The day after.  Yesterday was not as tragic as it could have been, considering it is the first Christmas without Aldo, and in fact was quite mellow and uneventful.  We had the traditional Christmas lunch with Nonna, her cousin Lena from across the hall, Lena's daughter and a friend of mine from school who found himself at loose ends for the holidays.  There was a lot of eating, a lot of translating and much groaning after each dish had been served.  We had a salad made of fruit, veggies, nuts and cheese, pastry filled with ham, cheese and herbs, small sausage cooked with lentils, cheese stuffed olives and anchovies with parsley sauce.  Those were the appetizers.  These were followed by a light broth with tiny stuffed pastas.  For the main dish Amalia made wild boar in wine sauce that she started two days ago, served with mashed potatoes.  Dessert was a hazelnut cake with a chocolate glaze and fruit.  There were four different wines, sparkling for appetizers, white for pasta dish, red with meat and sparkling rose' with dessert.  This is what Italy does best.  We got home in the early evening and spent the hours before bed lying around doing nothing.  Today we have to pack for our vacation.  We're off to the east, Gorizia, Udine, Trieste and then Slovenia for New Year's.   Happy Holidays to all and I'll be back in 2015!  xxoo me