Rolling Along at the Rink

What a neat day!  El, Viv, and I met Carolyn, Finn, and two of his friends at the Roller Plus rink at 1:30 and we all donned skates to whiz around the wood!  Okay, Viv, the boys, and Carolyn did. After an hour or so, Ellen was going to give it a try, but decided against paying the entrance fee and rental. We all had a ball together, although Vivian and the boys--brothers aged 14 and 11--studiously avoided each other, as kids tend to do at that age.
We stayed several hours, during which I was pleased to get a call from Elva B., my longtime friend (of more than 70 years that is; we started and finished at St. James together).  She had known I was planning the cross-country move, but wasn't aware I was already in California.  The two boys' mother picked them up as the rest of us left for El's.
When we got there, Greg was laboring over pots and pan and the kids changed into bathing suits.  I went out to pick up a few things while they went to the pool.  Met them there after, and we sat and chatted for a few, then headed back.
Greg served up a wonderful dinner of salad (cashew dressing) and pasta (pesto sauce, my favorite), accompanied with red wine.  He doesn't put serving bowls on the table, but presents on individual plates, as they do in restaurants.  Both salad and pasta were truly delicious and several of us had second helpings.  By the time we finished, it was after 7:00.
Said goodbye to Carolyn and Finn, Ellen cleaned up, and I went to bed at my (used to be!) usual of 9:00 pm.  Now we're waiting for Ellen to come down and we'll start the long drive to L.A. to meet Mike and put my precious granddaughter on the plane back to Singapore.