July 5, 2008: An Evening at Barbara's House
	June 26-29, 2008: The Dreamland Festival in Nashville
	Return to Index for 2008

Well, another July 4th has rolled around and, has become our tradition in any year when Ron has not gone home to Arkansas, he and his partner Jay are hosting July 4th at their house. This year, the guest list includes Ron and Jay, Denny and Larry, Lou, Chris Young, Fred and myself, and Brad. Ron and Jay live in Plano- very suburban. It is about fifteen miles from my house- up the Tollway to I-635, around to US 75, north to Parker, and then west a few miles to a very nice neighborhood between Parker and Spring Valley. They've lived there for quite some time; actually, Ron and Chris moved there in the early 1990s.

Also as usual, Jay and Ron have outdone themselves in the preparations, putting on quite a spread of hor d'oeuvres and doing hamburgers and hot dogs on their patio grill. This time, we've all tried to do our part as well, and each person has brought a dish of some kind to add to the menu.

One of the best things about having these celebrations at Ron's house is that it is such a good house for entertaining- what with the pool and spa outside and the pool table inside and all the room to move around. I guess it is a little unfair that we always seem to congregate there; that is why Fred and I try to take them out at least every other time we are there.

The party this Friday was an excellent one. Fred Fred and I arrived early to play some pool and yak with Ron and Jay, and the rest of the crew arrived during the next hour, until everyone was there conversing, filling up on hors d'oeuvres, playing pool and just hanging out. Since July 4th this year backed up to a weekend, everyone could stay as late as they wanted. Only Larry and Denny, having another party to go to in the evening, left early. Chris stayed quite a while, but he, too, left a bit early, so he wouldn't be overly tired driving home. Fred and I, as we usually do, stayed the latest, to play some cards with Ron and Jay after everyone else had left.

Fred brought his camera, so we used it to record some scenes from the evening, and you will find some of these pictures below:

Ron is cooking the hamburgers and hot dogs on his patio grill. He also has a smoker for barbecue. He and Jay do a lot of grilling on his patio, they tell us.

Lou, Denny and Larry are sitting at the bar between the kitchen (where Fred is) and the living room, conversing. The pool table used to be in this room, but Ron and Jay recently moved it into what was the living room, as they find this brighter room a better one for relaxing and watching TV.

Ron and myself and Chris Young are sitting in the pool room, and Chris is telling us about how his chemotheraphy treatments are going. He is thin and tired, but the treatments seem to have been effective.

Myself and Chris talking in the pool room.

Our friend and Ron in the other corner of the pool room, listening to the conversation that Chris and I are having.

Larry, Lou and Denny sharing a laugh.

Jay working his magic in the kitchen.

Ron, myself and Chris in the pool room.

Ron and Jay getting everything set up for serving in their kitchen.

Our friend serving himself in the kitchen. Jay always does buffet style.

Larry, Lou and Fred are just getting ready to go into the "buffet" and serve themselves.

Denny, Chris and Fred.

The buffet laid out in the kitchen.

Jay, Lou and myself chatting at the kitchen table after we'd finished eating.

Lou, Jay, myself and Denny at the kitchen table after dinner.

Ron and I playing pool.

Me sizing up a shot.

Ron and I playing pool.

The Fourth of July party was a success, and everyone enjoyed themselves. I got quite a few leftovers to take home. Fred and I stayed for quite a while playing pool, having a drink, and then playing some hearts.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

	July 5, 2008: An Evening at Barbara's House
	June 26-29, 2008: The Dreamland Festival in Nashville
	Return to Index for 2008