Happy New Year, Friends!
We started off today by attending Liturgy for the Circumcision of the Lord and Saint Basil's feastday which was wonderful. After church, we decided to have a meatful Chinese lunch (normally we get vegetable and seafood options due to fasting) which was sort of a nod to the annual Christmas gathering that we have with my side of the family in Brooklyn. My aunt Susan buys trays and trays of scrumptious Chinese food and we all gather together in her beautiful apartment to spend time together. Sadly that isn't an option this year for obvious reasons, so I tried to recreate the feeling. It was a yummy lunch with good companionship, but I think it made me miss my dear ones more. We did get to use the lovely rosewood chopsticks I put in everyone stocking at Christmas, though!
We took an afternoon jaunt through the forest to a wonderful home that is near the sea and was built in the 1740s. I love the brickwork on the house and the colonial garden is a dream. I must remember to take the children here again soon. It's a wonderful respite to be able to tromp through the woods and visit these lovely places.
