Keep it in the Family: December 2009

Many complain there is nothing to learn from blogs. I'm here to refute that. 2 Useful things I've learned since my last post:

1. Seagulls will not let human fingers get in the way of a McDonald's French Fry.
2. Despite what your elders may have implanted in you, the gravitational pull on Giant icicles is not increased when in proximity of an eyeball. see case study.

I've been using the program SKYPE a bit to keep in touch with the immediate family. I don't know what it is about us, but we've somehow managed to place ourselves at insanely far distances from each other. (If someone moves to China, it will be confirmed in my mind as a plot.) Skype is a free service where you can speak and see each other through the computer. In the last few weeks I've been able to speak to Matt & company, Betty, whose new computer now has a webcam so we can see each other, and Gene, who I've been hooking up with to play cribbage with online. It makes a difference to actually see each other on the screen, and gives more of the sense of visiting. One of the problems however is that everyone has that "staring into computer screen" look so the visuals are sometimes on the boring side, although the stuffed pheasant always in view in Gene's webcam is a plus. Because the webcam is on my laptop, I've been able to walk around with it and show Gene the plates he gave to us for the mantle, or introduce Betty's cat to our cat, or compare snowfall with Matt in Russia. But most of the time is spent at a table or desk, chatting. I've tried to do a number of things to keep the visuals entertaining for the person on the other end and am hoping for an attempt on the other side. (it certainly doesn't hurt having a few nieces egging you on)

You can download skype for free here. My skype username is hobowilson for those of you that sign up.

Christmas Eve is a big feast day for the Italians. I think it has something to do with Lent. You weren't supposed to eat meat, so the italians pulled one over on the Lord, saying that fish wasn't meat and started a tradition that has carried down to today, a shellfish extravaganza. This may not be the number one reason to date an Italian, but it's unquestionably in the top 5 reasons.
Joy's family continues this tradition each year, and I always look forward to it. Joy has made a smaller batch of the pasta for Gene before, and he's been trying to replicate it for the past couple years. For the Christmas Eve meal you are supposed to have 7 types of fish. Joy's family typically has 1. Shrimp 2. Baccala' (salted cod) (nasty) 3. Scungili 4. Clams 5. Mussels 6. Scallops 7. King Crab Legs 8. Lobster Tails. There are two seafood pastas made which contain all but #2 and #3, a white sauce, which Joy usually makes, and a red sauce, which Joy's sister, Christine makes. They call it Zupa da Pesce (sauce of fish) pronounced "Zoopa". Most of the italians from this area came from southern italy and the dialect is such that they drop the last vowel of many words. there is also a hard G for a C sound. The word for pizza is APIZZA, which here is pronounced "Abeetz". Spaghetti is "spagett", Manicotti = "Manigott", and Cannoli, which typically rhymes with Holy, is pronounced "Gahnoal". If you want to impress a New Haven Italian, throw a couple of these words in. Christmas Eve dinner went well and because Joy's nephew and niece both have newborns, the gatherings have been full of people and enjoyment. Here are pics of the food and a pic of Joy, post cooking, with her niece Clare and grand niece Olivia.

We did have a white Christmas and have been enjoying the new house. I saw a pretty amazing sunset just after Christmas. Here is a pic from the upstairs hallway and a pic of the house in the snow (we got about a foot).

I've been happily doing projects for the house. Drapes, Lighting, my first plumbing job, and converting the servant stairs into a double closet. I feel like the superintendent in One Day at a time.