REFLECTIONS

Last night Lynette and I went to the Sons of Italy Christmas Party.  It was a great time with delicious food and friendly people. There was what they called a "Thieves Christmas". Wrapped gifts were exchanged at random with the chance to take someone else's gift.  We brought a bottle of Frangelico hazelnut flavoured liqueur and received an hourglass. I learned about the Italian holiday called La Befana. "In Italian folklore, Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. ..." This video explains the tradition:

I tried this and it works for me. I found the plan on the TED website. The link is on the list at the bottom of my blog along with other links I find interesting. The video link:   Matt Cutts- Try something new for 30 days The blog link:  TED- Ideas worth spreading

Last night my daughter and son-in-law's dog York passed away.  It was the same as the death of a close friend. Thankfully during the last few months he was doing well and did not suffer.  He died on the way to the veterinarian in my son-in-law's car.  At least he did not die alone. We'll miss him.

Yesterday a "Good Samaritan" cleared my driveway and was gone before I could thank him.  Today it snowed again. Snow sure is beautiful especially when you have nowhere to go. I took these photos from an upstairs bedroom.

This morning I was tempted to call someone to clear my driveway but decided to wait.  The forecast called for above freezing temperatures and rain. I heard the sound of an engine.  When I looked outside my window I saw a man plowing the snow from my driveway. Before I could go outside to thank him, he was gone!   Good Samaritan:  Someone who helps people without wanting or expecting any payment in return. This made my day!

These images are from my back door this morning. A short video: