Sharing Memories and Eating from the Garden

  Last night Judith came for dinner and mahjongg.   It was our first regularly-scheduled maj night since Larry died, so very poignant.   Our last date was supposed to be February 16, but he was in the hospital.  As I set up table and got out the set, I started feeling melancholy, and tried not to let my emotions overwhelm me.
 I haven't written about losing our dear friend Larry because I feel it is private.  I did post his obituary so our former students would know.  I still do not want to use the blog to write about my feelings, but will say we miss him very much.  As a couple, they were our role models, and she continues to be a role model now.   Judith is a remarkable woman.
  One thing we always enjoyed with our friends was hearing their stories of their 52+ years together which kept us laughing.  We have since added our own stories after traveling and spending much time together, and enjoy the memories we've created.  Last night, we laughed a lot about our shared memories and even added some new ones.
  Here's something we laughed about--first, just because of how this looks in person, but later how Judith's daughter Heather saw this after seeing the picture:

  What's it look like to you?  

  Dinner menu last night was this delicious cauliflower and mashed potato pie.  It's not low-cal with half-and-half and flour added to the potatoes, but worth every bite.  Matthew's growing potatoes, but  these came from the grocery store:

  The carrot and fava bean saute were our own home-grown.  Favas are best the first week or two--tender and soft.  In another month, I'll be sorry to see another bean, but happy eating them now.

    And there will be many more.......

  Matthew made two kinds of cookies--lemon biscotti and something he made up years ago--molasses peanut butter.  

We ate cookies over mahjongg tiles and ate more with sorbet.

  When you play 3-handed maj, you have a "dummy wall" set up; we decided to call it the Larry Wall instead, at least for now.   It was a good way to acknowledge that empty spot rather than having it be the "elephant in the room."

 I'm glad we got through our first night of playing as a threesome and have already set the date for our next game.  We talked about the past, the present, and the future and shared laughs like always.  

   Life goes on at a rapid pace with changes we don't always anticipate or want.  We deal or we don't.

And our gardens continue to grow and produce.