Day 6 - 193 -- Group Celebrations

Well -- this is Saturday's Saturday post written on Wednesday. The catching up is slower than I'd expected mainly due to fatigue and an evening event last night. All my notes are ready to turn into full blogs, so never fear, they will all arrive as time allows. <smile>

What a day Saturday was! It began with an early breakfast with friends as we awaited the arrival of two others. Anticipation continued as with yesterday. We had a great chat and then began our journeys to a surprise birthday event for another dear friend. We arrived in pairs about 20 minutes apart. We did create surprise in the guest of honour. Fantastic food, conversations, fun and a couple of song lines sung throughout made for an excellent afternoon. The weather brought excess heat and humidity, but we managed well. 

In the evening six of us went to a fun diner -- silver metal exterior with the neon 'eat here' sign. The menu has all sorts of wonderful choices and a list of a couple of dozen sides that could replace fries. I went with broad beans and corn -- a form of succotash. Love this and haven't made this at home for a while, though I use limas. That will be on my list for this summer with barbecued main dishes. After the diner closed at 9 PM (so it isn't a real 24/7 diner), we spent a couple hours visiting at the hotel. It felt sad leaving when we wouldn't all be together again before I had to leave for the airport around 7:30 AM. Back in my room I repacked the suitcase and felt that the adrenaline of the day may impede a good sleep. I vowed to try my best, though. 

Visiting with good friends that are seen less often than one might wish is a true gift. This group met online before face-to-face meetings. That daily contact over 25 years afforded us the closeness of family -- seeing each other through the highs and lows of life. The in person gatherings have been filled with great memories complete with musical accompaniment <smile>, much laughter and definite new adventures. Watching and participating in the development of this tight-knit group has been very interesting from anthropological and sociological standpoints. Yest, I am a bit of a geeky academic at times <grin>. 

Two songs are shared today. The first song came to mind when a friend stated the title phrase when arriving at the festivities. It is by a singer-songwriter musician extraordinaire known by many in our little entourage. The second selection was sung at the festivities while recalling when we'd first sung this in a group road trip. The key here lies in the line mentioning pyramids. That one is a long story -- maybe someday <smile>.  Enjoy! 

Come on In - Peter Tork 

You belong to Me--  The Duprees