I had such a great time yesterday visiting an old school chum Ry and his wife Noy. Ry and I were in the same class in Grades 3, 4, and 5 but we hadn't seen each other since then. And that was in the 1950s! We reconnected through a mutual friend from grade school who thought we should meet since we live very close to each other and we both have border collies.
So Ry invited Harry and me out to his home for a Thai lunch and a walk with the dogs. Ry's wife is from Thailand and specializes in Thai cooking. We headed out there with some wine and flowers to meet them. It felt a little bit like a blind date, not knowing who we were going to have lunch with. But it turned out to be a big success. They live in a lovely spot out on the Saanich peninsula, complete with fields of yellow grass and maple trees with a winding road going up a hill to a sweet 1920s house.
We spent an hour or so enjoying Noy's fabulous spring rolls and pad thai and sate and finishing two bottles of cold white wine.
After that we introduced the dogs to each other and headed out through their back gate and over a field into the woods with their border collie, plus our two, plus a neighbour’s dog. Behind the house there are miles of paths through the woods and even a little pond where the dogs could swim.
We had lots to talk about and it seems we do indeed have quite a bit in common. One amazing thing is that Ry and I were born on exactly the same day in the very same hospital. How’s that for synchronicity? We all had a fine time looking at the old class photos and talking about life and politics and travels. In fact Ry and Noy invited us out to their place again this weekend to join a summer party they are holding. It seems we have made some new/old friends.
And--this is the icing on the cake--Noy gives classes in Thai cooking at Kallayanee's Kitchen. Harry and I have been talking about learning to cook Thai food and so we're going to join one of the classes in the fall. How perfect is that?
joanna - that's a dream day!!! gorgeous thai food cooked by a person who obviously not only knows what she's doing but puts love into it - look at that food!! cold white wine by the bottle, border collies - my favourite dog, a gorgeous home and a run in the woods!!!! wow!! the synchronicities and happy times on top of all of that!!! i am so glad for you that you got to reconnect!!! i often wonder about my long ago buddies and hope that one day i can cross paths with at least one of them! for now joanna - what a gift of a day!!!! thanks for sharing it here. steven
ReplyDeleteOh, that is a dream day!! How fun to be reunited with such an old friend, make a new friend and enjoy wonderful food! And happy dogs! Doesn't get any better than that, Joanna! I'm so happy for you! Thanks for sharing the fun!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!
Sylvia
Wonderful post. Sometimes meeting people from your past can be a puzzling or even disappointing experience but no such worries here. I'm consumed with jealousy looking at what you were able to consume at the dining table!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this story of connections. It's amazing that you both have border collies. It really is a small world, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteYes it was indeed a dream day Steven and Syliva, better than I had even hoped. Plus the dogs got along too. Sid, the food was as good as it looked and we're excited about learning to prepare some of these dishes. And yes, Rudee, it is a small world. I'm so happy that we pursued this connection. It would have been easy to say we were too busy. Then we would have missed meeting these wonderful people who I'm sure will become friends.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments.
This looked wonderful. Yummy looking food and so neat to reconnect. I have recently located a lot of my grade school friends, and like you it was 50 years ago.
ReplyDeleteFun.