Dec 24 - meet the parents

I'd never thought about it before, but last night was "meet the parents" night. Of course we know Aaron's parents, have not met Sara's Mom yet, and this was the first time meeting Kim's Mom & Dad. Today, Christmas Day, we'll meet more of the family at dinner at their house.

Last night, however, Kim and David were hostess and host to us. Kim cooked a ham (my favorite), with baked squash & cauliflower and risotto. Everything was excellent -- this was her first time doing some of this including the ham. She likes experimenting and isn't afraid of trying things out with a willing audience.

After dinner we watched the video of their wedding. Last July 4, in their backyard, they surprised the guests invited for a "barbecue" by having a justice of the peace (or whatever the term is here) and celebrated their wedding vows. Surprise surprise ... and they told us about it when they came to the cottage later in the month ... surprise surprise. The video was capped by footage of David and two friends bouncing around in one of the blow-up kids things, not sure what they're called. It was hilarious.

Earlier in the day Sandy, Megan and I went to the West Edmonton Mall. We walked the length of the mall, did a little spontaneous shopping and saw the sights. Amusement parks etc. make it a destination for many, especially when it's -20+C outside ! Before we went I was doing some internet searches and found that it is no longer the largest mall in the world -- surpassed by others it's now number four. The Mall of America in Minneapolis is number seven, not even as large as the King of Prussia Mall which is close to where we lived in Radnor PA. The malls are ranked on several factors -- total space in square feet (or square meters, take your pick) and also gross leasable space. I presume that leasable space does not include the footprint of a roller coaster ! I think, based on my research, that the mall in Dubai is the largest, but again, I have no idea what is included in total space.

The mall was not terribly busy, reflecting perhaps that it was already Christmas Eve afternoon and many people were at home preparing for the festivities. I had no trouble finding parking. We ate in one of the two food courts. I had a hankering for Chinese food; Megan agreed and Sandy came along for the ride.

On our trip west the Trans Canada Highway passes by many towns. Those towns have one or two exits off the highway, usually an East and West exit, with the "business" diversion of the highway going through the center of the town. The West Edmonton Mall has three exits off the main artery, reflecting, perhaps, that it employs close to 25,000 people and of course that is many fewer than the number of shoppers even when it's not busy. Do I like malls ? No. Do I ever go to Malls ? Not usually. Do Malls give me a headache ? Yes, normally. Yesterday I was in a mood though that would not be disturbed by crowds. Perhaps this Mall is better served by fresh air ... but it didn't bother my head, which usually aches within minutes of entering a busy Mall.

Back home with Kim and David, they were preparing for the evening feast. We saw a domesticated side of David that we'd never seen before, helping with clothes wash, serving etc. Out here in the far north, life is good. We are very happy to see them so happy. It's contagious.

As usual, I hit the sack early, but not before Kim's parents left :). We said our good-nights, but of course we'll see them again today, along with Kim's sister and her family and some others (I forget). I'll get to Mass late morning, after presents are opened here. It's 6:43 ... Megan and David are up; Kim and Sandy are still in bed. Abby, of course, has been bouncing around as usual. She picks up on any excitement, but then she's already excited by any new people.

That's it ... I'm rambling ... other than Christmas Day happenings, we have nothing else planned until Sunday when we'll drive to Jasper after lunch. It's time to veg out.

Onward !