First Time Socializing with Friends Since Pandemic

We 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 summer!  My overall health took a bit of a hit due to the late night.  I've been exhausted for the past two days.  I couldn't keep my eyes open whenever I sat down and I hardly had the energy to stand.  I've done quite a bit of sleeping the past couple of days as a result but I'm finally feeling "fair" tonight.  

We had a lot of catching up to do.  I think we could use another six get-togethers with these friends to fully catch up though! 

We had a simple dinner of brats on the grill with sauteed onions and peppers with some New York-style potato salad on the side.  Other than that we just sat around the fire and talked all night long.  Oh yeah...  we dug into some S'mores that the grandkids left behind too.  

Anyway, here are a few photos from this night.  We had a great time!