The last couple of days have been filled with good music, beer and wine and laughs with my dear ole Ma Hazzard. From the first night I have been drinking what we call out here “Black Christmas” it is normally a Black and Tan; a Guiness float over some sort of ale.

There is a local brewery here in Cleveland called Great Lakes Brewery and they put out a Christmas Ale every year. I was lucky enough to discover this hearty brew and it has become my aperitif of choice this year.

Last night we dined at my cousin Milo’s new bar/restaurant Sinergy in downtown Cleveland. It was very nice to see him and we were treated like royalty – god, I love being Italian. We drove back home sufficiently stuffed where we met up with Aimie, my oldest and dearest friend.

My regular readers may remember Aimie from my last visit home. We met in the 6th grade over some sort of hair pulling incident and never looked back. The plan was to make our way over to my cousin’s house down the road. Not being a fan of wine, Aimie raided our closet to find something more to her liking.

I think ma’s new favorite song is our beloved “Moving Into Light”; it is her #1 requested song when we are together. She REALLY REALLY likes it. It was the theme song for yesterday. The woman can certainly rock. She dances in her seat, takes over the volume control and pushes Milo’s speakers to their limit. No complaints here, we share the pleasure of loud music.

My drive home started on the Mass Pike Highway 90 at 8:30am yesterday and I was in Cleveland, Ohio by 6pm. Originally, I thought the drive would be 12+ hrs on two separate days, but as I kept driving and the hours kept flying I thought, “What the hell, let’s keep going!”

I love to drive and this was the perfect day for it, until I reached just outside of Buffalo and encountered some serious snow. I was a bit nervous seeing that I had never driven Milo in the snow before, but it wasn’t collecting and melted before it stuck. When I stopped for a slash and a snack I thought it would be a perfect time for a video to document the event.

I also captured the sunset along the Pennsylvania state line. I felt like a photographer for National Geographic who waited all day and timed everything just perfectly for this exact moment.

Ma Hazzard didn’t expect me until today so when I realized I would be early I decided to surprise her. My plan went down w/o a hitch. I called my brother to propose a little plan to surprise our dear ole Ma and start the holiday season on a great note. I arrived at the restaurant before them and was seated at the booth when they walked in the room. She saw me sitting there, but instead of looking surprised she looked as if some one had just given her a wedgie. It was a look of confusion meets physical discomfort… a real “HUH???????” That lasted a second until she dropped her purse and put her hands to her mouth in shock. I told her that I decided to have dinner with her. She still kept her hands and arms on her chest in disbelief that was soon turning into a sob filled joy. I stood up in front of her, attempted to hug her with her arms still wrapped around her body clutching herself. She would not let go. Did I mention that we were standing, all three of us in the middle of the aisle?

I finally had to say “Mom, hug me. People are watching” as if we were in a play and that was the next scene. She soon came to and gave me a big hug. When she finished crying we had a lovely dinner. Now you can watch my original plan in full, living color below.

I was able to spend my last few days here in Boston with some of my closest friends. My gal pal Saya, dear friend, co-worker and my companion for Fashion Week had a studio show for her bags at her house Sunday. She makes really cool, hip bags in all sizes, shapes, styles and colors. She also makes scarves, toiletry cases and even checkbook covers. She and I are destined for great things. I think she might be one of my least complicated, most complimented friendships so time spent is time enjoyed.

The show was from 11-5, I spent the night so I could be on hand from start to finish. I was in charge of braving the elements and searching for cider, milk and mulling spices. The first two were easy to come by however the spices were a no-go. The show was going to be mostly friends and friends of their friends hoping to find that special, last minute gift. It was very social as we knew everybody coming in and were catching up with people we hadn’t seen lately. It also gave me a chance to say my seasonal salutes to friends and co-workers.

Saya’s roommate and cousin, Mikala (left) was first mate and had the finger foods warmed and served just as people began to search for nibbles. Wine glasses were graciously attended to in favor of the cider I walked miles to fetch. The room looked like something out of Food and Wine; friends socializing drinking South American reds and snacking on pesto crostini while looking at fantastic pieces of art. I bought a couple pieces and Saya and I traded goods; one of her scarves for one of my T-shirts.

Afterwards we ate at my buddy’s place, DBar in Dorchester. Our mutual friend, JD arrived mid afternoon hoping to grab a bite and a bag and then begin to recover from a night of holiday debauchery. In order to do that properly he wanted a burger. DBar has some good ass over there and it would also be his first time visiting the place. The owner Brian, when I told him of Deeper Into You’s debut on iTunes, leapt up from the table and ran to the DJ booth and downloaded it. He has his sound system wired directly to iTunes so he played it in the restaurant, twice! He loved it, he said it was perfect for his place and it was dark and loungy. Hearing it in that sort of establishment, I saw what he was talking about. I balanced the camera on the bread basket and put it on self timer to capture our last supper.

I leave tomorrow at 6am for Cleveland, Ohio. It will take 12hrs and I should get there sometime on Wednesday afternoon. The calls are already coming in and I am already blacking out dates in my phone’s calendar. I have actually set alarms on the days where I have someone to see. Spending three weeks at home is going to allow me to see lots of people: high school friends, cousins, family, more cousins, old friends from childhood and finally the rest of the cousins. And the possibility of forgetting somebody is quite probable. Hopefully with these new nifty ring tones, that will not happen.