Christmas memories '08

Christmas has come and gone for another year. Oh, what fun we had this year with 3 of our children (we missed you, Tony) and their families (all of our grandchildren at once) gathering for major events. I got a warm fuzzy feeling early in the mornings when I awoke, while everyone else was still asleep, and tip-toed into each room of the house (except the bathrooms and dining room) to find people sleeping in recliner chair, pull-out sofas, floors, guest beds, etc. There wasn't room for one more to stretch out except in the bathtub. If Tony had been able to join us, he would have had to sleep in the barn, but somehow I doubt that he would have minded that at all.

Christmas Eve is our traditional Italian celebration with aunts, uncles, grandchildren, cousins and various other guests convening to eat and be merry. This year, because our clan has grown too large for any one house, our daughter Chris and son-in-law David opened their cafe in Putnam CT for us all (50+/-). This was perfect...everyone had comfortable places to sit and eat and talk. Each family brought some of the food, loosely based upon the old Italian custom of 7 fishes. We had baccala (fried cod), 7 fish stew, tuna spaghetti, gnocchi, salad, yummy pastries, spumoni and the best coffees in this country (so acclaims my nephew). All of the children received gifts and the adults joined in a Yankee Swap that produced a few chuckles and groans.

Another family reunion was held on Saturday, same place, for the North side of the family. Unfortunately, many folks were unable to join us for various reasons, but we enjoyed seeing those who could come.

Last week we had about 10 inches of soft fluffy snow that stayed with us long enough to welcome the North Carolinians. Jason got to play in the snow for a little while on Tuesday evening after they arrived, but Wednesday brought rain. Goodbye snow! We currently have bare ground, but more snow is predicted for the coming weekend. Winter has just begun. Happy New Year to you all.