Yesterday, the rain held off until 6:00 or so, long enough for us to do what we wanted: bike to the public beach for a pedaled-powered  smoothie and then have friends over for a Fourth of July celebration later in the afternoon. But my, it was hot! A few days ago, I was wearing a corduroy shirt over a long-sleeved shirt, and yesterday, I wore the lightest clothes I had. And I was still sweating. Good thing we had a tub full of ice and drinks at our barbecue. We needed them, even though all we did was sit, eat, and talk.

Today’s post will be mostly pictures, but I do want to write a paragraph about the smoothies and about our gathering.

First, the pedaled-powered smoothies. Emilie Knight, the daughter of our friends Steve and Margy, has started an enterprise called Edible Outreach of Maine. Emilie wants to work with teenagers and bring her bike, blender, and healthy smoothies to schools, camps, and events. She hopes to become a licensed vendor so that she can make smoothies at farmers’ markets and thus earn the money to fund her edible outreach program. Clif made a smoothie on the blender-bike, and he was amazed at how quick it was to mix everything up using pedal power—a minute or two was all it took. And the smoothies? Delicious! Good luck, Emilie. I hope you are able to bring your bike, your blender, and your smoothies to teenagers throughout the state.

Then, our gathering. Our hot dog and barbecue beans were a success, so much so that we will plan on doing this now on for our annual Fourth of July parties. The hot dogs and beans cover the range of tastes among family and friends, from the vegetarians to the meat eaters to the flexitarians. In addition, there were wonderful sides: watermelon slices and deviled eggs (Jill); a zucchini and couscous salad (Alice); and a noodle salad with soy sauce and sesame oil (Shannon). For dessert, we had the homemade vanilla ice cream pie with the raspberry sauce and blueberry sauce. Everyone agreed it was not only tasty but patriotic as well. I think this will become the dessert of choice for our Fourth of July gatherings.

Finally, as I was hustling around in the kitchen, I looked out the window and saw everyone laughing and talking and having a good time.

“We all know each other so well,” my daughter Shannon noted. (She was in the kitchen with me). “We just feel so comfortable together.”

Yes, we do. And while I certainly want to continue to make new friends, I cherish the feeling that comes from a gathering where people have known each other for many years.