“Friends are the family you choose.”
Right now it is 78° with a bright sun, a beautiful blue sky and not a scintilla of wind. My sweatshirt is folded and put away for the meanwhile. I’m wearing my sandals and a short sleeve shirt. I am in summer mode but only for today as tonight will drop to the 40’s and tomorrow will be seasonal, in the 60’s. We may even have rain tomorrow.
My friends have gone home. My house is so quiet without them. We had an amazing time together, even when we did nothing but sit around and talk. We share a long history.
We sat out on the deck and enjoy appies and the sun. Peg brought down Tuesday’s dinner, a New England boiled dinner, and dessert, brownies and my all-time favorite lemon meringue pie. Peg also made an Irish soda bread with cranberries, orange zest and orange juice. Bill cut a piece and came into the den. Nala ran out the back door, a recognized sign of guilt. She had stolen the bread which was left on the counter and was running with it to her usual spot to eat her booty. I never did get a taste. Poor Bill kept apologizing, but it wasn’t his fault. He hasn’t lived with a felonious dog so he didn’t realize food has to be hidden.
My dinner last night was the leftovers, for my appie, a cheese log Peg had made and crackers, the boiled dinner and a thick, brownie with chocolate chips.
We took a long ride through Hyannisport, Centerville and Osterville. Bill and Peg had never been on that side of the cape. They loved the huge, old houses and the views of the water from the yacht club and the church, St. Andrews. They had a mini Kennedy tour as I showed them the Kennedy Compound and St. Francis Xavier church in Hyannis.
Bill brought down his tools and fixed so many things around the house which had been driving me crazy, things like the flag holders outside, my rocking chair, the faucet, my Ring doorbell, the fence, the paper towel holder and so much more. He is a generous man with his time and talents. Peg is as generous with all the food she made and the gifts she brought.
We had Christmas. Carols played as we exchanged gifts. It was still fun so long after Christmas.
We reminisced about staging in Philadelphia before we left for Ghana and about our time together in Ghana. We laughed a lot and remembered friends with whom we had served. We told funny stories about each other. We still fit together.
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April 14, 2023 at 5:03 pm
Sounds like you all had a wonderful time! (And much better than the other news from Cape Cod that reached our news.) It’s great to have friends and it’s never too late to celebrate Christmas 🙂
Spring arrives slowly here and the apple and cherry trees awake, we’ve had a sunny day today.
April 14, 2023 at 5:10 pm
Hi Birgit,
We had a fantastic time. I was so sorry to see them leave yesterday.
We had the most wonderful experience together in Ghana. We traveled together as well. We laugh a lot about those times and how today’s times.
Are you referring to the arrest?
My forsythia has bloomed. Spring is here in ernest!!
April 14, 2023 at 5:50 pm
Yes, the arrest, which was certainly good if true, I’m just angry about downplaying media framing here (and obviously in parts of your press too) that he was just an apolitical gamer kid and that all racist/antisemitic/right-wing aspects we know so far are mainly ignored.
April 14, 2023 at 9:56 pm
He is not the first “spy” arrested here on Cape Cod. Years back a father and son were arrested for spying for Russia. I think I remember they were from Dennis.
The story has been downplayed here in the papers, in the Boston Globe for one. I don’t know what the truth is. Media framing indeed!
April 14, 2023 at 6:39 pm
Hi Kat,
Today we had partly sunny skies, light breezes and a high of 79°. There’s a slight chance of some thunderstorms this evening, but the weatherman says the cap, (temperature inversion aloft), is strong. Temperature inversions caused by warm air aloft from the southwestern desert of Mexico should prevent severe weather tonight.
I love your statement that friends are the family you choose. These words are true along with the famous statement, “You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your relatives”. 🙂
You are fortunate to have such a long friendship. Unfortunately, I’ve lost track of many of my former friends, and some of them have passed away. 🙁
When I didn’t see your post yesterday I was concerned about you. Although our friendship is a digital pen pal arrangement, I enjoy you very much.
April 14, 2023 at 10:08 pm
Hi Bob,
The night is still warm, but it will et a bit chilly. Tomorrow it should rain most of the day. We need the rain. We had so little snow this winter we need the moisture.
My father also used to say, “You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your relatives”.
I still have friends from grammar school. We don’t see each other often but we do talk on the phone. I also am lucky enough to have high school friends. When I was in the Peace Corps, I lost track of my college friends. I did get reacquainted with a couple at my college reunion, and we befriended each other on Facebook, but to my horror, one is a Trumper, my senior year roommate. I wrote a response to one of her Trump comments, and she unfriended me. I figured that out when I no longer saw her posts.
Thanks for being concerned. My friends left and it was a bit late to write Coffee.
I think of us as friends.