Happy 17 year anniversary to us!

The Chicks and I celebrated our 17th anniversary with our annual pot luck dinner. Even though we saw each other yesterday, there are still things to talk about a day later.

Sharing a good laugh...

And catching up on the goings on in the lives of our children and grandchildren.

And swapping stories about the kids going off to college.

Every year we request Dorah's Gazpacho soup for the first course. We give her all the credit for a delicious cold soup but she credits the Moosewood Cookbook.

At the top of the photo is a fresh tossed salad and homemade dressing from Jan A. and in the foreground is homemade peach salsa from the fresh peaches Barbara B. buys from the truck every summer.

Barbara K. made a refreshing fruit salad that served as a side dish and a dessert for some.

Janna made a baked chicken dish with fresh veggies and garlic! Mmmm, garlic!

My contribution was Lebanese Kibbeh burgers on a bed of red onion and parsley salad with a side of yogurt sauce.

Maureen's husband made chocolate chip cookies and gluten-free lemon cookies to go with Carole's blueberry lemon cake ( I think she had peaches in it too) with homemade whipped cream.

After dinner we sat around the dining table and talked about kids, sports, our kids in sports, and then how we joined the group. Starting at the far left, looking at the camera is Barbara B. She had just moved the the area from out of state a few years ago and was looking for things to do and groups to join to make new friends. Her husband read something about the knitting group I lead at the local library and suggested she check it out. It is there that I met her and asked if she would like to join the Chicks. The rest is history.

The person to her left is Margaret. I met her at another library knitting group and as we were walking to our cars she said she was just getting into knitting again after a long hiatus and wondered if I had heard of a group called "Chicks with Sticks". LOL! She found the right person to ask!

Janna to Margaret's left attended my Albany Public Library knitting group and from there I extended the invitation to her to join the Chicks. She grew up learning how to knit without a pattern and wanted a refresher to expand her techniques.

Next to her is Jan A. my neighbor. When she retired she asked if I could help her learn the finer points of knitting and she took off like a shot with her skills. I'm very proud of her progress. She's the newest Chick.

If you go to the right side of this picture you'll see me in the pink sweater and to my right is Cinzia. I met her when our mutual friend organized a knit night at our local Panera and next to Cinzia is Dorah whom I also met at the same Panera knit night. Keep going around the table and you see Carole, whom I met at the same Panera knit night group. That group had a lot of good knitters.

At the far end of the table near Carole is Barbara K. in the red dress. We met 38 years ago at our local Welcome Wagon meetings. I'm not sure Welcome Wagon exists anymore but it was an organization that would send a representative to your house when you were new to the town. She would bring small gifts from local businesses and help acquaint you with the community. And we've been friends since then. She is one of only two people who are original members of The Chicks. Maureen, sitting to her right in pink, is the other remaining original member. I met Maureen when she moved in across the street from us about 25+ years ago. Her mother-in-law taught her knitting and she was looking forward to getting back to the needles.

I am ever so blessed to have such a generous, loving, and kind group of women to share my passion for sticks and string. Thank you ladies for your dedication and generosity for all these years! 

God bless you!

And indulge me for a moment. As I was cleaning the kitchen after everyone left, I looked up to see I was being supervised. He made sure I didn't leave any crumbs.💗

Again, let me thank this wonderful group of Chicks! And keep those needles clicking!