Project "Thanks"

We've had projects of one kind or another going full steam ever since we arrived back here in early December. There were some projects that just required some advice. There were some that required borrowing a tool or two. There were some that I could carry off entirely on my own. But the shade structure, the grand-daddy of them all, required some expertise and some heavy lifting as you have seen previously. At every turn in the road, the neighbors and our Brenda friends were there to help in whatever way needed and whenever needed. To say thank you very much, we made a couple giant pots of chili con carne and smoked 15 pounds of pork butt for making pulled pork sandwiches. We had plenty of beer and soda, and some chose to bring a salad or side dishes and Linda made enough cake style desserts to go around (a couple times) which worked out super well because it was the other Linda's birthday- so we had all the bases covered. It's good we have a big lot. We needed it. The circle of helpers was a big one! We traveled around the circle at Jude's suggestion and introduced ourselves with a bit of fact and history and a significant amount of humor. It made for a wonderful time, and at least from our standpoint, the evening could not possibly gone any better. A small group stayed back when the majority took off for the evening and Robert played his guitar around the fire pits set up in our yard and Michelle's next door...and we stayed until the full moon lit the desert sky.

We hadn't asked anyone to bring anything because we wanted to do this as a thank you. But looking back, we are very thankful for all the contributions- ESPECIALLY THE SALADS. Because after all, I do have the largest "growing salad bar" in all of Arizona- and it totally survived the night!

Thanks everyone!