Saddleback had a great December planning for all our activities for 2022, but the highlight was a Christmas Luncheon at Joe’s Italian Restaurant in Ladera Ranch. Almost sixty people attended the event which consisted of good food, great companionship and Christmas caroling led by our own Nina Perez. It was just wonderful that we all got together for a very happy and festive occasion! We all thank Lucky Lippa for hosting the event, an act of generosity which we truly appreciated. Lucky has been a member of Saddleback for many, many years and has been a great supporter of Saddleback activities. Besides Nina leading Christmas carols, the lodge presented Lucky with a plaque

Cesare Battisti Lodge #1518 had a wonderful well attended first meeting in 21 months on December 12th at our new location. The rain kept a few people from attending but those that came (70 of you) had a wonderful dinner prepared by our Chef Ed and a good time finally meeting with other members, all vaccinated of course. We are staying with the second Sunday of each month but the time will be 12:30 to 1 PM doors open time with meeting to follow about 1:30 with our meal after that. I hope

On Sunday, December 19, members of the Cornelia-Vita Nuova Lodge of San Francisco visited Firehouse #28 in North Beach to drop off toys to the firemen stationed there for their Toys for Tots program. It was a beautiful, brisk day in the City, and it was the first time that we were together as a lodge since March 7, 2020. It felt great to be with our Brothers and Sisters performing an act of kindness for those less fortunate. The firehouse, in the Italian district of San Francisco, has been remodeled but the interior floors still have bricks that hearken back to the days of horse-drawn fire trucks. The edge of the bricks even had

Hanford Lodge #1543 hosted the Christmas meeting of the United Lodges of the San Joaquin Valley on December 12 in Hanford. President Michael Leoni and Tony Tesoriere cooked a rigatoni & sausage dinner with all the trimmings with help from Jackie Giacomazzi and Louise Tesoriere. Through the generosity of those attending, the United Lodges were able to donate $600 to the St. Brigid Community Outreach Center to give help to those in need at Christmas time. President Michael is also planning to serve his Lodge members polenta & stew at the meeting on January 13. All are welcome to attend with an RSVP to: jackiegiacomazzi@gmail.com. Happy New Year!!

Mangia…Mangia…Mangia.

Saturday, December 18th, the Pick Up Dinner featured ravioli topped with Rick Branch’s famous meat sauce and roast beef with gravy. On a cold Winter’s Day, pasta is high on the list of comfort foods. Kudos to our amazing chefs: John Costa, Glen Rushing and Rick Branch. On the Delivery Team---from the kitchen to the car—were Cristina Bini, Taylor Rojas and Donna Branch. President Pamela Bini collected dinner monies and Rick Silveira handled the sale of Ways & Means tickets. Pick Up Dinners