capodanno

……………………………………………………………………..2014 is a milestone year for me – I get to retire in July.

Dec26 044The image on the left was taken almost a week ago as Seane and I walked the creek next to old St. Veronica’s school. It was the day after Christmas and the sun made the winter sky blue and the snow bright. White covered everything and glistened in the sharp daylight. The image was my homage to the ice covered wonderland in Southern Ontario.

An Italian saying associated with New Year – Natale con i tuoi e Capodanno con chi vuoi. – Christmas with your family, New Year with whom you want. The other saying I think about is what my maternal grandmother – Maria Perri – would tell us: Whatever you do on Capodanno, you will repeat throughout the year. I’ve always spend New Year’s Eve with friends and I’m always conscious of what I do on New Year’s Day, believing that I will repeat those routines throughout the coming year.

Last night, like every other December 31 for the last 30 years, we spent with Jerry-and-Diane and their kids. John and Joanne joined the group a while back so, we are now up to eight for dinner. The meal has two of my favorite dishes – a chicken livers pâté, and Eastern European meatballs. For the longest time it was an all-meat dinner, but the last couple of years a green-beans casserole and a cubed-potatoes and bacon casserole were added to the all-meat menu.