And Fillith All Things Living With Plenitudinous

This will be our third Thanksgiving in Roma and as in past years we will be celebrating with friends. We will be feasting and giving thanks for what the Book of Common Prayer - surely one of the most beautiful pieces of English literature - quaintly calls "plentitudinous" in our lives.

And there is much to be thankful for. I will not rehearse everything but simply say that for all I have I give thanks and that includes all my dear friends who read this posting.

Though I no longer attend church I still enjoy the hymns that mark the seasons of the church calender; and as I have mentioned on several occasions Canadian Thanksgiving is based on the Church of England Harvest Thanksgiving Festival. The hymnal is filled with wonderful pieces for that particular season. "Now Thank We All Our God" is an old Luthern hymn dating back to the 1600s and translated into English in the mid 1800s. It has been included in most hymn books since then.

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We had our traditional Thanksgiving lunch today - a few Italian innovations when ingredients couldn't be found but just your basic Canadian Thanksgiving. Started off with Smokey Pumpkin Soup, followed by Turkey, roast potatoes, chicory, peas and prosciutto and then apple pie with cinnamon gelato. Wine, water, coffee and digestivi in the way of things liquid. And the good friendship of our dear friends Walter (Robert was attending the canonization of Father Damian), Vincenzo and Larry and a recent arrival here in Rome, Lionel. After an initial flurry of greeting Nicky and Nora - the hounds from hell - settled down to tear the head off a toy Vin and Larry had given them and we settled down to conversation, food and fellowship.

Vincenzo, Lionel, Laurent (holding a loaf of bread Lionel made this morning), Walter and Larry - the start of our Thanksgiving meal with dear friends.

So we had a glorious sunny day, a good (if I do say so) meal, good dogs and good friends. A plentitudinous indeed!

11 ottobre - Giorno del Ringraziamento