Temperature 80 degrees some clouds. Another day at Paradise, Paradise by the Sea our motel. Today however we decided to spend the day at our Pied de Terre the Courtyard Villa right on the sea. It is located a scant two blocks from Paradise by the Sea. As I told you we had taken a small efficiency there to give us access to the beach.

We firstly went to Denny's for breakfast. The menu was obscene. To quote from the menu "Borrowing a recipe from the Man in the Red Suit. Breakfast consist of scrambled eggs, bacon and a thick hand dipped milk shake topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with sweet bits of sugar cookies and sugar cookies." Need I tell you I opted for egg whites, spinach, tomato slices and sour dough. Honest.  What was most interesting was the wait staff. Beside the usual friendly American greeting and casual manner of conversation each waitress had highlighted themselves with some Christmas costuming. Our waitress was the most eccentric with multicolored knee stockings, a Christmas T shirt and to highlight her outfit she had a head band with two Rudolph the Red Nose reindeer heads with flashing noses. Don't believe me check out the photo.   

I then drove Elizabeth to our Pied de Terre and went to pick up my Christmas present a new computer. I finally returned to the Pied de Terre and worked out learning how to use it as the older one that had died on me. By about 1 p.m. I asked Elizabeth if she wanted to have lunch she said no since she wanted to save her appetite for our lobster Christmas Eve dinner. I then walked over 2 blocks to a Greek restaurant called the Athena and had a Greek Salad. I sat outside and with a glass Retsina and Greek music over the P.A. I felt I was as close to Greece as I had been in years. I had a cigar, Greek Coffee some Greek cognac and finally returned to Elizabeth around 3 p.m. We then returned to our main digs to prepare for the evening.

This was one of many Christmas eves Elizabeth and I have shared together. They have ranged from wonderful evenings in our own home or on the Amazon River crossing the equator at exactly midnight and in the village of Grandparents in Sicily at midnight mass at exactly midnight again witnessing  the baby Jesus been brought out and blessed and then placed in the Manager. Tonight in Lauderdale we again shared another warm loving moment together.

We dined at Pa Degannaor's Italian restaurant two blocks from our motel. We had preordered a lobster meal that was not on the menu. It addition it had spinach and a side of fettuccine. It was to die for. Add a bottle of Pouilly Fusse and an obscene dessert of red maraschino cherries, white vanilla ice cream and Green Cream de menthe.  Red, white and green the colours of the Italian flag a dessert I had dreamed up.

The restaurant had hired a piano player for the evening who played Christmas carols and songs as well as many other chestnuts from the past. We had just finished our meal and were having a leisurely after dinner drink when he made an announcement. A main water main had burst and there was no water available in the Lauderdale area.

 I could only imagine how many Christmas Eve dinners had been interrupted or called off, how many bars were now without an ability to wash glasses or provided rest room facilities. Tomorrow if the repairs were not accomplished how many Christmas dinners would be upset.

It was then that I thought that it would be challenging night on a personal level of how would we pass the night without a functioning bathroom. When we arrived home we checked the water by turning on the taps and nary a drop came out. We agreed our strategy  would be to do our duty but not flush the toilet until water returned. The Gods smiled on us and the water came back about midnight and we were relieved, yes that was the best way to express it, that we could use Mr. Crappers throne.

We spent another pleasant hour on the balcony talking and then Elizabeth went to bed and I sat down to write my blog. She I am sure will have visions of sugar plums dancing in her head, me how can I write so you can envision the warm Christmas Eve we had just lived through again.