Dinner With A Side Of Laughter

Buds and I had dinner at the home of friends last night. This couple loves to host people, and the crowd who gathered was full of fun, friendly folks who also love to laugh. It was a good night.

Our host had mentioned at a previous dinner night that he used to set up blind taste testing opportunities when he would have these dinners. For example, different brands of peanut butter and then the guests would vote on their favorite. He hadn't done that in awhile since he was just getting back in the swing of hosting post-pandemic, so Buds and I offered to bring different types of feta cheese for people to try so they could choose their favorite.

We had crackers and a fig jam to balance the creamy fetas, and 4 different fetas: vegan, cow milk, sheep milk, and a sheep and goat milk combo. When the votes were tallied, the fig jam was the top vote getter, followed by the sheep milk feta. The overall winner, though, was the ice broken by the taste testing and the discussions that ensued through dinner and the rest of the evening. It was such a lovely night of comfortable conversation, relaxed dining, kind and generous hosts, and fascinating people sharing stories.

One of the couples was talking about dog-watching their friends' beagle. The beagle quickly taught them not to leave chairs pushed out from the dining room table, nor the plates on the table because the beagle would have the table cleaned off by the time they returned. We shared our own dog-food-ninja story about Brandie who could also find food any-and-everywhere.

I am grateful for the community we are building here in The ROC. An eclectic mix of ages, backgrounds, and beliefs; all of them interesting and valuable.