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December 25, 2004
Christmas in McMurdo--Christmas Eve
Christmas in McMurdo.
Well, it went more or less as I envisioned. More or less. I left work excitedly Friday night, and woke up some friends who are now working nights. 5 PM, they said, so I woke them up at 5:45. And they still weren’t ready to get up. So here I was with all this just-got-off-work energy trying to hang out with just-got-up-after-not-enough-sleep energy. You can imagine the perfect fit. Anyway, they did manage to get up… slowly… so I let them do so by themselves while I began my evening. Put on some fun clothes—decided to go with color to brighten up the evening a bit—and headed with my roommate Julie to Hut 10 for Michael’s birthday party.
[Julie and me.]
Unfortunately, all the yummy home-cooked Thai food made with fresh ingredients sent down special for the occasion was gone by the time we got there—we arrived late, of course—so we had to run on back to catch dinner at the galley before it was shut down. Then, back to Hut 10 to hang out with friends.
[Tracy, Heather, Julie, and Jenna]
And drink some hot buttered rum, made by the lovely Ms. Kimberly Bowyer.
[Kim with drink.]
Some people needed help drinking theirs.
[Pete, Lisa, Shandra.]
I decided it was time to hit the big town party. I wanted to see the ballet dancers, which I think didn’t even perform. On my way, though anxious to get there, I couldn’t help but stop to throw some Frisbee with folks who were enjoying the sunshine. Did I mention the sunshine? I mentioned the sunshine in my last blog entry, yes. Sunshine. It was an absolutely delicious evening, not at all fit for inside partying. It seemed a true pity to be heading indoors.
[Johnathan retrieves the disc from under the dorm.]
But head indoors I did.
The Heavy Shop was decorated up Christmas-style.
[Photos borrowed from Rec. Rachel, taken earlier in the day.]
And Santa arrived from the fire house to spread Christmas cheer.
[Photo from Rec. Rachel]
I couldn’t help but get a couple photos.
[Have a Creepy Christmas]
[A Bartel family tradition]
Even better than all the great sleds and snowflakes and such, the place was decorated with lots of tasty morsels.
[Yum]
There was socializing, and the Christmas choir, and then swing music.
[Photo borrowed from McMurdo's shared drive.]
And then, the bands came on.
The biggest challenge of the evening was coordinating friends for a Christmas photo or two.
After the party, things quieted down a bit, with everyone getting ready for bed in preparation for Santa.
[Phil and Martha’s stocking.]
Posted by beth at December 25, 2004 7:44 PM
Comments
Happy Times!
Happy Friends!
Happy Memories!
Happy Holidays!
* Muriel Haupt *
Posted by: Muriel Haupt at December 27, 2004 9:09 PM
where (and when) in the world did you get those rainbow legs?
Posted by: wilma - mother of beth at December 28, 2004 8:00 AM
Hey Beth,
I think of you often but never manage to send them off to you (my thoughts)...but after hearing a brief report on NPR about the difficult times the supply ships(?) were having getting to McMurdo I had to check on you and send you lots of love and thoughts of not-quite- spingtime- in -the States( i.e. rain , and lots of it...) and of... kittens...
...did I miss something-you are obviously longing for the little creatures and it just so happens I (we - your Uncle Bill and I) have two such wonderful little wild animals ( compliments of your Aunt M.Beth and Uncle Ron ) that we ( make that I ) would love to share ... come see... in your spare time !
xoxoxox Diana
p.s. tryed to switch this over to e-mail with some pics but no- could- do ( Uncle Bill not here to assist ) - hope I didn't take up too much room on the message board....cheers....D.
Posted by: diana rich at February 9, 2005 3:44 PM