Perfect weather for our Bonfire

Here's my post-Bonfire snack I brought home. A crunchy apple and a mixture of cashews and peanuts. No one ate the shrimp cocktail I brought b/c it was frozen solid.

Maybe I'll bring it to Mom's on Sunday and we'll have a party.

Luckily before I left, Scott told me to dress in layers. Wore two warmish tops and PJ bottoms under my slacks.

Also brought one of our beach chairs, so low to the floor it was almost impossible to stand back up.

Here's who came: Saul (thanks for carrying my shtuff from the car to the Pavilion - Ada and Rich - Helen and Larry - Scott V - Shelly with her guitar and Brandy, with her gorgeous long hair

Noam (Now that you've got a job, I said, you can find a girlfriend) - Todd, who brought the wood and also his gentle guitar - Chris T - Ed had a hard time finding the place but figured it out and played his guitar - Randy, who came from the shore where it was too windy to fish - Jonathan, who once managed a Burger-King, home of the Whopper.

Lemme tell you something. There is nothing like a crisp apple. I'm eating it in its entirety and then I'm walking around the block to lower my blood sugar.

Only had one of Ada's brownies which had chocolate chunks inside. I selected one that was baked near the edge of the pan so I would get an extra crunch.

Helen asked me if I wanted to take the remainder home. My stomach was screaming YES, but my diabetes said, Don't you dare!

Nearly every pic I took is blurry. Can't wait till I learn to use my new iPhone. Dan sent me basic direx but I haven't had time to learn em yet.

I'll visit on Sunday nite and my 5-yo g/daughter Grace will learn me.

Here's Todd with his new look... a mustache.

 Long-haired Brandy. I often see her and mom Shelly at the Willow Grove Bible Church social

 Jonathan wore a top hat and decided to shave his head.

Bald men are sexy!

 Israeli-born Noam Levine. Oy veh, what's going on now between the Jews and the Palestinians. We talked briefly about this around the fire. Ada wondered if her brother, Edward, would still travel to Israel at the end of this month, to volunteer to help at an army base.

Yes, I opined. They're used to these minor skirmishes, as if they were simply car accidents. Edward, a radiologist, like Rich was before he retired, will help wash airplanes, maybe work in the mess hall...

 Wonder what this teepee- like contraption was. Mayhap the Boy Scouts were here. Or else, the Lenni-Lenape!

Rich, who looks adorable bundled up like a baby, went to investigate some happy noises in the woods. It was a party, just breaking up.

 Saul Miller and Ada.

 Larry has been taking voice lessons in Chestnut Hill. He said most voice lessons take place in a church.

We had him sing a solo and you could tell he'd taken lessons... the phrasing, the vibrato. On Sunday, Larry will play softball. He plays second or third base.

Luis Aparicio, I yelled out, my inner brain awaking from a long sleep. "Little Louie" is still alive at age 81. 

Don't look nothin like when he was in his prime.

Helen made both hot apple cider and cocoa. Nothing better than drinking hot liquids on a cold night.

 I'll drink to that!

Todd minds the fire. I had two hot dogs, one on a Martin's potato roll,  thother on a whole wheat bun.

Hot dog smothered with pickles, raw onions and moutarde.

 Here's........ Randy!

Chris Trotter wears what I called a miner's light. He uses it when he goes flying. He told us a story about visiting his son at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and playing a video game where you fly a plane.

When he landed, he bumped back up in the air and back down again. Thank God he's still alive.

He's no Charles Lindbergh. Turns out Chris knows all about "Lucky Lindy" who Eisenhower would not allow to fly in the US Army b/c he fraternized with Hitler. But he did train pilots, said Chris, who revered him, according to the book I just finished.

None other than Anne Morrow Lindbergh, author of The Gift of the Sea and other books.

Chris looks up info on his iPhone. Shelly, pretty in pink, strums away.

Larry relaxes after running around doing things.

I really enjoyed our Sing-a-Long.

We sang:  You are my sunshine - She'll be coming around the mountain - Irene, good night - Get Back - Rocky Raccoon - and more.

Stuck fast in my blue shore chair, I asked Shelly to accompany me while I sang "My Dog Pal."

Rich said he had a dog named Pal. A German shepherd his parents bot him b/c he wanted a dog. Unfortunately, Pal bit the mailman. No choice but to return him to the pound. 

When I used to attend Liz Bowman's Performing Arts Group at St Philips Church in Jersey, Sandy Bender would accompany me on banjo and I'd sing my poems.

 Here's Ed Lakota sans his geetar.  He played some classic Americana - She'll be coming around the mountain - later on.

 Hand-warmers Chris brought. Helen and Larry were familiar with these from their ski trips.

 Here's Ed strumming away.

Again, I adored these sing-a-longs. Hmm, how can I incorporate them into my life.

Helen and I were the last to leave. She did a great job commanding the fire. Larry left first. His car was parked right behind the Pavilion. "Honey, don't forget to put the cider in the fridge," she said.

We never did make S'mores. Helen enjoyed throwing the marshmallows into the fire, one by one, watching each one puff up and burn.

I loved tossing things into the fire... paper cups and paper plates.

Man, it was hot! You had to position yourself carefully.

"Dyou think I'll get tan," I asked Helen.

"No," she said. "You'll get hot and flushed, temporarily."

What a smart woman.

We talked about her book club at the Wissahickon Library. She also takes a COLORING CLASS FOR ADULTS, which we discussed in our writers' group earlier today.

As I drove home I listened to our Book Club selection, "The Trial" by Kafka. I'm not enjoying it and space out while the narrator drones on and one.

He's the same narrator that read "The Good Earth" by Pearl S Buck.

I told Helen how I got the idea of doing a bonfire.

Sarah had a friend from Abington Friends named Kelsey. She was a poor little rich girl but if my memory is correct, she had a bonfire one year.

Sarah also had a friend Maureen Nelson, daughter of psychiatrist Ken Nelson, who is now part of the award-winning Enso Quartet.





Look! They're playing the Whittall Strads. Holy cow!

Uh, what's the Whittall Strad? 

Nearly 2 am now. Dyou believe my boyfriend is awake now and fixing trains in Upper Darby?