We disturbed our blissful somnolence around 7:30 a.m. this morning.  I accompanied my morning ablutions with classic Christmas music streamed from the Songza on-line library.  The uplifting sense of Christmas morning persists!

For as long as I can remember a hearty breakfast on Christmas morning has been the order of the day and today was no exception.  Le Maître de Cuisine prepared a downright tasteful plate of eggs, bacon, potatoes and Gorgonzola cheese, followed by wedges of Mandarin oranges, all washed down with strong, black coffee.

Although the skies didn’t clear until later in the day, we nonetheless ventured forth on our bikes to take our customary constitutional.  It was apparent from a quick scan of the beach at Beach Club Resort that the high tide had consumed too much of the beach to permit regular cycling traffic so we contented ourselves instead with the winding bike paths.  There were I noticed on the beach an uncommonly large number of pedestrians purifying themselves from past indulgences or readying themselves for those to come. The wayfarers no doubt valued the sight and sound of the pounding surf on Christmas Day and the bracing morning air.

At Coligny Park we connected briefly by FaceTime with family, an adventure more symbolic than substantive as we were clearly interrupting the matutinal proceedings.  That duty accomplished we headed along William Hilton Parkway to Palmetto Bay Dunes whence we retraced our route and ended back home after about a two-hour stint.  By then the skies were perfectly clear. We now prepare ourselves to rally with a young couple from home who have kindly invited us to dine with them this evening.  And their lovely French bulldog Max!

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It would be a shame not to memorialize the superb Christmas Day dinner we have just savoured with our friends (who I fully expect will one day buy a place here).  We were in fact seven for dinner, a congregation of family and friends.  The entire evening was perfectly fluid; conversation streamed effortlessly and bountifully.  The homemade meal was nonpareil, a Borscht soup, salad with vinaigrette simple, moist turkey, rice and vegetables followed by a heavenly Buche de Noël (Yule Log).  And did I mention Max?