Torrey and I laughed all day with our bunch, everyone got along really well, which is the norm but still, it’s such a nice way to spend a day.

 We started with goodies and drinks at Stella’s on Pearl Street. E grabbed napkins and dried off the tables and chairs for us, which had been hit with last night’s rain. It was very comfortable sitting on their patio.  We had deliberately parked  many blocks away to add that bit of walking. Sweet to see G and T walking side by side at a slow pace (this was before coffee!) like old buddies, meandering down the road.

Things picked up afterwards, as we were walking back towards the car. We watched  a house getting a new roof and T said he remembered doing ‘a little of that, at the farm” in his youth. He doesn’t remember liking it much however! Torrey and J walked arm in arm, the sidewalks in this older neighborhood are pretty uneven, and she was appreciating his assistance. We passed the house of a friend of mine, which reminded me that last fall Jennifer and I brought a group there, to rake and bag her leaves. It was one of those exceptional activities, where everyone jumped in eager to help; it was so meaningful.  I asked G if by chance he remembered it and he said, “yes, but we hadn’t exactly volunteered for that activity!” teasing me that I forced him to help out my friend.Funny G. He was a trickster all day, great smile on his face.

Nobody liked the coffee much, which is unusual for us. I asked E about it, “how does it taste”, and she answered, “it’s different”. Ha! I said, “I guess that means you don’t like it”, “well, it doesn’t taste much like coffee to be honest”. She cracks us up.   She was a little chilly. Though the day eventually heated up, I had chosen a seat for her on the patio that was in a wind tunnel, and she’s  sensitive to cold anyway. So I grabbed a sweater out of the back of my van, which we were calling the “holy sweater” because of the way it was knitted. That made her feel holy, and she literally started chanting, just to entertain us.

We arrived a 1/2 hour early to croquet after our first morning walk, so walked some more! E and T powering it ahead, T carrying the  heavy water jug the entire way, thank you Tim. Then an hour at the croquet course, where James makes us feel SO welcome. Later on in the day,  as we were driving home, I reminded the group that we’d been to croquet earlier, and said “James is such a good guy”. I was pleased to hear T say, “Yes. He  is”. Sometimes I wonder if anyone is listening to me, ha! You might know the feeling,  so it’s  great to get a sincere response like that.  And Torrey, as we were approaching the croquet course this morning, asked G, “it’s good to see James on a Monday”. Gary said, “it’s good to see him any day”.

E played quite well, T didn’t have his best game but he gave it some good effort and enjoyed himself. The course is flat and the grass is trimmed short. This is SUCH a good combination of factors for our J who gets a pep in her step on that even terrain. Her pace increases, her arms spread out wide and guess what? On her own she broke into a trot of sorts,  basically a jog! I loved that and joined her, then later on asked her to join me again and she  willingly  did so.

Speaking of willing to do so, Torrey wanted to leave a birthday message on his brother’s voicemail and asked Eleanor to sing for him. She sang by herself the entire happy birthday song, that’s more then I’ve heard her sing in the 8 years I’ve known her.

Lunch was at Village Inn, we were amazed at our waitress who memorized every detail of our complicated order.  The food there is so satisfying, and we liked our big, round table.

We talked about T.V. shows and when the food arrived and things were getting quiet around the table, J started singing the Brady Bunch theme, hilarious. Torrey mentioned Hogans Heroes and T said, “I know Nothing!”  .  E laughed and pointed out a sign as we were leaving the restaurant, I attached a picture of it here. Struck a funny bone for all of us.

More talking, whistling, singing and knee slapping when we talked about T.V. shows and movies in the car when heading home. Sound of Music, Gilligans Island, Paradise Island, Mary Tyler Moore, Flying Nun, Partridge Family…