Monique 165/365

These are among the few roses blooming at my neighbor’s parents’ home, what
with the volcano-influenced weather being dimmer and gloomier than usual
most days this summer. This day I didn’t get many photos due to what
neighbor’s mom described as “being such a cut-up all day long”…which was
just about the most charming joke I’ve heard in ages, because what she meant
by that was complimenting me on the time I spent chopping up both
lettuce-based and fruit salad ingredients for the wedding rehearsal dinner.
(My neighbor’s nephew’s wedding was the next afternoon, with his
grandfather—a lifelong minister—officiating.) 25 people or so showed up
that night to eat on the deck, and we had incredible food ranging from
melting-tender pork and beef roasts to homemade peach-nectarine ice cream.
And yeah, my feet & back are still giving me grief about the 5 hours it took
to prep food, but I wouldn’t trade one thin second of it for *anything*.
These are just some genuinely good people, and it did my heart wonders to be
invited, treated as if I belonged, and able to help out!