Happy 2011

I spent New Year's eve at home with family and friends...a lovely evening that almost didn't happen!

We have all been sick for more or less for the past week with a nasty intestinal flu that left most of us with little or no desire to eat or drink...and what is an Italian celebration if not a celebration of food and drink? My husband and I dragged ourselves out and about to do the shopping, moaning and groaning all the while about how we felt and about what a pity it was that we were not going to enjoy the evening's feast.

Call it off you suggest? No way, that would be a solution for lesser mortals. And besides, we had invited a whole bunch of people over...it wouldn't have been right to leave them in the lurch on New Year's Eve.

Here I am with about 3 inches of makeup shoveled on to make myself presentable. One "good" thing...I lost three kilos in 3 days of stomach flu! Hee hee, but really, that's no way to lose weight!

in order of height...

Our meal was fish-based, but we combined the traditions of the Italians, Americans and Russians present.

An array of international appetizers

Broiled bass on a bed of creamed peas

I survived the evening and even managed to eat a few bites of this and that and toasted the new year with half a sip of Prosecco! I'm planning to leave all traces of that flu way back in 2010.

Let's hope 2011 is a good year for you, me and everyone! Happy New Year!