Of course I HAD to leave with a cannoli. I took the cannoli and left the gun (just kidding). That is not the only thing we left with either. Of course we were in the same spot as last year which was great, but we were right next to Auntie Viv*s Kitchen which was filled with baked goods. The temptation was great but I held out until about 3:30 when I saw she had pumpkin bread. At this point she was having a two/for sale so Tom got one pumpkin and one banana bread. Of course he then proceeded to eat 1/4 of the pumpkin (they were smaller) so we ended up purchasing another. On the other side of us was the pampered chef. No problem there; I have not cooked a sit-down meal since Thanksgiving. Christmas will be the next time I cook. Unless that is I have Auntie Viv do my cooking.
Many thanks go out to Simone and the hard workers that always put this event together so well. We look forward to next year and might even do Saturday and Sunday (weather cooperating that is.) We do hope to get to St. Roch*s, Holy Family and Moore next year as well as others.
We hope that the winner of our basket enjoys it!! I must admit I am getting better at basket making as the years progress. By next year I should be very good at it.
I had an interesting conversation with the vendor across from us. She lives in a development here on Staten Island in the mid-section. She told me that she had tried the last couple of years to put up a nativity and that her neighbor finds it offensive and HE took it down and had desecrated it in the past. Now if HE can put up his menorah, why then, can*t she put up a nativity? Last time I checked religious freedom was a constitutional right in this country. We both came to the conclusion that he is mentally unstable, so this year she is not going to put up her nativity. I think that is such a shame. I told her to get one for her window. What her neighbor is doing is a hate crime and against the law. Maybe he is not aware of that. There are many unfortunate souls in this world. Unfortunately she lives near one.
Ironically, my Jewish neighbors do not have a menorah in their window but have the front decorated with a Santa for Christmas. Their little guy is in pre-K and they do not want him to feel left out. HELLO??!! It is a Holy Day for Christians. Grrrr (did I actually growl?) True, he can display whatever he wants at any time of year but once again that is making Christmas a secular holiday. So they will, along with my other friends, families and neighbors, be getting a Christmas card from yours truly. If they want to celebrate Christmas along with the Christians well I will gladly celebrate Jesus* birth right along with them. (Just so you know I am not just some old cranky person, I do send Hanukkah cards out at this time of year to my Jewish friends.) Christians, PLEASE put Christ back into Christmas.
Actually the last few days reminded me of when we first moved in. Every year my neighbor a few doors down used to yell Happy Hanukkah to me when he would see me around this time. Even though I had a 7.5 foot Christmas tree in the window and the house adorned in lights, he did it for probably the first 5 years we were here. Of course, I thought he might be Jewish, thus the greeting, so I would yell back thanks Ron! Same to you! Finally one day I asked him if it was him or his wife that was Jewish as he had Christmas lights in front of his house too. Not only did I find out that he too was a Catholic, we also were members of the same parish. After our discussion I found out that he always thought that we were Jewish because when Tom turned 13 I had a huge birthday party for him. He thought it was a Bar Mitzvah as we had a band and a blowout of a party. I had put a notice in all of my neighbor*s mailboxes so that they knew that the noise would end by 8:00 pm that night; that is how they knew about the party. Actually it was for Tom*s first birthday in our new house. (I too had a big party earlier that year sans the band.) Ron and I had a good laugh over it for a few years afterward.
One final note, the Big Nativity is back into the center court of the Staten Island Mall after a long, 6-year banishment. I am thrilled that the Christ is Christmas movement accomplished this and I am very proud to have been a part of that group (though I cannot take any credit whatsoever). It looks magnificent! They also once again have the menorah displayed so kudos to our Jewish community.
So there you have my weekend in a nutshell. I have to get our nativity into the window and put up our decorations but front and center will be my new nativity, which I purchased from Sweetbrook Nurseries. Have a peaceful Advent and a great week,
Mare
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