Coffee rounds

Sheila

     My women friends provide the anchor of my days.  Sheila and I walk early in the morning three days a week, and then we solve the problems of the world over coffee.  When we have disruptions to this schedule for important events  like weddings and visits with grandchildren, it leaves the state of our world entirely too unexamined.

Karen, Betsy, and Maggie

Judy and I meet Betsy, and sometimes Karen,  for coffee almost every week.  This is crucial, in order to keep the earth tilted correctly on its axis.

Roxie

At Roxie's table

   Every month Roxie hosts a tea for ten or twenty wonderfully interesting and opinionated women. The tea is for knitters and others talented at handicrafts.  I fake it every time, making minuscule progress on the same plain purple vest that I have been knitting for the past six years.   Roxie sets a beautiful and creative table, and covers it with abundance.  Last month, I was sitting next to Pat.  We just looked at each other and sighed with contentment.  No words were necessary to describe the riches of the food and the company.
      There are other happy monthly occasions:  Marilyn and Tricia and I have a literary coffee every month, swapping book suggestions faster than we can digest them. Mary Jean organizes a girls' happy hour on the final Friday of the month.  We have heated political discussions, filtered through the lenses of our crone wisdom. The women of my church meet once a month at member's houses, just to enjoy and celebrate our lives.

Jeanne

Patti's travel tales

Jeanne's cat, Yo You Meow

    When Jeanne is in town from the coast, we join her for lunch, often at her house.  Jeanne is a cosmopolitan cook, spending vacations at cooking schools in France and Spain.  We linger over food and conversation with the other guests, , soaking up each others' stories and jokes and travelogues.  It is always hard to leave Jeanne's welcoming hearth.
    When I moved West I left behind dear friends of my heart. My first years in Oregon were a scramble and a struggle, finding love and work and home.  I made good friends one by one, but it took a long time to reach critical mass.  I am rich in friends now.