So yesterday I went to the spice market in Fethiye and bought the nuts and dried fruit for the Christmas cake. Making the cake is an important part of the Christmas tradition for me, even though I'm the only one in the house who really enjoys eating it. The boys like helping to make it though - especially licking out the bowl (I know -they're not supposed to do this, raw eggs and all that). The best thing about it for me is the smell of it cooking, which reminds me of childhood Christmases.
I also bought an advent calendar for Kaan; Emre, at 15, is far too cool for such things (unless they have chocolate in, of course). The Card Shop in Fethiye had a good selection of calendars, as well as cards, wrap, tags and crackers, thanks to the enterprising English owner who drove a van-load of goodies over from the UK. It made me recall previous years when such things were not available and celebrating Christmas here required a lot of imagination and some skill at crafting.
I have been known to make cards, tags, advent calendars, decorations and even a substitute Christmas tree from bean poles with the bean stalks - and even the odd bean - still attached! These years I take advantage of the availability of some things, but making the cards with the boys has become one of out Christmas traditions.
This year we are using the picture below, which I took a couple of winters ago not far from Fethiye. Yes, we do get to play in the snow here, though at the moment the weather is still lovely and warm....
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| snow in the mountains near Fethiye |
