What a Christmas!First an early breakfast with Mom and friends over at her assisted living cafeteria. Then opening presents in her upstairs apartment while listening to music and exchanging memories of Christmases past.
Then back home to prepare dinner with Christmas music blaring in the background -- Bing Crosby, the Carpenters, the Irish Rovers, the Platters, etc. Then what have become our traditional Christmas guests arrived: Patrice & Linda Kabore (and their children Kevin, Kenania and Kaitlyn), and extended family members Jonathan & Meelom, Patrick, and Innocent & Lynette (and their son Nethania).
When dinner came around it was ham, green beans, Mexican cheesey rice, fresh baked cheese bread, and lime jello/cottage cheese fluff with desserts of Christmas cookies, chocolate chip cookies and individually created ice cream sundaes, complete with a gang of toppings, whipped cream and maraschino cherries on top!
And then there was the lively, warm-hearted conversation, Burkina Faso music, and the entertaining play with the kids. What a Christmas, indeed!
The evening was considerably quieter with first the cleanup, then hot mugs of tea as we watched Christmas in Connecticut. What a terrific film it is with the writing crisp and engaging, the music charming, and the performances of Barbara Stanwyk, Dennis Morgan, and Sydney Greenstreet absolutely first-rate.Finally, we closed out Christmas Day One with reflections on the delightful Christmas dinner parties we've already hosted this year (5) and some fine-tuning for the 4 still ahead of us. You see, Claire and I celebrate the Christmas season from Thanksgiving on but the "official" festivities involve the Twelve Days of Christmas and Epiphany. So we're anything but through with Christmas yet.
Yesterday will be hard to top, that's true. But you better believe we'll give it a try!
