Yesterday, I drove to Portland to meet my friend Kate and my daughter Shannon for one of our thrice annual outings to celebrate our birthdays. Although none of us can remember exactly how long we’ve been doing this—3 years? 4 years? Longer?—we’ve been doing it long enough so that we’ve established a routine. As we are all frugal souls, we don’t like to pay parking garage fees, and we have become expert at finding street parking. (If we eat on upper Congress Street, my favorite spot is on State Street, next to the big churches, where there are often empty spaces.) The birthday girl chooses the lunch spot, and afterwards, we go to Whole Foods, where the parking is free, and we can each get a cup of gelato for $2.50.

This time, Kate, the birthday girl, chose Hot Suppa for her birthday lunch. Shannon has been there several times and recommended it. She did not steer us wrong. Hot Suppa, with its brick walls and colorful artwork for sale, is small but cozy and not terribly loud. The perfect place for 3 women who want to celebrate a birthday. The food is hearty and good. As it turned out, we all ordered the same thing, roasted veggies with pesto on a roll served with a side of hand-cut French fries. Oh my, those fries were tasty—perfectly cooked and very hot. The sandwich, with its medley of  vegetables, was also tasty. The portions were enormous, and Shannon and I could have easily split a meal. Last but not least, the service was snappy and efficient.

Although getting together is the main point of these gatherings, we also like to exchange gifts. Shannon gave Kate a blue necklace, which she is wearing in the photo of the three of us. Shannon also gave Kate a scarf. Often, for birthday presents, I give cards made with photos I have taken of flowers, my obsession. I figure that even if I forget which photos I have given to various people from year to year and there are some repeats, it doesn’t really matter. The cards are ephemeral and are made to be given away. However, this year I decided to go literary, and I gave Kate 2 books by the Maine writer Monica Wood—Ernie’s Ark and When We Were the Kennedys, both of which are set in Maine. Monica Wood is a real Maine treasure, as I like to say. Not only is Monica a very fine writer, but she also tells a darned good story, whether in fiction, as with Ernie’s Ark, or in nonfiction, as in When We Were the Kennedys. 

Somehow, on these gatherings, the weather is always fine, which makes driving to Portland a pleasure. Over lunch and gelato, we talk about books and movies and family and work. How we’ve all come to look forward to our birthday gatherings. These small celebrations add pizzazz and spice to already good lives.

On Saturday, we went to a wedding at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine. The bride, Lisa Clark, is the daughter of Beth and John Clark, two good friends we have known for years and years. So many years, in fact, that I can remember Lisa when she was knee-high to a grasshopper, as the old saying goes. Once, when Lisa was quite young and energetic, my husband, Clif, and I were invited to the Clarks’ house for dinner. While John and Beth were busy putting the finishing touches on the meal, Lisa and her older sister, Sara, stayed with us in the living room. Flip, flip, flip. Lisa entertained Clif and me by doing gymnastic rolls on the rug.

Finally, Sara, in a big sister voice, said, “Calm down, Lisa.”

Lisa did a few more defiant rolls, but then she did indeed calm down.

How moving it is to go to a wedding when you have known the bride since she was a child, to have watched her grow through the years. Lisa is still energetic, but she is now a confident and capable young woman. Lisa teaches in the Bronx, and as John put it, she is a fourth-generation teacher. To honor her literary family, many of whom are published authors—this includes John—Lisa gave books as wedding favors, books that were written or published by her father, her aunt, or her grandmother. They were wrapped in brown paper and bound with a ribbon that is also a bookmark.

Unfortunately, I don’t know Sam Barrese, the groom, but during the wedding ceremony, I learned that he is keen on home-improvement projects, that he works with his hands as well as his mind. (Sam is an engineer.) As if the books and bookmarks weren’t enough, Sam came up with his own wedding favors—beautiful stained-glass roses to be used as window ornaments. Best of all, he made them by hand. Ours is hanging in a window in our kitchen.

The wedding ceremony was held by the ocean. Lisa and Sam were married by a sea captain who quoted Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116:

“Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken..”

The day was very hot, but we found a place in the shade. Behind Lisa and Sam, the deep blue ocean sparkled. Occasionally, a sea gull flew by, and some time during the ceremony, a squadron of dragon flies arrived, dipping and darting over the couple, and it seemed as though they were nature’s attendants, there to officiate the wedding.

Congratulations, Lisa and Sam! Many you have many, many happy and creative years together.

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.

This weekend was jam-packed with all things summer and good. On Friday night, to celebrate summer and the longest day of the year, Clif and I had pizza on the grill. We ate late, after coming back from a bike ride, and our citronella torches mostly kept the biting bugs away. As we ate our pizza on the patio and marveled at how the sky was still blue even at 9:00 p.m., we gave thanks to warm weather and summer, so short and sweet in Maine.

On Saturday, we went to our friend Diane’s house for a potluck and a recycled gift exchange. Each guest brought a dish to share as well as something from their home that they no longer wanted. The gifts ranged from the silly—patio lights in the shape of cows—to the seriously cool—a carved hummingbird bracket. The food was good, the company was even better, and for visual delight, Diane’s yard was gloriously abloom with bachelor buttons, and with just a little imagination, I could pretend I was in England.

And guess who was lucky enough to get the carved humming bird bracket? We plan to buy, appropriately enough, a humming bird feeder to hang on the little hook in the front.

Finally, on Friday, we had our friends Paul and Judy over for Clif’s legendary grilled bread and for summer salads—orzo and spinach, one of my favorites, and for salad niçoise, sort of, from a Mark Bittman recipe. Paul and Judy told us all about their trip to Italy, where they walked and ate and looked at ruins and art and walk and ate some more. (With all that walking, they didn’t gain any weight.)

Summer certainly has begun with a gallop, and it promises to be that way into August. Never mind! I will squeeze as much biking and patio and outside time as I possibly can out of this too-short season.

Yesterday, my friends Sybil and Diane came over for lunch to celebrate Sybil’s birthday. I was hoping that we could have lunch on the patio, but once again, the weather did not cooperate. Ah, well! We have a cozy dining room, and that is where we had lunch.

Here is what I served: Grilled English muffins with ricotta cheese and a sprinkle of oregano, a drizzle of honey, and walnuts on top; a green salad made with Farmer Kev’s greens and dressed with a homemade garlic, yogurt, and dill vinaigrette; Diane’s fruit salad; and for dessert, homemade raspberry ice cream with a crispy ginger cookie (not homemade).

Oh, we had a jolly time, as we always do when we get together. Sybil told us that her New York daughter has invited her to New York, where they will see Lucky Guy, a play starring Tom Hanks. We made Sybil promise to tell us all about it when she comes back from her trip to the big city. Her Maine daughter and family took her out to eat and gave her presents.

“Oh, I’ve been spoiled on my birthday!” Sybil exclaimed.

“Good!” Diane and I both said. We are both so inspired by this octogenarian who still has such an incredible zest for life. Sybil writes, is involved with the Theater project in Brunswick, goes to movies, reads, and stays in touch with her many, many friends. (I have never known a woman, young or old, who is invited to so many parties.)

Naturally, Diane and I had little presents for Sybil. I gave her some cards made with photos I have taken of flowers, one of my obsessions. Diane gave Sybil lavender soap and one of her own handmade creations, a lovely pin from a line Diane has developed—Mother Earth Pins.

So happy birthday, Sybil! May you have many more.

This past Sunday, of course, was Father’s Day, and our original plans were to go to one of my husband, Clif’s, favorite places—-Wolf Neck State Park—where we would meet our daughter Shannon, her husband Mike, and their dog, Holly. After a hike, we had planned to go to Day’s Takeout in Yarmouth for some of their delectable fried clams.

But, the weather forecast predicted rain—correctly, as it turned out—on Sunday afternoon and because of Mike’s work schedule, we had to meet midafternoon. So, plans were changed. Instead, Shannon made pulled pork and spiced bean burritos, and they all came to the little house in the big woods to celebrate Father’s Day with Clif. (If only our eldest daughter, Dee, lived closer so that she should could join us, too.) Shannon’s pulled pork and bean burritos are fast becoming one of her specialities, and let’s just say that Clif ate way more than he should have.

I made strawberry shortcake, which in my family means cut-up strawberries that have been lightly sweetened with sugar on top of biscuits topped with real whipped cream. I was lucky to find Maine strawberries at the grocery store, and what a treat they were. Strawberry shortcake is another one of Clif’s favorites, and he overindulged with this, too.

Ah, well! Father’s Day comes but once a year, and it was Clif’s day to indulge. Today, the fare will be much lighter—grilled chicken and salads made with Farmer Kev’s greens.

But we have leftover pulled pork and beans, so we will have them tomorrow for dinner, where I expect Clif will use a little more restraint.

As for the strawberry shortcake? All gone except for a few biscuits.