This is my sister-in-law Patty…She just joined me in retirement and also joined me as our neighbor on Cape Cod❤️  This is us in 1970, I was 18 and she was 13!!  This is the moment we became “sisters”…we were deep in conversation about life…probably talking about boys…I was dating her brother😉And this is the cottage she and her husband, Don just bought, behind us at The Cape!!  So now they are neighbors!!  This is me, Patty and my sister, Marilyn…Marilyn moved to Cape Cod too, not our neighbor, but in a neighboring town!!!  So we got together for a girls night to celebrate Patty’s last day at work… And the gift for Patty’s retirement?A Buddha statue…to remind her to breathe, be mindful and stay calm…  You can’t help but feel peaceful when you look at a Buddha statue…

WELCOMING BARBECUE

So we got together and had a barbecue!!!  I made the potatoes…So easy…Slice small red bliss potatoes in half, place on large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, add dried herbs or fresh herbs, I used fresh chives and oregano from my garden, then lots of extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, finally wrap it all up and cook on the grill until soft and lightly browned.  Victor does the cooking on the grill, he always prepares the meat, but most of the time I prepare the fish!

This time he did both by marinating the chicken and swordfish and butterflying the sausage and just cooking them on the grill!!  Don made the asparagus and string beans at their new cottage and brought them over…and there you have a barbecue for 7 people!!

Here we are on our patio, enjoying the delicious meal and each other’s company!!   Kara is on the left, Patty and Don’s daughter, with her boyfriend Mike and on the right, Don, Patty and Marilyn…

A SPECIAL DESSERT EXPERIMENT

Okay, so this was risky, it could have totally flopped…but I saw it on Pinterest and just had to try it…on company!!  Campfire S’mores in a Cone!!

This is the tray with all the fixings laid out for everyone to fill the cones themselves…You could put out anything that you’d like…here I have caramel candy, Heath Bar minibars, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, rainbow sprinkles, marshmallows and the waffle cones…We all started with a marshmallow on the bottom of the cone…Then layered whatever candy we wanted, ending with 2 marshmallows on top…

We then wrapped the filled cones with aluminum foil and we wrote our names with a Sharpie on the outside…  We found a wire 3 tier basket held together with chains, in our pantry…

Victor adapted it to hold our S’mores to cook over the campfire…

Here are Patty and Victor holding the basket over the fire, roasting our Campfire S’mores!!!

This is what they looked like when we opened them up, I would have liked them a little more toasted and brown…perhaps next time I might place them directly on the coals…However, can I tell how absolutely delicious these were⁉️…It was risky to try it on company, but the S’Mores in ice cream cones were a success, our company loved them‼️

🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁

So “When Family Become Neighbors” in our case turns into a gift, for us to open many times to come over the years ahead❤️

 

And today, it seems serendipitous that I should talk about gifts… this woman, my hairdresser, Michelle, is giving the ultimate gift today…she is donating her kidney to her uncle…so please send her your loving thoughts and prayers as she undergoes surgery today❤️

A little note:  Everything turned out great for Michelle, she is on the mend…thank you for your good thoughts and prayers🙏🏽