The Last of Summer

I sit alone and watch the warm, sweet day
Lapse tenderly away:
And wistful, with a feeling of forecast,
I ask, “Is this the last?”
                      “The Last Eve of Summer”             
                        by John Greenleaf Whittier

I couldn’t wait for those hot days last week to end. We used our air conditioner more last week than we had through June, July, and August. Hubby is out almost every day watering his flowers and vegetables. The sunflowers seem to require lots of water. So do the tomatoes.

***
Last Saturday, Hubby, daughters Sue and Jeanne, and I were down in Whitman attending the birthday party for our grandniece Renee, who will be 14 today (Sept. 11). The world’s Greatest Grandchildren were not with Jeanne. Brendan had to work and Erin was already back at school, having left on Labor Day. Renee greeted us as we got out of our car. It was a very warm day with temps just about 90 degrees. We kept positioning ourselves in the shade or under the covering over the picnic table in the yard. Host David and his brother Steve were outside watching the kids in the inflatable “bouncey house.” The kids didn’t give the “house” a great deal of use until after we all ate and watched Renee open her gifts. There were all kinds of hors d’oeuvres on the table. I found the tortilla chips, which were delicious. Somebody had made a two-layer dip with salsa. There was Asian cole slaw (with almonds). The chicken wings were in demand; their coating was a combination of soy sauce, brown sugar, and butter. There were potato chips with onion dip, which Hubby’s sister/Renee’s Grandma Peg loved. On the long picnic table we had potato salad, regular cole slaw, and garden salad, with several different dressings. There were several kinds of pickles and olives but I stayed away from them because they are green and not good for those on warfarin.  We also had hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and hot dogs, hot off the grill. I must thank Mary, Renee’s mom, for buying some gluten-free rolls for people like our daughter Jeanne and one of her nieces, who need gluten-free products.

Then Mary came out with the big cake, which was made by Stop & Shop. People commented on the frosting, which was very tasty. The theme of the cake was soccer, which Renee loves to play.  There were two plastic soccer rings on the cake. Renee got one, her cousin got the other.

Then it was time for Renee to open her gifts. She is going to be the best-dressed 14-year-old girl with all her new clothes. Daughter Sue even brought down a pair of leather sandals, which didn’t fit her properly. Renee has almost the same-sized shoe so she was happy to receive them. Renee’s other Grandma Pat is giving Renee music lessons as her gift. I thought that was great.

After the dishes and wrapping paper were cleaned up, all the kids got dressed down to shorts and tee shirts and went into the inflatable house. Dad David sprayed the house with water, which made the house extremely slippery. We could hear the kids laughing as they tried to stay standing. They remained inside the house quite a long time, which was great because the water spray cooled them off.

Daughter Jeanne has bad weather reports sent directly to her phone and that afternoon she received one report that there was a tornado watch in Essex County, in her area of Massachusetts. She called home to her husband David to be sure that he had heard of the warning. He reassured Jeanne that he was OK and that he was watching the Rockport weather on TV. As we left Whitman, host/nephew David gave us a magnificent tomato, just picture-perfect. His brother, nephew Steve, gave us a plastic container filled with some of his cherry tomatoes. We thanked both of them and said we’d have quite a few salads this week, thanks to them. 

Because the skies were dark as we drove back to Boston, daughter Sue drove. We had a few raindrops on our windshield in Whitman but that was all. As we came along Route 18, we saw that it had rained. As we got closer to Boston, we could see more puddles but still didn’t encounter any rain. We drove to South Bay to get some supplies at Office Max. There were puddles everywhere in the parking lot but there were still quite a few shoppers in the stores. (Office Max was quite busy with parents and kids buying supplies for school.) We finally arrived home just about 8:30 p.m.

***
On Aug. 21, we boarded a bus for the Twin River Casino in Rhode Island. We thank Eileen Collins for organizing the trip. Daughter Sue came with us as did our friend Eileen Burke.  After we had coffee and split a donut, we tackled the slot machines. Thank goodness we only take along $30 or $35 per trip. We take it in $5 bills so we won’t be apt to lose $10 or $20 in a few minutes. The morning passed quickly and so did most of the money we took with us. We met Sue and Eileen at 12:30 p.m. and went into the Wicked Good Restaurant on the second floor of the casino. That restaurant has a terrific luncheon special: a cup of soup or chowder plus half a sandwich, with fries. The luncheon-allotment coupon that we were given when we arrived at Twin River paid for the luncheon. It’s a terrific deal.

The slot machine that I had won on during our previous visit to Twin River was not favoring me that day. I told Eileen Collins, when she walked by, that my luck that day was terrible. While she was listening to me, my machine gave me 30 free spins. That was just amazing. I finally ended up making $20 more than I had spent. I pushed the cash-out button and didn’t gamble anymore. I was thrilled with my $20 win.

***
In between naps on the bus on the way home to Boston from Twin River, I had my eye on my watch. Hubby and I had been invited to our friend Loretta Philbrick’s 80th birthday party at Gerard’s. When we arrived back Hubby dropped me off at Gerard’s. He took Eileen Burke and daughter Sue to their homes and picked up his camera at our home. He was back in 15 minutes. The restaurant was almost completely filled with Loretta’s family and friends. Loretta’s sister, Dot Canniff, from Weymouth, organized the party and welcomed us as we came in. So did Loretta’s niece, Susan Stanley, all the way from Colorado. Loretta introduced me to her nephew, John Carroll of Weymouth. Also joining the family were Loretta’s cousins Stephen and Veronica Hubbard of Quincy. Then there were quite a few tables of her friends. Her neighbors Karen, Kevin, Caitlin, Kevin (Jr.) and Mark Doherty were there with Karen’s parents Gregory and Sarah Ashe, plus Mary and J.P. Doherty, Jill and Matt Sweeney, Marian Rollins, Noreen and Rob Fitzpatrick, Maureen Connolly, Mary Connors, and Kim and Jerry Powers. Another table included friends Donna Dumont, Marie Realini, Kathy Smith, and Sue and Steve Allen, with their three-month-old granddaughter Cora Coughlin. Sitting near us were Paul and Maryann O’Brien, Gina McLaughlin, and our mutual friend John Scannell. At the next table were Loretta’s longtime friends, Ginny Biagiotti, Mary McElaney, Pat O’Donnell, Carol Murphy, Mary Shea, Joan and Betty DeLorey, Barbara Sheehan, and Kay and Risa Riva.(We had such a good time chatting with the Rivas.) I think I have all the people that attended this wonderful party for our good friend.

The great waitresses that took such good care of us at the party were Jennifer Shea and Kristin Manning. Gerard did a wonderful job in hosting the festivities. His food was wonderful and he kept the serving dishes well filled. We had seven-layer Mexican salad, his famous house salad, scrumptious fresh fruit, a cheese and cracker tray, mounds of  cocktail shrimp, scallops wrapped in bacon, delicious meatballs in sauce, and his famous chicken tenders.

The piece de resistance was brought into the room by Gerard himself. (He was one of the few who could lift it.) It was a large Konditor Meister birthday cake. Thank goodness I have Hubby’s great photo of the cake. It had red and pink frosting roses, strawberries and cream in the middle layer, strawberries on top, along with chocolate. It was one of the most beautiful cakes I have ever seen. We all enjoyed it with coffee.

While we were having dessert, Loretta asked her friend John Scannell to sing. We all applauded to encourage him. He serenaded Loretta with two songs: “Wind Beneath My Wings” and “What a Wonderful World.” We all clapped loudly for John. What a great voice he has. We had two more singers in our midst. Kevin Doherty and J.P. Doherty (not related) then thrilled the guests with some wonderful Irish tunes. I am sorry that I don’t know the titles of them. They were so good that my feet were doing an Irish jig under our table.

Loretta stated that she had celebrated her birthday in many different ways over the years but never had a party that surprised, overwhelmed, and delighted her like this one. She thanked her sister Dot and her team for all their efforts on her behalf; she also thanked  everyone for attending and celebrating with her. It is wonderful to have so many friends and family members at the party. She is looking forward to her 90th birthday.

***
I loved this saying by Joubert: “Politeness smoothes wrinkles.”


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