Before we left for New Year’s Eve at the Italian Cultural Center Susan, who sparkled as usual, told me to take a picture of us.
New Years Eve 2025
Flynn Marr 6 January 2026
Christmas this year was very quiet. We stayed home Christmas Day and spent it together puttering about the house. It was nice actually. Susan had decorated our weeping fig in the dining room and put out her little Christmas Tree she made in the Family Room.
Susan’s Weeping Fig in the dining room. She decorated it this year without me knowing it and I was blown away by how beautiful she made it.
We did not have a turkey this year. We had a fridge full of leftovers from our Christmas Eve dinner with Caesar and his family. Being Christmas Eve we had a typical “vigilia” evening meal of seafood and no meat. We had a couple of days without having to cook!
Christmas week we used our time to finish some carpentry and do some cleaning in the basement suite and fixing this and that.
Just to the right and below the center is the little Christmas Tree that Susan made several years ago and which we have put out every years since. It is a silly little thing made of coat hangers and tinsel but it has become a favourite Christmas decoration of ours.
This is a close up of Susan’s fig tree. Since Christ was born in the Middle East I think a fig tree is more appropriate than a fir or pine tree neither of which would do well in Palestine.
Our little cul-de-sac looked really pretty this year with lots of Christmas lights. This picture was taken with my smart phone and suffers from the limitations of its camera. However, you can see what a pretty view we had from the living room balcony.
The tables werelovely but the arrangement did not leave too much room for dancing. But then the music was all modern with a strong rock and roll content and so not that much space was necessary. I have noticed over the last several years that the music has less Italian content which had always included waltzes, cha cha’s and rhumbas. I guess that as the original immigrants pass away the Center is becoming less and less ethnic. Sad!
New Year’s Eve at the Italian Cultural Center
Our friends had decided to go to the Italian Cultural Center for New Year’s Eve and Susan wanted to be with them. She has always gone out on New Year’s Eve. I suggested we have a party at home. Much cheaper. But my one vote could not prevail against her usual five votes and so we went to the Center.
As usual the hall was decorated especially for the occasion and it looked really nice in black and gold.
We arrived early with time to talk and have a beer together. That is our table closest to the stage.
Above is a great picture of Susan and I sitting at our table.
I should have taken a proper camera to this party. I did not and so all of the pictures are from my smart phone and the phones of Sherry and Josephine and they are not good. The lighting was from above with no fill flash and this put the pictures at the limits of what cell phones can manage. Next time, I will have a proper camera with me.
And speaking of next time, every year the ticket prices go up and the quality goes down. This year was, over all, disappointing and I think next year we will do the party at home.
Two pictures of Susan and Sherry. You can see what I mean about the limitations of the smart phone camera. There are heavy shadows under the eyes and the tone of the skin is poor. Cell phone cameras perform much better in bright scenes with lots of light.
This was our table this year. John and Sue of course, Sherry and John, Klaas and his lady and Tony and Josephine. And of course Susan and I.
All complaining aside, we did have a nice New Year’s Eve party and enjoyed the evening. We have a good group of friends and gathering with them is always a pleasure. As I said, it was a quiet Christmas and we got to spend time with old friends. I guess at our age you cannot ask for much more. But next year, a party at our house. I know we can do better!
The “Marr Family Pictures” is created by me, Flynn Marr, and is a private photo album of the Marr family and it’s offshoots.
The content is the property of R. Flynn Marr and subject to his claim of Copyright.
Copyright R. Flynn Marr © 2025