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.

What a delightful party last night at the L.'s! Got there at 4:00--theirs are always early, which I appreciate--and was greeted outside by Danny S., who asked me how Pat was doing. I was surprised he didn't know and he was embarrassed when I told him Pat had died in August, but I reassured him I wasn't upset at the question. His Kate wasn't able to be there because she recently fell and broke her pelvis; she also suffers from depression.
The others arrived shortly: Barbara and Frank, Don and Noreen, Rita, and Audrey. The L.'s had again hired Joe M. (a Holy Spirit attendee himself)to play the keyboard, which he did throughout the evening. Unfortunately, the music was too loud for us to talk comfortably and we had to raise our voices. I guess nobody thought it was up to them to request he play more softly, but we managed to talk and talk anyway.
Dinner included both turkey and pork, plus butternut squash, rolls, smashed 'taters, cranberry sauce, and so on. Noreen made a scrumptious cheesecake and there was frozen tira masu, too.
After, we had fun drawing numbers and choosing the $5 gifts we had each brought. The idea is that anybody after number one can exchange what he or she has for something from a lower number. It was a lot of fun.
Everybody left shortly after 8, which suits me better (and others in my age group, I'm pretty sure) than gatherings that go on later. Got home before 9:00, relaxed for a time with another glass of wine and went happily to bed.
We started being invited to the L.'s Christmas party 7 or 8 years ago. Pat was relatively well then, and we always attended. The last three gatherings, though, he was unable to go and I went by myself. With one exception, all the others are Pat's, not my, age and it shows. They are slowing down or even, like Kate, slipping away, I think. Each year, some are gone for good (now there are three widows in the group) and several have suffered bouts of cancer or heart disease.
But last night was great fun. I always think of the L.'s party as the kick-off to the Christmas season and am glad to be included.
WIDER: Here's the bubbly truth in a nutshell:
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/war_and_peace_20091203/