Tuesday, August 18

Matt's birthday--he is 32 (no kidding?). We tried to call him in the AM but couldn't. We finally reached him on our way back from Jenn's.

We woke up late (11:00AM) and it was very hot. We left for Jenn and Tom's house near Bangor. It took a couple of hours to get there but since we were a bit early we stopped in a quaint nearby town and shopped a bit in a crafts store, furniture store, farm coop store, and a children's bookstore (where we picked up a few things for Ana).

We arrived at Jenn's at 3:30 PM sharp. Her house is in a beautiful neighborhood in Winslow, Maine. Her house has a basement and she and Tom are currently working on a substantial extension: master suite, basement. In addition, many of the walls in the current house will be torn down to create larger rooms. Looks like a big job but I'm sure it will be fantastic when it is finished. They have 2.5 acres that are exquisite--there's a brook, many beautiful trees. Tom built a playhouse for the girls--Hannah and Kate (Kathleen). The girls are very smart and beautiful--each with her own personality (did I mention that Hannah is 12 and a half?) They are extremely well-behaved and seemingly (we were only there for 6 hours) mature for their ages. They both love to read and Kate was reading Twilight while we were there. Tom is very funny, bright, well-read, and down to earth. He's an attorney and his office is nearby. Jenn is her same funny, witty/sarcastic, and creative self. Dinner was delicious and not a typical barbecue. We were happy to see that pork was on the menu (instead of hamburgers and hot dogs). She had chips with a sauteed onion dip, and crudites with a veggie dip (Bob and I had brought a pinot grigio and a potted oregano plant and we finished up Jenn's already chilled pinot grigio--I guess we all like pinot grigio). For dinner we had barbecued boneless pork, asparagus, a lovely mixed green salad with blackberries, and coleslaw with apples and craisins. For dessert, Jenn had made brownies (which we could have had with icecream) and a DELICIOUS key lime pie that was perfect. We all had coffee I want the recipe because it was not too sweet and it was very creamy. It was a wonderful evening with our old friends--it was as if Jenn never left and we had been friends with Tom for all of our lives. The girls were entertaining as well; they reminded me of what I miss about our children--their closeness, their curiosity, developing personalities.

It took us about 2 and 1/2 hours to get home and we were ready for bed.
Happy Birthday Matthew!