—-Brian Tracy
We at Madderlyreview wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year and an equally wonderful new decade. May we all handle whatever comes our way with the most positive of outlooks and most of all, may we always take the kinder paths.
We decided to be a little more adventurous this New Years Eve, and it turned out to be quite successful. For more years than I can remember Arthur and I join Judy and Allan for an afternoon movie followed by fast food or pizza take out. We learned early on that trying to eat in a nice restaurant on New Years Eve is usually an epic fail. We always finished the evening with a game or two and then watched the ball drop in Times Square.
Instead this year we each booked a room in the Hyatt Delray Beach. Down-town Delray closes off the streets to traffic for the evening and invites families of all ages to enjoy the fun. There are activities for kids, food trucks, entertainment at the various bandshells, thousands of people and fireworks exploding into the night. The Hyatt is right in the middle of all of the fun, so we parked early and spent a fine night walking, eating and participating in the excitement.
We had dinner reservations at Elisabetta’s, and we were pleasantly surprised. Although every seat was taken, the service was efficient and remarkably pleasant. The food was as amazing as it always is, and we never felt rushed. Arthur’s black pasta with shrimp was perfectly and yummily prepared, and Allan’s frutti di mare was chock full of succulent shellfish with a mouth tingling sauce. Judy and I had Corvina, a white, sweet fish, with a perfectly matched sauce that accented the taste of the sea. The pasta side that we opted for was simply prepared with evoo, garlic, Calabrian chili and black pepper, but we agreed it was the best rendition of a pasta side that we ever ate.
Being too full for immediate dessert, we wandered through the throngs of people until we came upon Proper Ice Cream. These people know how to turn out interesting flavors, and their portions are huge, but they are a bit pricey. It was fun running into people we knew in this enclave of celebration, but after the fireworks display we were ready to collapse, so we walked back to the hotel( yay...no dodging drunk drivers to get there) and watched the ball drop and a new decade begin.
There is no doubt that politics in the next year will bring out the worst in some people, and I am determined to rise above it. I will remind myself that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinions and try not to foist my thoughts upon my neighbors. I will continue hoping that kindness prevails, because if we can’t overcome the hatred that the last few years brought out, then we are doomed to an existence without joy. There will always be the haters, but if the rest of us speak a little louder and smile a little wider than maybe we can drown them out. I am up for the challenge...how about you?
Speaking about haters, I must say that the book that I read/reviewed last week, The Network by L.C. Shaw featured one of the most hateful characters I have come across since Hannibal Lecter. Shaw’s book had me going from page one. Definitely a book to read with the lights on.
As always a complete review of this book follows my blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly