Evening with Friends

I love a lot of things, but I think one of my favorite things is having people I like over for a long, leisurely summer dinner on the deck.

Yesterday my friend Sheri, her husband David and their two kids were stopping through on their way to visit David's family further east. We got to have them for dinner, so we fixed the most Central New York-ish meal we could come up with, Fingerlakes Riesling and our favorite Wegman's dip with chips, Hoffman's Snappies and German Franks with New England style buns, salt potatoes, local corn, raspberries we picked that morning, fresh blackberry pie with Byrne ice cream. It was a nice, cool evening and we sat on our deck for a long time, enjoying the breeze and catching up. Katie and Anna pretty much disappeared, appearing periodically with dress up clothes on, and Molly did a good job entertaining one and a half year old Matthew. These are old friends (Sheri and I were in each other's weddings). We don't get to visit often, but it's so nice to be able to pick up where we left off when we do.

We took it inside when the sun disappeared and the bugs started biting (the downside of those privacy-lending woods). Eventually, we wrapped up the evening with much protesting from the little girls. Anna and Katie decided that their family should just buy the house next door. We didn't have any such available career options for David in the area, so they'll be passing through until next time.