Ring in the New Year! - Anita

It was a cold Winter's night at the very end of December. My neighbor walked me 
across the street to a pleasant and warmly decorated home filled with the 
Christmas tree and all her ornaments. We shared some antipasto with
artichokes, salami, Italian cheeses, shrimp and delicious shrimp sauce, 
mushrooms and sliced Italian bread. We
toasted the New Year with Sparkling apple cider. We told stories about our 
childhood holidays. We ate homemade
borsch (beet) soup and steamed cod, yams in chicken broth, and green beans. We 
also had some earl grey decaf tea, after some wonderful Polish chocolates. The 
conversation went on for over 4 hours. I left just before Mid night
with a wing and prayer, and went back across the street with my neighbor. It was 
a wonderful evening!! I will never
forget the ease of talking together. Yes, it was a happy way to begin the New 
Year.