Celebrating the Holidays

The whole point to being in Naples this year is to celebrate and enjoy the holidays with our relatives. We wined and dined for four days around Christmas with them, and enjoyed every minute of it. We had Christmas day dinner at Maria and Vincente's house, where we are parked.

On the left is Consuelo's aunt Titi carving up the Christmas ham with the electric knife. A whole fresh ham is something that is very delicious, and I rarely encounter one. I ate more than my share, I expect, and it was extraordinarily good, if I do say so myself.

In good Cuban tradition, we had a roast pork as well, which disappeared almost instantly from the pan as it was served. We also had white rice, black beans, chatinos (large flat fried pieces of plantain). For dessert, Consuelo made a cheesecake with strawberries, and I made apple and pumpkin pie. The pie was a bit of an experiment, as I didn't have enough white flour for the crust, so I used 1/3 whole wheat flour. I think it turned out pretty good, but my brother-in-law Stan was put off by the idea.

The wine was left over from the previous evening, a Chianti that was a little acidic and bitter as a good Chianti should be. I asked Consuelo (at left with Ali) to get some for the spaghetti dinner I prepared for Christmas eve at Stan and Carmen's house, but Stan had a much better meritage that he wanted to share with us. The spaghetti sauce, which I created from bottled sauces, 3-1/2 pounds of lean hamburger, some green and red peppers, onions, oregano and basil. Fairly fast and easy food for 13 people. Stan had some Texas-toast garlic bread which was a perfect complement for the rest of the meal. All this happened at Stan and Carmen's house.

One of the traditions in Maria's house is playing "continental" cards with Lolo (at left), Titi, and whoever happens to be available for the game. Lolo gets a lot of grief for the time he takes to play ("Today, Lolo!"), but somehow he seems to win more games than anybody else. I was pleased to win a couple games myself this year. The game consists of 6 rounds of rummy-like play, where the required down cards vary with each hand. If you can lay down all your cards at once, before anyone else, it's called a "Wamasso", a word the family made up for the game, kind of like a whammy. Lolo usually keeps score, and marks each game with the winners initials in capital letters, and he has score sheets on hand for the last hundred years, it seems. Charter members to the game are marked in a single initial, whereas latecomers like me have to use two letters to avoid confusion.

It's now Friday, as I write, and most everybody has gone back to their homes and lives. Titi (83) and Lolo (85) live in Delray Beach, and left Wednesday morning. Vincent (Maria's son) lives in Plant City and left Wednesday afternoon. Vincent received the gift-horse of the holiday, Consuelo's old laptop, the one that had coffee spilled on it several times. We re-installed the OS and got it setup newly before he left. Annie and Bryce are still in town, but left to visit Bryce's family nearby. Gray is here for a couple more days, then returns to Orlando. Gabe's girlfriend Jen returns today from Minnesota, where she was visiting her family. They live in an apartment across town.

The sad part of this Christmas is that Maria's husband, Vincente, has been diagnosed with MS, and is nearly immobile, in addition to feeling weak most of the time. He's a person who enjoyed work, it was his way of making a difference, and is now confined to the house, almost unable to move. His left leg and right arm are most immobile, and showering and shaving are difficult. He is eating with his left hand, difficult under any circumstances, but more difficult with the limited mobility that he has. And it is depressing for him. He rarely engaged in family activities, so he has little opportunity to engage with us and get his frustration off his chest. I am saddened and angry that he has been stricken in this way. It's so unfair.

We're still parked in Maria's driveway, and will be until Monday, New Year's. The weather has warmed up again. Consuelo is ready to go to the beach. I told Vincente that I would mow his lawn today, so I have to get to work on that.