Life After Retirement: Christmas in Florida

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS and MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS

FROM THE KITCHEN OF PATT VITANZA in sunny Apollo Beach, Florida!

The boys are at it again; just like Thanksgiving, they took over the kitchen, cooking the turkey and ham, and "letting the women" do side dishes and clean up. The turkey was one of the best I've ever tasted and Ricky gets all the credit for watching a simple U Tube video and putting it to the test. Plump and juicy with a sausage crust lying just under the browned to perfection skin. I think he needs his own cooking show LOL.

What started out as a chilly morning turned into a beautiful day. We started out at Ricky's home, where his three girls were anxiously awaiting Santa. The adults were anxiously awaiting breakfast, compliments of Debbie. We began our day with a hearty oven baked breakfast casserole, juice, muffins and hot coffee - and don't forget the chocolates for Nan!

With Nan playing Santa Claus, presents were opened, batteries secured, and toys played with ... Olivia looked like a princess in her new pink ballet tutu, Alicia cuddled up in her new winter sweater and hat, and Nan overjoyed with her new computer.

After clean up detail, we moved two blocks over to Patt's home, leaving Ricky and his girls to take a nap before the afternoon feeding frenzy. Sounds like Ricky was the only one to take a nap tho!

We set up the festive tables on the outdoor patio and soon good smells began filling the house. There were more presents to open, lots and lots of food to eat, and stories to tell. Patt had given Debbie, Rob & Ricky their framed graduation pictures and we all had a good laugh at the hair styles and how much Deb & Rob looked alike. Lots of good memories were shared about Toni Ann, and we all wished that Melia & Larry could have been there sharing their stories too!