¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

We had a blast at Victor and DaiLou's party last night. They have a wonderful fifth-floor apartment across the street from the Stray. We met Victor's father, a really sweet guy who looked very young indeed. He is a singer and dance instructor. Now we know where Victor inherited his dance skills. Things started off quiet with just a handful of guests. Then more people filtered in. We were the oldest people there till Dan and Marilyn showed up. But they had to leave early, as some others did. Then other folks showed up late but we were still the oldest there. Many of the guests were Puerto Rican...and musically inclined. Victor had several Puerto Rican instruments on hand: (maracas, guiro, bongos, panderatas) and soon they were jammin' with the music on the stereo. The food was great! Lots of good finger food. My empanadas were a hit. Victor and DaiLou served up some mouthwateringly good roast pork -- a Puerto Rican recipe. Two different kids of rice and a tamale casserole. Plus they served a delicious side dish -- something like an empanada but with the pastry part made from plantains. Oh, and I musn't forget the coquito which Victor and DaiLou kept doling out during the course of the evening. Coquito is something like a Puerto Rican version of eggnog made with rum and coconut milk and spices. Exquisite! Oh, and then ther was the homemade flan: one cheese and one vanilla. Out of this world!! After we ate the main meal the music really hotted up. People were dancing and singing and gyrating all over the place. We tried to join in when we knew the lyrics (all in Spanish) such as Guantanamera and Oye Como Va. They sang one song in which each person had to take a turn dancing in the middle of a circle formed by all the other singers. Don't think I'd've done it without all that coquito to loosen me up! At midnight we all made a toast, then someone called for an British song so I suggested Auld Lang Syne. The two English girls at the party didn't know the lyrics any better than the rest of us but soon the musicians turned the song into one with a salsa beat.

We got home at 1:30 (thank goodness we were just a 10-minute walk away) and crashed into bed. Slept in until 10 a.m. and felt fuzzy and groggy all day.

We took the tree down this afternoon. Always a sad time for me. We usually leave the tree up longer than this but it was especially droopy-looking of late.

Brad made our New Year's Day dinner today: grilled pork tenderloin, sauerkraut and homemade spaetzle. Everything was delicious. He is quite the master spaetzle maker!

Vince emailed with news on his foot. It's getting better but the doctors never really could figure out what was wrong. According to Vince the default diagnosis is gout even though he is active and a healthy eater. Oh well, it's good to know he is on the mend. He is looking at rescheduling his trip for March or April. This may all work out for the best with better weather and more attractions open during that time of year.