December 24, 2033 Bagels with cream cheese/goat cheese, lax, red onion, and capers. Lunch - French Onion Soup. Dinner - Posole with a small scoop of sour cream over a freshly made beef tamale

December 24, 2033 Bagels with cream cheese/goat cheese, lax, red onion, and capers. Lunch - French Onion Soup.  Dinner - Posole with a  small scoop of sour cream over a freshly made beef tamale

Christmas Eve is always special and busy in our neighborhood because homes are busy putting out rows of luminarias and cooking in anticipation of Christmas Eve guests who walk the luminaria lit streets and visit friends.

We woke up and I sliced and toasted two of the fabulous Kaufman bagels into thirds and tasted them.  There was not enough cream cheese so I opened a fresh log of goat cheese to spread on the bagels and thinly sliced 1/3 red onion and a small pile of Gravad lax and Suzette fetched the capers and when Bill and Elaine joined us we ate bagels and lax for breakfast.

We then got dressed and drove to the Bosque and hiked to the two lakes.

There were lots of water fowl on the south lake and the paths were muddy from all the rain yesterday but it was sunny and not too windy, so pleasant.

When we returned at 11:00 Willy arrived and ate a bagel and then he and Billy and Elaine put out the 200 luminarias it takes to surround our property, while Suzette made beef broth with the leftover steak, mushrooms, and two t bones and then Julia Child’s French Onion Soup recipe and I made guacamole with the four small avocados I bought at El Supper , 1/4 onion, two cloves of garlic, juice of a lime, and several dashes of salt.

After the luminarias were set everyone snacked on the Murray’s cheese ball with water biscuits.

In the afternoon I ate two bowls of a French onion soup and then made the guacamole while watching the Cowboys play The Dolphins and Suzette and Elaine made brownies and put them in fancy metal boxes to take to neighbors as gifts in the evening.

Then at 5:00 Willy returned and everyone except me went out to light the 24 hour votive candles in each bag.

As the sun set we were welcomed to the view of thousands of luminaries illuminating the dozens of houses along Park and 15th Streets.

Around 6:00 Jody arrived with two trays filled with fresh tamales, one filled with roast beef and the other tray filled with sweet tamales stuffed with pineapple.

This seemed to be the signal for dinner. The pot of Posole had been cooking on the stove for several hours, so we each shucked and put one of the large beef tamales in a pasta bowl and covered it with posole and a dab of sour cream.  We again sat around the table for a family meal of posole, guacamole, corn chips, and Modelo beers.

Willy left to visit friends in town for the holidays and we got dressed and walked to the Palmer’s house, then the brazier in Tom and Janice’s driveway and finally the big party at Barry, and Kylene’s house on Los Alamos where we ate Mexican Christmas Cookies, and Suzette made a wonderful burrito by heating a flour tortilla and filling it with Carne Adovado and beans that Barry and Kylene had made.

I was impressed that this year there were policemen directing traffic to stay on the designated routes which kept Park a lovely open walking street until 8:30. 

We returned home around 9:00 and watched the last half of Nyad starring Jodi Foster and Annette Benning and went to bed around 10:30.

Bon Appetit