“Worn party hats,
Empty champagne glasses,
The fireplace still aglow,
Confetti scattered,
Warm bodies inside
Defy the winter’s cold.
Glasses raised to what is new,
Saying goodbye to what is old.”
By Cindy Brenninger
Our empty wine glasses are still on the counter (Hubby had taken them down from a high cabinet and washed them for First Night). On New Year’s Eve, Hubby, daughter Sue, and I toasted the New Year with glasses of Welch’s Sparkling White Grape Juice. We watched the Swarovski Crystal Ball come down the pole to tell us when it was the New Year. We did see Donnie Wahlberg on stage at midnight in Times Square with his wife, Jenny McCarthy. We were surprised that Ch. 4 (WBZ-TV) did not cover the Boston fireworks at midnight.
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On Christmas Day, we attended the 7 a.m. Mass at St. Gregory’s Church where we saw our friends Mary and Mark. Our neighbor Maureen was also there with her Mom Barbara.
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Son Paul and daughter-in-law Alex had invited us to have Christmas dinner at their new home. We are not familiar with their area off the Mass. Pike so Sue volunteered to drive our car with her trusty GPS. There was not much traffic. We assumed that most people were home opening gifts.
Hubby and daughter Jeanne had seen Paul and Alex’s new home, but Sue and I had not. The house looked like it was in the country with all the trees surrounding it. We parked out on the street. Alex and Paul greeted us warmly. We were delighted that Alex’s Mom Sara was able to join us. She had a bad cold and was sitting under a blanket when we first saw her. Hubby had brought his camera, so he took a few photos.
Since the weather was in the 60s, Paul invited Hubby and me to join him on his porch that overlooks the back yard. In their former home, Alex and Paul had a small summertime stream behind the porch off the kitchen. There were all kinds of little animals around there because of the stream. They had birds also. It was a garden paradise. I never thought they would have another home with a similar backyard. I was wrong. This lovely home has a large patch of woods behind it. They often see deer. The wind was light on this Christmas afternoon, so we must have been outside for at least a half hour. Paul showed us his radio antennas. His reception is wonderful.
When we finally came inside, it was time for dinner. Alex and Paul had splurged for Christmas dinner, ordering the food from Whole Foods. The dining room was lit and looked beautiful. The dinner of turkey, stuffing, green beans, and mashed potatoes was wonderful. Even the rolls were scrumptious. The one thing that Whole Foods had forgotten was gravy. Paul discovered this early in the day and called us, asking if we knew of any open stores. Hubby took a chance that Tedeschi’s (Li’l Peach on Neponset Ave.) would have some kind of turkey gravy. Back Hubby came with three bottles of roasted turkey gravy. Hurray! For dessert, Whole Foods’s apple tarts were joined by Sue’s chocolate pudding pie, with red and green sprinkles on the topping.
Then we went into the living room. The tree was nicely lit. Paul told us that he had found this tree on the internet. It came very flat. When he picked up the top, it expanded to about six feet. A middle pole held up the expandable tree. It was amazing. We still have our big artificial tree in the attic. We have to put the color-coded tips of the branches into the same color-coded holes on the main pole. It is a pain in the neck to form the tree. Paul’s tree came with white lights. He had taken several strings of green mini lights and taped them in the shape of a large Christmas tree on the front picture window facing up the driveway toward the street. The shaped tree looked lovely from the street.
When it became dark, Alex took her Mom home. Sara had been wiped out by her bad cold, so she was tired. Hubby, Paul, and I stayed in the living room and talked. Paul loves his new home, which is well insulated and so not too expensive to heat. He spoke about the backyard being so nice for his radio reception. We went into the spacious TV room, which is lovely, also. There is a day bed in there and also a fireplace, but Paul does not know how it works. So, until it is examined and he learns how to make a safe fire, he will not use it.
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We had just gotten over Christmas Day, but we had an invitation from Hubby’s nephew Steve and his wife Judi to come to their home in Attleboro on the day after Christmas. We know that there is a 4 p.m. Mass at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Attleboro, so we left home early enough to make the Mass. Daughter Sue drove and didn’t need her GPS, because she attended the church so often when she was at her Cousin Terri’s apartment. I loved reading the church bulletin. It is six pages long, three in English and three in Spanish. You can call the parish office if you would like a priest to come and bless your house. That was a nice thought.
We had about 15 minutes after Mass before we had to be at Steve and Judi’s home. There is an area of Attleboro that is very well decorated. Sue drove us around while Hubby sat in the back seat and took photos of beautifully decorated homes. We arrived at Steve and Judi’s home just at 5 p.m. Hubby’s sister Peg had just come in, so we sat with her and talked. Host Steve came over to welcome us. Hostess Judi was out in the kitchen, watching the food on the stove and in the oven. Nephew David was there with his wife Mary and their daughter Renee. Judi’s sister Pam and Steve and Judi’s daughter Ashley and her new husband Kurt were there. (Their wedding was in September.) I asked Ashley if she had made her famous stuffed shells. She answered, “Yes!” Along with Judi’s meatballs, I was all set for dinner. We also had some potato chips with dip. Judi had a lovely small artificial tree, beautifully decorated, in the living room. She loves snowmen, so many of her decorations include the snowman motif. It was a lovely evening with Hubby’s family. The ride home from Attleboro was easy because we were fairly early.
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I am sorry that people have already taken down their outside decorations. The Rainbow Gas Tank no longer has red and green lights adorning it. They must have taken them off last weekend. We will probably pull out our blue electric angel on the rose trellis after Little Christmas, Jan. 6. Christmas Week went too quickly. We didn’t get everything done that we had hoped.
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Here is a great saying by “anonymous”: “Cooperation is doing with a smile what you have to do anyhow.”
