Family and Friends

We had a wonderful visit from Bill's cousins Joan and Dan, and Joan's husband Angelo last week. They drove all the way from South Jersey (which, like Western Kentucky, is its own state) to bring us a freshly picked crop of broccoli rabe.

The dogs know that something of great import is simmering whenever I clean the guest room. It is normally the one room in the house off limits to dogs, so when the door opens and the Electrolux attacks, they know fun is afoot.

This puts them in a rather high state of spirits by the time the guests arrive. (Coupled with the fact that I usually spend the forty-eight hours before said arrival frantically cleaning the rest of the house, leaving no time for normal dog activities.) So when the cousins walked in, weary from their two day drive, the dogs were tuned, tuned, tuned.

"Company!" shouted all nine whippets. "Welcome to our happy home! Let us show you our gladness and glee by screaming hello in your ears and jumping on you and each other and creating havoc and general disorder!"

The cousins don't have dogs.

But, as you no doubt have guessed, cousins who will drive 980 miles to bring fresh produce are the best sports in the world. And they pretended not to mind being treated like so many pins in a whippet bowling alley.

A great good time was had, along with the consumption of much broccoli rabe. Our friends Karen and Steve came over to join us and Karen decorated Sam I Am in her napkin. This doesn't exactly pertain to this story, but the picture is so darn cute.



(Karen is an artist here in Paducah. She made her bracelet. It is enamel on silver. I covet it.)


The dogs adored the cousins. And the cousins said kind things, like, "These dogs are so well behaved. They're so soft." (The cousins had gotten over their excessive welcome by this point.)

It was a wonderful visit. Our freezer is stocked with a year's supply of broccoli rabe. And we are chock full of smiles and gratitude.



Cousin Joan gets a sweet kiss from Lindy Loo




hug your hounds