Saturday, October 15

A nice dinner at my sister’s with her husband and two granddaughters in town for the weekend, plus Mom, my wife and daughter and my other sister and niece visiting from out of town, as well.  We had prosciutto from Parma; provolone; mozzarella and tomatoes; olives; artichokes; red peppers; pasta with Parmigiano Reggiano and wine from the Abruzzo region of Italy where Mom and my sisters were all born.  My wife and I have visited there and met my many cousins and maternal Aunt while she was still living.  We looked at her wedding picture before dinner, along with Mom’s as they wore the same dress.  Dad was looking young and handsome in his suit and white gloves.  After dinner, my niece gave my daughter two books from her childhood since they both love animals, James Herriot’s  All Creatures Great and Small and All Things Bright and Beautiful which were titled from the Cecil Frances Alexander poem,

All things bright and beautiful.

All creatures great and small.

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Much like our evening when family is able to gather and share a meal and memories, all things were bright and beautiful.