Christmas Preparations Down Under

Ten days before Christmas and the action is on. This is a list of random things that I did, happened, or happened to make me think of Christmas and prepare, at least mentally, for it. I start it with the difficulty of finding a parking spot at the largest mall in the Southern Hemisphere, Chadstone Shopping Centre. And I will end it with the two little caterpillars curling like a Yin and Yang on a half-eaten leaf, which seemed to wear cozy coats like I used to wear in the harsh winter of Macin, Philadelphia or New York. So here if the rest... On Monday, I stared long enough at the bloomed paper-bark trees on my street until the fuzzy little flowers clouding up at the top seemed nothing else but a layer of fluffy, pristine snow. I wiped the sweat on my forehead as I walked into the sweltering summer heat, just as I used to do as a kid back in Romania after walking into one foot of fresh, powdery snow for about half an hour. I took a deep breath as I walked into the bakery yesterday, surrendering the Christmas flavors of savory and sweet bread, as if they just wrapped around me in the kitchen of my childhood. Finally, I played some Romanian carols sang by the Madrigal Choir and I cooked some bean soup, after which I knew I was ready for Christmas.