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Showing posts with the label friends

First Time Socializing with Friends Since Pandemic

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W e finally had an opportunity to get together with a couple of close friends this Labor Day weekend.  We haven't socialized with friends in three years due to the pandemic.  These two friends were actually the last couple we socialized with prior to the pandemic and that was for a Christmas dinner in 2019.  We were long overdue for some quality time with these friends! I should point out that the reason we hadn't seen these friends in so long wasn't strictly due to being cautious about the pandemic.  Certainly, that played into it but it was not the sole reason for not seeing them for so long.  At times Sheila and I had the virus...  other times our friends had the virus...  and other times we both had scheduled commitments with our respective families and grandchildren.  So, health concerns and family commitments also delayed us getting together sooner.   We were out in our backyard until after midnight which was the latest Sheila and I have been up and awake since last s

It's Thanksgiving!

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This Thanksgiving, as with most every Thanksgiving in my adult life, we are hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner with close friends.  We have done very little socializing in the past year due to a few different health issues starting with Sheila second bout of breast cancer and ending (hopefully) with my two and a half months of significantly poor health due to some poor decisions by a couple of so-called specialists. Needless to say, we're both looking forward to socializing with some close friends today! As most of my friends know, this is perhaps my least favorite holiday on the calendar for far too numerous reasons to mention here.  That being said, decades ago, I found that I do enjoy the day whenever I host a small gathering of friends for the day.  Better yet, I always enjoyed being on-duty in the Air Force and putting together a celebration for all those working with me. The same holds true for Christmas... which happens to be my favorite holiday on the calendar! So, in keep

A Fun Distraction

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Sheila was in need of a few laughs and a distraction... actually, so was I... so, yesterday, we invited Frank, Christine and Sheila's parents over for dinner, a few drinks and a few laughs in the comfort of our own home. (I had already moved all the building supplies for a new living room and kitchen to a different section of the house to make things a bit more comfortable for Sheila so we were ready for a few guests as well.) We had a great time and are very thankful that everyone could squeeze us in at the last moment. Sheila and I were definitely entertained and had a great time!  That was much appreciated. Today, Sheila is digging through her medical insurance handbooks and we are discussing each thing she comes across that may apply to us. So, I'd say a little bit of the anxiety and tension is back again today... a little bit of reality, I suppose. Liza and the grandchildren will be stopping by to see Gee sometime this afternoon so that will allow us to push aside the

Dinner at The Whip

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I have a little bit of time this morning so here are some of the photos from our Christmas dinner at The Whip in Stowe. Well, really, it was a  lunch-drinks-appetizers-drinks-Christmas dinner at The Whip in Stowe.  As I wrote in a previous blog entry, we all had a great time, as always! The pork belly with toasted garlic chips over spinach made for a nice lunch... delicious! Sheila says the crab cakes were delicious as well! Christine managed to get another nice shot of Sheila and me... This couple in the background (below) was photo bombing me whenever I shot photos toward their table... and enjoying it! I'd rather have that than people trying to hide their faces. I didn't notice the photo bombing nor the celebrity  ( Rusty DeWees )  sitting at the next table in the background until after taking a few shots. Actually, I  didn't notice the photo bombers until Sheila told me why they were laughing and so amused... it wasn't until I tal

Understanding... or, Lack Thereof

I often write about and harp upon the need for understanding when it comes to people struggling with chronic illness and/or life threatening illnesses. Tonight it is time for me to harp on this yet again because Sheila is hurt and I am subsequently angry and rapidly losing my patience with far too many people who don't seem to "understand". As a result of this lack of understanding, I am truly at my wits' end and we are exceptionally close to again shrinking our circle of family and friends if this very tiring behavior does not change. I, myself, have a long list of health issues and struggle with significant disabilities every day. The major difference today, however, is that I am referring to and coming to the defense of Sheila since she is very upset right now and has been very upset at the last two family events because of this rather callous behavior. It has gotten to the point where Sheila actually dreads attending any family events because so many people na

Start of Christmas

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The official start of our Christmas season commenced last weekend with an afternoon and evening spent with friends. It has unofficially become an annual Christmas tradition to meet for dinner in Stowe every year. As always, we had a really great time... dinner was great... the drinks were great... the atmosphere was great... and the company was second to none!   Here are a few photos... Our 'frog bread'...  nothing like a loaf of bread that looks like a frog when you've been drinking all afternoon!

A Happy Birthday Celebration

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We went out last night to celebrate the birthday of a very dear friend.  It was actually a bit of a surprise birthday celebration for Judy. Judy's daughter, Lindsay, made a surprise appearance from her campus during finals week.  As Lindsay tells the story, "That amazing moment when I surprised my mom by calling her outside the house and knocking so she tells you to hold on because there is someone at the door and she opens the door and it's me, SURPRISE!  Happy Birthday mom!!!"  Lindsay also helped to arrange this surprise dinner celebration with a few close friends.  All of this during finals week! We had dinner at The Reservoir Restaurant and Tap Room , otherwise known as The Rez by the local crowd.  As always, it was really nice to get out with friends.  A couple of us at our table have had our problems lately in finding consistently good health so it was a pleasure to finally get out together and to feel well while celebrating!  Getting together has been

A Beautiful Saturday in Burlington

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A couple of weeks ago, we had an absolutely beautiful spring Saturday that was like a sunny, early summer day.  My health was relatively good that particular weekend so we dropped everything we needed   to do and instead did something we wanted   to do.  It had been a long, cold winter with far too many months spent inside our small home so we decided to get out and about to do some socializing and spent about 12 hours bar-hopping in Burlington on picture perfect Lake Champlain. The Burlington Boathouse at the waterfront. The weather was absolutely beautiful that weekend.  We managed to spend time with a good number of friends over the course of the weekend which included this entire day in Burlington with two close friends.  It really was a great weekend and any time spent at the waterfront and on Church Street in Burlington is always a good time and time well spent!  Especially when you spend it with close friends such as Frank and Christine! Lately, 'good health' wee