Jeni

I got an email from my cousin Jeni letting me know she'd be in my neck of the woods on Sat with a friend to attend a Bat Mitzvah.  She inquired if Spouse & I had any plans for Sat evening, after the Bat festivities were over. Fortunately we had nothing on our calendar so we planned to meet up. 

Jeni called at about 4pm saying they were about 15 minutes from leaving the event, and were about 20 minutes away, so I checked out of work early and came home to await their arrival.  Fortunately Spouse had tidied up the house a bit (emphasis on "bit") so at least the main level was presentable.

When they arrived we welcomed them in, met Jeni's friend, and began to chat.  Turns out Jeni's friend's niece was the one having the Bat Mitzvah.  I had no idea they lasted all-fricken-day but they said they were there from 9:30 am until about 4pm.  I just hope the food and drinks were worth it!

We talked until mine and Spouse's stomachs growled and then decided to go out for dinner.  But 1st Jeni and her friend wanted to check into a place to stay.  Of course we invited them to stay with us but she said no, it was too short of notice, and that they were kind of looking forward to seeing a Bed & Breakfast they'd seen online.  I knew of it and looked up the phone # for them.  We drove over to the B&B and looked through the rooms, each one decorated in a different theme.  Once they had decided on one, we headed out for food.

We gave them a couple choices: seafood, Mexican, Italian, or Saketumi.  Fortunately they said anything was fine with them so since I had a taste for sushi rolls I suggested Saketumi.  Our buddy Kim was there (of course, it was a Saturday night) so we got his 'special friends' attention.  We started with drinks (a Cosmo for me, naturally) and an appetizer platter, then ordered our meals.

Our conversations ranged from updates on family members, to family drama, to politics, to God and religion, to GLBT rights, to everyone's work.  All of us were equally engaged, even Jeni's friend whom we'd just met, and I felt that family history and connection with Jeni.  I couldn't believe my eyes when the clock showed it was after 10pm!  We'd been at Saketumi for 4 hours!

We had a really great visit and I'm hoping Jeni and her friend will come back again in warmer weather so they can stay at our house and enjoy the beach.