Merry Christmas to North America, happy Boxing Day to my side of the world!

I had such a good day yesterday.

I spent a leisurely morning painting my toenails, cooking my famous pizza, doing email, talking to friends/family on the phone and figuring out what I want to do with the rest of my day and my remaining time here in Victoria.

Then David showed up at 3pm and we took off for the beaches of Port Melbourne. We stopped for ice cream and made a big mess as it melted too quickly in the wind and 27-degree weather and got it all over my hands, legs, face, hair.

We took off our shoes and started walking. And walking. And walking. And we walked all the way to St. Kilda (kind of like Toronto's Beaches area) in our bare feet. I even managed to give David my Christmas present: a little vignette that I'd written for him and a voucher for a signed copy of my first book.

We stopped at one of St. Kilda's famous cake shops and got stawberry tarts, a moroccan chocolate slice (dark rich ganache-like chocolate with hazelnuts) and coffee. Mmmmm.

Then we walked back, talking, talking, talking. Watching the kiteboarders fly through the waves and the air. Watched the sun set as the temperature dipped.

Topped off the night with a viewing of Love Actually, which was an excellent Christmas feel-good movie. Coughed through the whole thing, sadly, as I have some sort of virus.

But what a day! What a lovely Aussie Christmas!

And then I found out that everyone loved my Aussie presents at home. YAY! An Aussie outback hat for my dad, an opal necklace for my mom, a journal made from an Aussie licence plate, Australis South Bank lipgloss and Wallabies keychain for my sister, and for my brothers, all Wallabies paraphenalia including jacket, golf shirt and rugby ball.

Heard all about the antics around the Christmas tree this year... Matt told Will that he'd already bought the golf clubs that he KNEW Will had bought him (lying, of course). Mom forgot to give Jen the lipgloss until I called to tell her about it, Dad sort of seeing his snowblower out in the barn when he was out hiding Mom's present for the big treasure-hunt. Dad not recognizing last year's puzzle that Mom had re-wrapped up for him. Mom hiding money in a packet of Depends undergarments for Will.

Such a Bogaart Christmas.