Saturday With Friends...

Saturday last was a lovely day. Our dear friends (and Tag, Bella, Carly and most of the Liljegren dogs' trainer at one time or another) - Mike Sommers and his wife, Joann - were here for a visit from Florida. Handsome's family has been friends with theirs for decades, and I've been blessed to be included for nearly the past 45.

So, when they came north for a couple weeks to spend time with their family, they included us as they usually do. We had a delicious lunch with them, followed by dessert back at their condo on the lake. 

Mike is an only male among four sisters, and like in my family, he also lost a sister within the past few years. His remaining sisters and their spouses, plus a cousin and godson (and his wife) filled out the group. All the ladies made desserts, as did I. 

I bought more of those delicious McIntosh apples from the farmer who brings them into work. I peeled and chopped a half dozen, put them into a sauté pan with brown sugar, white sugar, a little lemon juice, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and a wee bit of flour and cooked it down into a lovely filling. Then, I rolled out sheets of puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm), cut it into segments and filled those with the apple mixture. I topped that with a second sheet and crimped the edges (sort of like bougie pop tarts), and baked them. When they cooled off, I drizzled them with icing that was a mixture of powdered sugar, cream and vanilla. They were a big hit, and really simple to make.

"Mrs. Mike" has had her share of serious health concerns over the past few years, and we're all fortunate that she's still with us. Of course, they've been concerned about Handsome, too, so we were grateful that we could all be together for the day.

Before we all departed, many photographs were taken. Mike with his sisters; their entire family; and of course, this one of the four of us. I really love it, and it was a fine way to commemorate our visit. We're hoping to be able to see them at least one more time before they leave to go back to Florida. There really is nothing like spending time with dear, old friends.