We took the tree down Sunday evening, while watching the pain of the Bengals lose to the Steelers. Double sadness. Triple that feeling when the house was quiet, as Margaret and Andrew were the last to leave, with a Saturday departure. Okay, the Bengals losing was not that big a deal.
Still, we had our memories of a wonderful time. At some point, all the planning comes to a halt and the festivities just take over.
Ours started with what seems to be a nice tradition of heading to New York City for at least part of the extended break. We stayed at Annie's apartment (thanks) and she took us to a great barbecue spot in the neighborhood and then on to Lincoln Center for a movie, The Theory of Everything, which was a remarkable story, or at least a story about a remarkable man, and woman. We met up with Peter the next morning for our first foray into the Strand, the used bookstore that we heard so much about, and then over to Eataly, a food market with restaurants. Is it any wonder why we love New York? So much to do and so much new, always.
We then stood in the cold for tickets to a play, Constellations, that was an interesting concept but was short. We felt a little jipped, but not by the acting. Anyway, we headed to St. John the Divine for church in the morning (and to see the Xu Bing Phoenix sculpture again) and then over to our favorite Hungarian pastry shop across the street. We met up with Annie, and then headed back to Pittsfield by train. That was a first, and worked out just fine.
Margaret and Andrew (and Dee) arrived that night, and we officially started the Christmas week. Much of it was a rotational experience, between eating and exercise in order to be able to eat more. Cookies and great baskets from Nueske's and Harry and David's sure helped out.
We talked to Joe a few times, through the magic of Facetime, an app that lets you see the person you're talking to. We're getting closer to the Dick Tracy watch. Anyway, he was in London, then Lisbon and then outside Lisbon with Leonore and her family for Christmas and then his birthday. Remember his birthdays in Pomfret with everyone there? On Facetime, he was able to show us the sights of Lisbon, without getting a postcard or getting on a plane.
John and Marilyn came over for dinner Christmas Eve and they were preparing for their children and families to descend on them the following day. Out in Dundee, they had quite a crowd on Christmas eve as well, with Bill and Jen and Lur's family over. Miles who is three and a half was just the right age for the Christmas spirit, and I think we can guess that means excitement. Auden was probably also excited, but probably more so next year.
We saw a lot of photos and video of Peter and Janet at her family's house for Christmas, with merriment coming from music making. Fun. And we also saw a few photos of young Donald on Facebook, and he is growing fast.
Our Christmas included an early roast beef meal, and then a trip to the train station to drop off Annie who was catching a flight the next morning to South Africa, to attend a friend's wedding. She sent us the photo above of her in the pool with the Cape mountains behind her. After a grueling flight, she earned it. Spectacular.
Our next weekly letter will be next year, halfway through the decade. And, we'll be writing from Gabon; we leave on New Year's Day and after a couple of days in Paris, we arrive in Libreville. We are loaded down with all kinds of stuff, but the most important will be unlocked phones that we hope to make use of there, for e-mail and connection back home. Sure has changed since the 1970s with the blue airmail letter/envelopes. We'll also be posting updates on our website: http://encoredelapaix.org/blog-from-doumandzou/
So, Happy New Year, and love from up north.
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