there was stunning. On every aspect of the presidency, apart from the impeachment. Each year had a separate display and all of the presidential schedules were there as well. There were also ten separate sections about all of the different aspects of the presidency. There was a lot to read, all of which was interesting and very accessible. It started with a show about Clinton’s life and there were lots of artefacts which when led into the main exhibition and there was also an upstairs which had things about all of the state dinners and the gifts which they had been given as well. We were exhausted by the time we left as there was a lot to read and we had been walking around for quite a time. The last stop was the reconstruction of the Oval Office from when Clinton was in office and then we drove to the gift shop which was closer to downtown so I could get a couple of souvenirs. We went back to Daters’ house and crashed out for the evening, Jeff once again made a lovely dinner of chicken and cornbread.
For Christmas Eve we went to have lunch with Sara again but at a different place where I had been told the Cobb Salad was great and because it’s a favourite of mine we had to go. It was so lovely talking to Sara again and being able to get to know her a bit better. Daters and I did some final bits of shopping before we went home to get ready for dinner with Tim and Gretchen that evening. We headed over at about seven. It was great sitting and talking to everyone before we ate, Gretchen’s daughter, Gray was there as well so there was a good group of us there. For dinner we had a beautiful tenderloin of beef, roasted vegetables, bread rolls with marmalade butter, horseradish sauce. For dessert we had the most amazing chocolate and Grand Marnier cake, mousse, thing. It was light and so rich and perfect. With coffee which made it even better. We chatted for a while afterwards and then went home to prepare for even more eating the next day.
I woke up quite late on Christmas morning because we didn’t need to head out for brunch until nearly ten which was great. I was still full from supper the night before when we set off back the way that we had been. It was lovely being with a family on Christmas day. When we got there we started with drinks, I had an orange julius which was frozen orange juice, ice, vanilla and sugar. It was very strange at first but actually really good. We set up the table and while we were waiting for Daters’ grandparents to arrive we opened the Christmas presents that they had for each other. Yet again I was completely surprised as Tim and Gretchen had bought me an amazing present, a box of stocking presents which were all perfectly sized to fit in my suitcase. It was loads of fun, we all got great gifts and they were doing a ‘green’ Christmas which was a bonus. When their grandparents arrived we talked and exchanged good wishes before we sat down to dinner. I was very honoured that Tim asked me to say Grace and I only hope that it wasn’t disappointing to them. This time we had ham with asparagus, cheddar grits and followed by perfect fresh fruit and strudel. Everything was wonderful. After we had eaten Gretchen showed me some photographs of their beach home and some books on the area. I also wandered around the house taking photos of the art that they own, which I am hugely jealous of. We went home after brunch at about half past two to relax for a while before we went into town at about half past six. We were treated to watching a dramatisation of a radio play of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. Afterwards I said a final farewell to my boots which had been a good companion and they went to a new home with Gray as I couldn’t carry them any further and was sending all of my smart clothes home anyways. All in all a very good holiday season.

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