HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

After the frenzy of gift-giving on Christmas morning, we took a break and relaxed the rest of the day. Susanne read a book, and I spent time on the computer, catching up with friends of Facebook or listening to music on You Tube.

 I also snoozed in front of the television as I watched (on and off) the 1960s film King of Kings. I woke up in time to see actor Frank Thring as Herod being laughed at by his step-daughter Salome when he tries to get her to dance. He offers her anything she wants. We all know what she wanted! I am not sure what Herod was doing with that giant pie crust on the right in the picture.
 

Soon it was time to have a bite to eat before going out to visit with friends in the evening. Susanne had prepared a turkey, and so we decided to have the simplest meal possible -- a turkey sandwich, accompanied by a real delicacy, strawberry applesauce in a little plastic tub.

With still some time before leaving for our friends' house, I returned to my cozy heated man cave to finish watching the movie. Soon Jesus was telling his mother that he had to run down to Jerusalem for a while and that he would fix a broken chair when he gets back. She says the chair will never be fixed as a knowing look passes between them. This was the first movie of the life of Christ in which Jesus was actually fully portrayed. Until then, Jesus was generally seen only from the back or as a shadow, as he did in the 1959 film Ben-Hur. Made in 1961, King of Kings caused quite a stir when it first came out.

We had been excited all day at the prospect of spending some time and enjoying some dessert with our friends Bill and Debbie (you remember them from our trip to Landis Valley Museum). Their two children and significant others were home for the holidays, and Debbie's sister with husband and young children were there, too. It was fun to watch the end of the gift exchanging as we arrived.

Debbie is a master decorator, so we enjoyed seeing their new home all decked out for the holidays. Here are some of the visual delights:

Left to right: Adam, Amy; Bill (with Sebastian), Debbie; Brent, Erin.

I can't believe I did not take any pictures of the food! There were lots of goodies to choose from, and Adam made me a drink with an odd name that turned out to be a combination of liquors and fruit juice blended with ice chips into a sort of slush. It took willpower to limit myself to just one of those!

We had a lovely time with this wonderful family (they are fellow Lesterfans®), and then headed home to our little cottage and its Moravian star hanging on the front porch, another Christmas past.