Spent time tweaking the profile on the Z.'s and e-mailed it to them so they could check for errors. Did more on "Notes From A Vanished Past," this one on the piano lessons Betty and I took from Sister Felicita. Drove to Staples to duplicate some childhood pics for my brothers. If I had a scanner, I'd put them on here, but I don't
Left for the L.'s party at 3:00 (theirs always start at 4:00) and what a very good time I had. The group they invite every year is sadly depleted: Pat is gone, of course, and last night, Barbara and Frank J., stalwarts other years, were absent. Flo said Frank was having great difficulty walking--I'm not sure the cause. Kate S. and Danny came--I see them once every year--and she's painfully thin. She had broken both her hip and her knee about 18 months ago and isn't completely recovered. Ironically, she broke the hip when she fell going down the steps at home to visit Danny in the hospital. He has cancer--still being treated--but he's as full of fun, jokes, and laughs as ever. The other widows, Rita and Audrey (it always comes as a shock to realize I'm in that category) were there and we generally had a ball.
I had only two glasses of wine, because it's a fairly long drive home, and I ate a lot. Flo and Joe had again hired a guy to play his keyboard in the background, which they've done for the past two years. Only problem with that is, it's a little loud and it makes talking and hearing a bit of a strain, but it's enjoyable anyway.
After dinner, we exchanged the $5 gifts we're always told to bring. I got a snuggle-blanket or whatever the hell they're called, which I can't use. We're allowed to take something received by another person, so I exchanged it for a big red serving plate with Santa's belt on it. I need that like a hole in the head, but I'm nothing if not impractical, and it's really cute.
Good fun among good friends, almost all of whom are Holy Spirit grads from or around Pat's class. The L.'s have been hosting this gathering for ten years; Pat and I started being invited eight years ago and I haven't missed at all. It's so good to have close friends like this, in addition to those I see often.
Got home before 8:00 and, having enjoyed the L.'s party, understand that the holiday season is officially open.