Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
First things first… Merry Christmas! And… the Miami Dolphins are in the Playoffs!
Ok, onward…
The beautiful nativity scene at our parish, St. Martha’s Catholic Church in Miami Shores. The gorgeous photo was taken by fellow parishioner and longtime friend Jesus Menendez.
This past week was filled with a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I spent a lot of time in church. I attended church twice on Dec. 24th, once in the morning for regular Sunday mass at our parish, St. Martha’s Catholic Church in Miami Shores and then in the early afternoon for Christmas Eve mass at St. Michael’s with all my sisters, my niece Tiffany and her daughters, my niece Elena and her partner AJ and baby Joaquin.
The cousins, gathered on Christmas Day at my sister Susy’s house.
After church, we all gathered at my sister Susy’s house for the traditional Noche Buena feast of lechon, yuca, black beans and rice with turrones for dessert. We went back to her house for Christmas Day and enjoyed more delicious food and lots and lots of fun family time. On Christmas morning Vance and I attended church together and it was quite beautiful.
Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)
Vance’s tomato and stracciatella and tomato salad at Verde Miami.
My butternut squash soup and glass of Prosecco from Verde Miami.
On Tuesday, Vance and I did one of our favorite things, we had a fun touristy day in downtown Miami going to our favorite places, Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) for lunch at their wonderful restaurant Verde Miami and then we walked to the Frost Science Museum to see their latest exhibition on Sharks and also enjoyed their other fantastic permanent exhibits.
My beach lunch view yesterday.
Sunset view at Lehman Park.
Yesterday, I decided to enjoy lunch on the beach and also made a quick stop at Lehman Park to watch the gorgeous sunset.
Tonight, I’m going back to Jazz at MOCA since it’s the last Friday of the month. I’m looking forward to listening to some great jazz outdoors on their plaza.
And this coming Tuesday, we plan to spend a quiet New Year’s Eve at home. I’ll make some nice appetizers, we’ll put the bottle of Veuve Clicquot on ice and have my sister Mari over. I’ll be in my PJ’s for sure!
One last announcement. I applied for a writing job with My Modern Met, one of my absolute favorite websites. I receive their daily newsletter and always find a few inspiring stories to share.
And I finally finished reading this great book pictured above that I highly recommend. It’s a memoir of the author’s Cuban immigrant experience and his assimilation to life in the United States.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year. Wishing you all many blessings and much prosperity for 2024!
