I’m posting late tonight because we just finished hosting our wonderfully fun dinner party with the Boudeau/Barron family. The patriarch of the Barron family is Joël (second from the right), father of Frédérique and Annabelle. Joël is fast friends with Dwight and Michele and it is basically that relationship that has fueled the connection between our families. It’s safe to say that if Dwight & Michele had not developed the depth of relationship they did with Joël and his late wife Monique we would not be living in Nantes. This kind of thing often gets me wondering about the small seeds we are planting all the time. What might their blooms look like a month from now, a year from now or, like in the case with this relationship, more than a couple of decades from now? This one certainly has created some lovely and significant friendships.

So today was an important day in that Joël was present along with the Boudeaus and Annabelle’s family. Of course all of the Shaws were present, making the grand total of people at tonight’s dinner 17. Michele made one of my favorite dishes, a longtime family favorite she calls Alpental Lamb Stew (I call it Disco Stew because, as I say, “It makes me want to dance.”). Greg & I contributed 3 dozen oysters that we bought at the neighborhood oyster truck. We also had roasted vegetables, salad and a collection of desserts.

As good as the food was, the company was better. To make an understatement, it was a memorable night.