Catching up with friends and family

Sunset and clouds

It has definitely been the "winter of our discontent" to quote Shakespeare.   Like many others across the country, we have been plagued this winter by very cold temperatures and too much snow.  And the phrase "I'm tired of being inside" resonates with everyone.

We have been longing for warmer temperatures and a hint of Spring.  And I think we're finally getting there.  Our temps now vacillate between the teens and upper 50's, and any new snow melts within a couple of days.  Now we actually see people in the neighborhood walking and riding their bikes even though it's still a bit brisk.

And after this long hibernation period of curling up on the couch at night with a blanket and a book or TV show, people are finally ready to socialize again.  And so we've been busy catching up with friends and family...

Thursday my brother Gary and sister-in-law Peggy were in town for the Big Ten Basketball Tournament.  They are huge basketball fans, and had a great time despite losses by Indiana University and Purdue.  Mike and I met up with them for dinner at one of our favorite places in Broad Ripple, Twenty Tap.  They spent the night at our house and headed back home on Friday morning.

I then met up with my friend Elena on Friday for lunch and shopping.  We enjoyed getting caught up on work and hobbies and vacation plans.  It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the downtown area was all hustle and bustle, which I hadn't seen since Christmas.

Chris and Garth during the Italian Tapas meal

And Saturday evening was an event that I will long remember.  Our friends Chris and Garth invited us and two other couples to their home for an Italian Tapas meal.  Chris is an amazing cook, and she prepared all the dishes for a 5 course meal.  As good as any meal in a fine restaurant,  here is a glimpse of the food she prepared:  antipasto, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed dates, ravioli and gnocchi.

Chuck and Melanie

And the wine...  Garth served two different Italian wines with each course, which were paired perfectly with the food.  We ended the dinner with a choice of pistachio liqueur or raspberry liqueur and a lovely tiramisu that Chris whipped up.

Dinner lasted for 5 hours, and we had so much savoring the food and enjoying the stories and laughing with our friends.  It was an incredible evening.

Tiramisu

Joyce and Emma

We slept in on Sunday and then headed to lunch with my friend Joyce. She and I worked together for about 10 years in Des Moines, and she was in town to take her son back to college after Spring Break.  Over a great pizza lunch, Mike and I enjoyed talking with Joyce and getting to know her son Chad, daughter Emma and Chad's girlfriend, Hannah.

Joyce and I had a great chance to catch up a bit on how happy she is at her new job managing technology at a Des Moines Company.  She updated me on some health issues she faced last year, and I am so happy that she has recovered and is doing well.  I could have talked with her for hours, and we agreed to get together when I return to DM later this Spring.

Hannah and Chad

Kathy and Kevin

And while we were at lunch, we got a text from our friends Kevin and Kathy from Illinois asking if we had anything going on Sunday as they wanted to get together.  So we said "come on over", and we spent the evening in downtown Indy at the Slippery Noodle enjoying a great meal and music by one of our favorite guitar players, Chris Shaffer.

And by Monday morning, I was EXHAUSTED but smiling at the events of the past several days.  Rarely is there so much going on, but we loved visiting with our peeps...

Surely signs of Spring are in the air...

Diane