The Witches of Eastwick?

The reason for writing today's blog is because I was informed by my friend Raistlin (upon hearing that he actually reads my blog...color me surprised!!) that I have never mentioned my friends here at home.  I must admit he is right.  So here is my first post about the circle I run around with on a regular basis.

  When I decided on the title of this blog I was thinking of the actual movie but only because that is what Raistlin Newton, Michael Leonard, and I call ourselves........The Witches of Eastwick.  Raistlin is the character of Jane who is soft and a pushover in the beginning of the movie but turns into a pushy broad with an ever increasing "I don't care what people think" attitude although sometimes I feel he should be Darryl VanHorn aka the Devil :).  Michael Leonard is the tell it like it is Alexandra and I of course am the questioning, thoughtful, somewhat naive Sukie. 

For the most part we hang out together quite frequently but our normal rendezvous is Sunday Brunch and that normally takes place at Union which is the popular "go to be seen" restaurant.  We have been known to stay out WAY past the allotted brunch time or eat our brunch, have a bloody mary or two or maybe a cosmo and then retreat on our Mary way.  I can easily see us still meeting for brunch 30 years from now :) but of course it is not guaranteed because life throws so many curves.  

We each have our faults but they are minor compared to our friendship and we let each other know when one of us is out of line...I believe that is a good thing...you know, the good with the bad.  I am going to be introducing a new member to the fold and hope he will be received with open arms.  We shall see....says the kitty.....fffft...ffffft!  It may be somewhat dangerous but I am toying with the idea of singling out each friend in the near future and writing a separate post about them.  Dare I? 

The Gift of Living

Yesterday I spent my day off from slavedom enjoying the peace and tranquility with 2 friends at their little slice of heaven on earth. They live in an old farmhouse out on 4 beautifully maintained acres with the white picket fence, two dogs, some chickens, a pool and best of all, the dreamy aroma of they're many "Mimosa" trees in bloom!!
What could be more relaxing than laying in the pool soaking up the sun and smelling that delicious fragrance. If you have never smelled the blossoms you are surely missing a treat that fills the nostrils with elusive pleasure and makes the mind believe they are in heaven!! This tree also goes by other names: silk tree, silky acacia, and pink siris. It's latin name is Albizia Julibrissin. It's natural habitat occurs from Iran to Japan. It was introduced in the U.S. in 1745 and has since survived in the south-east areas. My earliest recollection of this tree comes from my Italian grandmother who did not give up when she planted it on her windy, northern Ohio farm. She waited for a few years for it to flower because it kept getting killed back by the winters but she finally got to witness the tree in bloom and the love affair began! Once I saw the tree and smelled it, my love affair had also been ignited. So you can imagine my complete surprise and delight upon discovering that my friends have not only one Mimosa but many of these delicious trees. Like I said, heaven!

So, I spent the day and part of the evening with my friends cooking, conversing, reading, walking, eating, and best of all, getting to know them a little better. A VERY good day indeed. This is what I speak of when I mention "quality of life"!

ANGELO