Thursday, March 22, 2018

Neighborhood Friends

One of  the good decisions I made since retiring was going over to my neighborhood swimming pool last summer. At the beginning of the summer, I knew only one of the "regulars" who frequented the pool in the afternoons. By the end of the season—Labor Day—I had gained 16 new friends. That last day, I brought a notebook with me and I jotted down the contact information of each one and since then our group has met for a progressive dinner, a brunch at Jensen's Cafe in Burnsville, New Year's Eve at Zeke's—followed by a gathering at the home of Mary Jo. Then last Saturday we joined each other at Zeke's (This is our neighborhood tavern/bar.) to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Some had green beer. I had green Sprite (my first ever!). We had a very enjoyable time reconnecting.


L to R: Sandra, Susie, Colleen, Patti
It was during this last event that Rita, seated next to me, talked about the spare ribs she had cooked in her crockpot earlier in the day. That got me thinking about the ribs I had in my freezer. I really wanted to bake them, but the package stated it served 6 people. Consequently, I invited three of my neighbors to come for lunch yesterday.

With little effort, I had my ribs and some baking potatoes in the oven, the table set, and the accompaniments ready to be put on table after my friends arrived. We four had a wonderful time of visiting, and no one was in a hurry to leave. It was really fun.

L to R: Mary Jo, Sandra, Gwen

Cherry pie