Enjoyable days continue. We rehearsed yesterday morning at the nearby home of Lucille (my "daughter") in order to accommodate the fact that she and her husband don't use babysitters for their lively--to put it mildly--2 1/2- year-old. I'm now off-book and the play is coming together nicely.
After a bite for lunch, went to B.J.'s for cottage cheese and squash, then ran a few other errands. Dressed for our dinner date and was at the D.'s door about 3:30 to drive to Ellen V.'s in Forked River.
Ellen's small, but nicely laid out home is right on the water and has a dock, although she no longer has a boat. Wow, oh wow, it's great. We went out on her deck and what a pleasure it was to look over the wide canal, with ducks and a majestic white swan gliding through the still water. She served a delicious beef stew made in a big Dutch oven, along with homemade biscuits and store-bought apple turnovers. With it, we had the good Weight Watchers pumpkin fluff Barb brought. Ellen made coffee and it occurred to us--yes, we discussed it--that she's one of the few people we know who still uses a non-electric drip coffee maker that brews on the stove.
Well, it was a delightful evening. Ellen has "retired" from The Fourth Wall Acting Company (she directed "Sorry, Wrong Number" which we attended a few weeks ago), but remains in our own acting group. Of course, our talk covered a range of subjects, from the trials and triumphs of performing, to the fortunes of family and friends, to Ellen's annual participation in roughing-it trips down the river in the Grand Canyon. (Considering she's 75 years old and not slim, it's remarkable she's able to do this.)
Altogether, another very nice day. Got home about 9:00, Skyped my Ellen (as opposed to the Ellen who hosted the dinner party) and had a nice talk, then went happily to bed.