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Dear Friends:
Happy New Year! After a lovely dinner with friends in St. Petersburg, Florida, on New Year's Eve, I went back home to enjoy the celebration in the park across the street from the privacy of the patio off my studio. It was a lot of fun but very noisy. There was a band in addition to the fireworks, and their speakers were facing my house.
I think St. Petersburg has one of the best First Night celebrations in the country. Restaurants, museums, theaters, and shops all over town get involved. People buy a trolley ticket, and the trolley takes them to all the attractions.
I have really enjoyed the holidays this season. It was great to be able to spend time with my family and have fun with my children and grandchildren. One of my favorite things was having a cooking spree with my son-in-law Corrado Gabellieri, my daughter Ginny's husband, during Christmas. Corrado is Italian and a natural-born cook, in addition to being the director of my Museum in Waynesboro, Virginia. He makes the best homemade ravioli!
One of my Christmas joys was cooking with my son-in-law Corrado.Another favorite memory from this Christmas was when my daughter Mary and her children Sarah and Sean coaxed me into the hot tub out on the deck. It was so cold, and I didn't want to go outside in my bathing suit and freeze; but, how divine that warm water was! I didn't want to get out of it.
(l. to r.) My granddaughter Sarah, grandson Sean, and daughter Mary talked me into getting into the hot tub with them. I'm glad I did, although I was reluctant at first.I know it's January and October seems a long way off right now, but it really isn't. It will be here before we know it, and with it will come the P. Buckley Moss Society's RiverBarge trip on the Ohio River. I'm looking forward to being with friends old and new on this trip and sharing the camaraderie that is inherent with all Moss events. Some of the best friendships are forged on Society trips, defying time and long distances with today's ability to keep in touch via e-mail, the postal service, and phones. I hope you'll sign up and join us for eight days of fall foliage, historic tours, and a trip to the horse races at Keeneland Race Course. For more information and to make reservations, please contact Judy Schick at Tidewater Travel, LLC, at 804-725-1222, 1-866-804-4041; or tideh2o@wildblue.net.
I am so grateful to our armed forces for making it possible for us to enjoy our holidays in peace and to travel and have fun. As the War on Terrorism enters its seventh year, I hear more and more stories about people I know who have loved ones serving overseas to protect our freedoms. I see on the news the horrors they endure for our sake, and I feel that they deserve our utmost respect and support. Many of them return home with post traumatic stress disorder, and their mental scars are just as bad as the physical ones. Often, their mental health issues are misunderstood and they don't receive the help and the support they need. My challenge for 2008 is to do something to help our soldiers, whether active duty or veterans. If each of us showed our support and gratitude to just one soldier in some small way, it could make all the difference to them. Let's do something for them for a change—they are putting their lives and mental and physical health at risk for us.
I pray that this year will bring more peace and tolerance to the world.
Love,
Pat
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©P. Buckley Moss 2005