Arthur's Lasagna

Arthur prepares lasagna for New Year's Dinner

Arthur hard at work in the kitchen

His lasagna was too thick for an ordinary pan so he had to improvise with tin foil!

He enlists the help of his cousin Christian as a carrot chopper.

The table is set with a beautiful Mediterranean tablecloth from France.

A tavola!

Christmas

We had a very nice family Christmas

Marcello, Christian, Colin, and I went to the Family Christmas Eve service at St. Christopher's.

                                               Christian, Colin, Marcello, and Christine 

We then picked up Arthur at home and went out to the Marcello Melonis' residence in Brambleton.

For our Christmas Eve meal, Michelle prepared a wonderful Pasta Bar with gnocchi, lasagna, tagliatelle al burro, and a meat sauce for non-Vegetarians.



After dinner we watched the movie European Family Vacation that was quite funny. Ugly Americans, of course!

On Christmas morning we got up around 8 am to open presents in front of the Christmas tree.

For lunch on Christmas Day Michelle served a brown rice and broccoli dish, brussel sprouts and pasta, tagliatelle redux, and salad.

Pima, Sylvia, Arthur, Colin, Christian, and Marcello the Meloni Patriarch in America

After lunch we watched the movie Elf.

 The dogs were rather obstreperous, to say the least!

Eleni's

Florence and I went to church together and then we went to Eleni's for brunch.

I had their delicious waffles with strawberries and lots of maple syrup. Very satisfying.

Florence had the Waffles Deluxe with bacon and hash browns. It was a bit too hearty for her!

Decorations by Arthur

to be developed

Common ties

I met my friend Kristina at Panera's and we had a coffee and a chat.

She returned my book The Unseen and, as a thank-you, she gave me a Starbuck's gift card.

Kristina has both Norwegian and Italian roots. I too have Norwegian roots and strong Italian ties so we share heritages!

Visita a Gabriella

I stopped to pay a Christmas visit to my dear Italian friend Gabriella. We had a nice chat in Italian, as usual. I gave her an Italian panettone and she gave me a special Italian surprise, a box of Baci Perugina, and also a box of chocolates filled with four different kinds of liqueur.

Thai Food for Betsy

Betsy and I went to Yindee Thai for lunch today. She had never experienced Thai food before. I am not sure she was impressed!

I had the usual, Pad Tai with tofu. She had Fried Rice.

   Christine and Betsy

Museum and Lunch

I met my friend Kathy at the Phillips Collection, my favorite museum in D.C. We first toured the Nordic Impressions exhibit (my fourth time) and then had lunch in the museum's Cafe. It was a fun outing on a cold rainy day that did not dampen our spirits.

We enjoyed the exhibit and had lots to talk about, both about the exhibit and many other things. Kathy is an interesting person who has traveled widely and has many stories to tell. She should definitely write a book, possibly entitled "My Travels with Harvey."

Kathy in front of the Phillips

Lunch with Linda

Linda and I went to Bob Evans for lunch. It was our first outing together. We are both members of the Washington lodge of the Sons of Norway and we both live in Springfield. She is originally from North Dakota, a neighbor of my state of origin, Minnesota. We had a nice chat over lunch.

                                                               Linda and Christine

Outing with George

George and I met at the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery. We first visited the very interesting exhibit "Self-Portraits" and then had lunch in the lovely courtyard of the museums (between the Portrait Gallery and the American Art Museum).

Some of the self-portraits in the exhibit:

Christine with Diego Rivera's Self-Portrait

In the Courtyard:

rge

Christine

Northern Lights at the Lodge

Our Sons of Norway lodge had a Christmas party. I went with John O and brought Barbara C as my guest.

Potluck: We first enjoyed a lot of delicious food at the potluck.

Program: We heard Pål Brekke from the Norwegian Space Agency talk about the Northern Lights. He has written a book entitled THE STORY ABOUT THE NORTHERN LIGHTS that explains "the mechanisms behind the northern lights, and how we can predict when and where we can see them."

Dr. Brekke received a PhD in 1993 from the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo.  He has worked for the European Space Agency at NASA. He currently works at the Norwegian Space Centre. 

Christmas Carols: The evening ended with a rousing Sing-Along of Christmas carols in English and Norwegian.

Congo at GW

My friend Ginny invited me to a book presentation at GW. The book was Congo Stories, co-written by John Prendergast andFidel Bafilemba with stunning photographs by Ryan Gosling. It reveals the way in which the people and resources of the Democratic Republic of Congo have been used throughout the last five centuries to build, develop, advance, and safeguard the United States and Europe. The book features a foreword by Soraya Aziz Souleymane, postscript by Dave Eggers, afterword by Chouchou Namegabe, and illustrations by Sam Ilus.

I was not very familiar with this part of the world and I was appalled at how the Congo has suffered over the centuries and still suffers today. It was a very enlightening experience for me.

Before the presentation we had dinner at GW's Panera. I forgot to take photos of  Ginny and her two friends who joined us. Sorry!

Christmas Party at the Residence

                                                                     John     Christine

John and Christine were guests at the Christmas Party of the Norwegian Ambassador in his residence.

The smorgasbord was filled with lots of  wonderful food. Christine had her fill of  delicious vegetables - fingerling potatoes, brussel sprouts, red cabbage, and sauerkraut.

The best part, however, was the desserts.

Krumkaker and two very tasty puddings with rhubarb sauce 

Party favor

As usual, guests were given special gifts as they left. This year it was a little bag with scrumptious candies made by two individuals in the Embassy kitchen. (One of them was Stine.)

It was a special evening indeed!

Who were The Unseen?

The Reading Circle of the Sons of Norway Washington lodge celebrated its 10th anniversary at the home of Marie. Fourteen members were in attendance for the special occasion and for the discussion of the December selection, Roy Jacobsen's novel The Unseen. [A group photo to follow.]

There was lots of really delicious food. It was a potluck and I took Andrea's Delight.

After our sumptuous feast, we discussed the book beginning with a very informative introduction by George E. As usual our discussion was very interesting. Our Circle is made up of very intelligent and very thoughtful individuals. What a group!

I prepared literary bookmarks to give to the RC members as a souvenir in commemoration of our tenth anniversary. A remarkable milestone!

    

Tarjei Vesaas               Knut Hamsun

I was given this lovely card from the members of the Reading Circle. They certainly make me happy!

My kind friend Marie gave me this lovely floral bouquet.

Evening with Emily D

Marie and I met at the Capitol South Metro station and walked over to the Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar. The menu was full of wonderful choices. 

Marie had mint-flavored tagliatelle with lamb.

Christine had her very favorite dish, butternut squash ravioli.

Friend Ginny arrived later and she also had the ravioli. 

We then headed over to the Folger Theater for the Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute.

The presenters were Dickinson scholar Martha Nell Smith, executive editor of the Dickinson Electronic Archives and artist/poet Jen Bervin, creator of The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poems. Following the presentations, cake was served based on Emily's own recipe.  [More photos to follow]

A Festive Festival

GOD JUL!

I worked in the children's section at the Sons of Norway Festival. Here I am in my official work apron!

The best part of the day was eating the delicious Norwegian waffles with lingonberry, raspberry, and strawberry jam! Yummy yummy yummy!!

Being Thankful

What a joy having Adriano here for Thanksgiving this year! Something to be truly thankful for.

Arthur was in charge of the preparing turkey and was very successful in this his first endeavor.

We also had butternut squash, cranberry sauce, tangerines, and pumpkin pie.

      

Those present were Adriano, Arthur, and our neighbor Bill. No one took a photo of Christine who was also present.

   

The Ashburn Melonis were unfortunately not present because they were up in the mountains far far south in the Commonwealth of Virginia.


              Colin and Christian in the mountains

From DVD to Silver Screen

Tim, John, and I traveled into DC to see the premiere showing of Gavagai at the lovely Avalon Theater on Connecticut Avenue (very close to the border with Maryland).

It took us forever to get across Memorial Bridge because of the construction and lane closures.

We had dinner close to the cinema at The Avenue. I had a very delicious sandwich with mozzarella and avocado and lettuce.

Christine, Tim, and John (photo taken previously)

For me it was an amazing experience to see Gavagai on the silver screen after having seen it 12 times on my TV set!

Everything about the film was more intense - the sounds, the colors, the music, the movement of nature (e.g, the wind through the grass), and the expressions of the actors.

Several things surprised me. What perhaps surprised me the most was the role of the two men. I had felt before that the Austrian was definitely more prominent than the Sami guide. But, watching it this last time, they seemed to be more equal. The guide seemed somehow bigger and more important than he had before. 

It was a wonderful evening - a special film and very good company.