Thank You party

The usual suspects wanted to thank Lori and Jason for the use of their house while they were cruising. So a party was planned on a beautiful spring day. Juneau came and he and Honey were perfect guests, playing a little and snacking a little. Juneau distinguished himself by being a terrific Mayfly catcher. Canapes, cocktails, pork loin on the grill, a vegetable melange, pommes et fromage for dessert, good red wine. Andre was in fine fettle-he can be a manic hoot and a flirt besides-he was hugging on Lori quite a little bit. It really was a pleasant interlude. After the kids escaped we were treated to Jeanne's tale of herself-the l-o-n-g version: Virgin, well-chaperoned high school courtship, discovery of a tilted uterus, entering a convent, being told by a wise priest she could serve the church as well by making a mortal boy, Marc, happy. (did she fail the vow of silence?). A marriage under the impression they would be childless, and a surprise pregnancy and two children. It made me tired so I escaped. For every talker there have to be listeners but I don't have to be one. I love conversation but monologues better be funny!

As we ate about 2:30, I ended up hungry about 11:00. So I ate leftovers and trekked to WalMart. With all the snowbirds clearing out, traffic and shopping are a breeze. The downside of that is my friends are also clearing out. Bob and Ruth stopped by to say good-bye-on their way to New Jersey early tomorrow. Email from Moe says they are having mechanical dificulties in Georgia. Nicole and Andre will leave Sunday. New neighbors are here for the Barrett-Jackson Auction-classic cars. When they pulled in I said to Tony, "Let's go have some fun with the new neighbors." So I introduced us as "Stephen, and this is my partner Tony." He just about crapped pointing out that he lived on the other side of them and no way were we partners. The newbies are from Washington state and got the joke. I suspect she is a Native American. She has an Angela Davis afro. Think Yvonne De Carlo in "The Munsters." Platform sandals and black spandex. She really is a visual treat. She was walking their dachshunds in a bright red velour robe with fuzzy slippers to match this morning. Don, the retired cop is back home from the Cleveland Clinic. His wife spent such long hours down there Tony was sure he must have passed away. Don is sore but mending. They stopped his heart and restarted it several times to restore the proper rhythm.

And that is the news from Lake Osborne where all the men are wrinkled, the women are saggy, and the kids are waiting to inherit.