Dec. 29: Friends & Family

This post and the next one will be a bit of a mish mash as they incorporate lots of people over different days, at different times, but the only practical way to include everyone was to consolidate them in a single post. So please forgive in inconsistency. The lead photo is of us with my Uncle S. who is my father's youngest brother. He paid us a visit late this afternoon and regaled us with wonderfully humorous stories while the children drew pictures and listened quietly. I love his sense of humour. It is, to coin a phrase, wicked good. I learned things about my family that I never knew and was repeatedly reminded of my grandmother who passed away about a year ago. There was something in Uncle S.'s tone, in his choice of words and in his mannerisms that echoed so strongly of her. It was wonderful to see him again.



The A. family dropped by for an afternoon of hot coco and sledding. The children were thrilled to have other kids to play with and thoroughly enjoyed the company.

We had already said goodbye to cousin S. who left early to head back to Maryland. She was driving back and was hoping to avoid the impending snow storm by departing ahead of time. Her parents, my mother's aunt and uncle and their other daughter N. and her husband T. dropped by to say farewell before they flew back to Colorado. We had lots of tea and coffee and cake and a lovely dignified visit. And then, in the home stretch, just before they were ready to leave, Mehran could restrain himself no more and his true colors burst forth with the fire of repressed enthusiasm. No one seemed to mind and N. and T. flew back home none the worse for wear. We also had a call from A. my cousin who lives in Oklahoma and it was great to chat with her as it has been years since we have been in touch. N. dropped by on his lunch break and invited us to give a presentation on the Faith in Australia at a meeting at his house on New Year's Day. It will be nice to see both him and his family. They were very kind to us when we first got married and hosted a wedding reception for us at their home. Mehran still talks about the roast chicken that N's wife prepared. Hers is now the illustrious standard to which all other roasted poultry is compared. Sadly mine consistently falls short of the mark. Perhaps I can secure a recipe, or perhaps we should all become vegetarians.

We caught up with R. who still lives in the old barn that she and her husband converted into a house over 20 years ago. It is such a stunning place and could easily grace the cover of Better Homes and Gardens. Her boys are grown up and are busy studying and skiing. And I, during her brief visit, became keenly aware of how old I have become. Not that long ago, her boys were just babies, and now college! That can not be right. We caught up with C., who is an old friend of my mom, but sadly did not get a chance to see her daughter S. who is an old friend of mine. Anyway it has been wonderful catching up with family and with friends and I hope that we get a chance to do it again before another 15 years go past.