My mom was blessed with a special gift...the ability to open up and share a piece of herself with perfect strangers. She is warm and engaging with a knack for putting people at ease. As a teenager, her gift was largely unappreciated by me. In fact, at times I found it somewhat embarrassing and annoying. My friends would come over and spend more time with my mom than with me. Over the years as I ripened into my 52 years, I gained a deep appreciation of just what a special gift she has...the gift of gab. And as much as I fought the idea I was anything like my mom, I realized she had passed the gab gene on to me. Now it is my most prized quality. It is a quality that has served me well during my hours spent at Costco. Friendships have developed from a simple smile, a question answered or a story shared.
As the weeks count down on my time at Costco I realize just how much I will miss all these friendships. Friendships born from the gift of gab.
Tonight Mike, Chris and I created the grand finale for Chris' weekend of thrills. We took dinner over to his house to share a meal with his family, Tom and Susan. After the car was unloaded, it looked like we were moving in instead of just fixing dinner. The menu was a simple mix of prepared items with touches of home cooking. Grilled buns were topped with Costco Pulled Pork. Stouffer's Mac and Cheese, fresh creamed corn and a simple salad rounded out the meal.
Dessert was supposed to be the debut of my early birthday present from my brother, Michael - a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. This morning I got up early to make the chocolate ice cream mix. We froze the Freezer Bowl the night before and packed it in ice for the trip to Tom and Susan's. Directions were carefully followed and the mix took a ride in the machine for the suggested 30 minutes. I was filled with joyful anticipation as I stopped the machine to check out the contents. Unfortunately I found chocolate soup instead of creamy ice cream. For the life of me I cannot figure out what went wrong. Time to re-read the directions and try again tomorrow night. Maybe Michael put a hex on the first batch since it was meant to be shared with him. Whatever it is, I can't wait to shut off the machine and find a bowl of decadent creamy chocolate goodness staring back at me.
Many hugs,
Kathy
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