Sara's Family of Friends Pot Luck Dinner . Saturday . September 23rd

And so, last night was the Big Event of the weekend, the Pot Luck Dinner at the Smith Family Home.
WOW! There were probably 30 or more friends and family gathered at this event. The children that so many of us have
witnessed growing up, are now parents themselves, with their own toddlers, who were all there. This alone would have made for a special
time for me, as I love being in the presence of children, each one so precious and unique. The fact that so many of Sara's friends were there is a testament
to how many people's lives she touched.
Everybody brought something delicious and that had been a favorite of Sara's to eat. Devon, Sara's daughter passed around
a small voice recorder for each of us to share our memories on. At this point,
many tears were shed hearing this testimony. Mostly we laughed and thoroughly enjoyed our evening together.
A good time was had by all.
I look forward to Christmas time, when we will likely see each other again at the annual Smith Christmas Gathering!
Thank you Sara for enriching our lives so. We love you girl!

Sara's Family of Friends Weekend Celebration

My cherised dear friend Sara, passed away March 23rd of this year. She would have been 68 yrs. old yesterday, September the 23rd. To honor her memory, it was decided that we would invite her "family of friends" to come to a pot luck dinner as a memorial Birthday
Celebration.
One of the group ladies, Susan, held a dinner party at her home on Friday night, for Sara's daughter Devon who came in from Puerto
Rico and a small group of us. This was such a lovely evening. Susan is an incredible chef as well
as the most gracious entertainer. She served gazpacho for starters, followed by the most delicious orzo salad with roasted vegtables and another beautiful composed salad of pieces of chicken breast with fresh sugar snap peas, red and white wine
were poured. YUM! We then retired to the outside patio for custom made expresso's or cortadito's and a perfect apple tart.
Two of the highlights of the evening for me, personally, were Susan's animals. Marley, her gorgeous, black, Spanish Water Dog, who
runs around with a lime green ball in his mouth and his red tongue hanging out...too funny and cute. Susan said they call
him "The Baby Jesus". Then there is Miss Eleanor Roosevelt, a Maine Coon Cat. She is huge and will keep growing until she
is 3 yrs. old. I chanced upon her sitting on the dining room table after the dishes had been cleared. Seeing her there was
such visual impact, that dark big, fluffy, elegant cat just posed on the orange and gold tablecloth. To me it was such a
Halloween statement. Unfortunatly my photograph skills are slightly lacking in composition and cropping.
The group photo is missing about 5 of us...oh well. This documentation really is for myself. I have no clue as to who will
land on my blogspot and actually read or view this stuff. I am just happy to have these records to reflect back on these
moments.