My best friend, Debbie, and her husband, Jim, recently held a neat little graduation party for their daughter, Erin, who graduated from high school in June. Edie and I both attended the Sunday afternoon party and we really had a nice time.

The party was held at a country club's function room in North Kingstown, RI. I consider this to be a "comfy, for the Average Joe (and Jane)" type of country club, for it doesn't cater exclusively to the elite, if you know what I mean. So, parties here are generally very comfortable and enjoyable.

The room looks over a back patio area (the room has access doors to the patio) and a lot of the golf course, so that makes for a nice view. There's a bar ordering station in the little lounge next door and then the regular full bar in the room next to that. Plus, the outside patio has it's own bar. It was, therefore, very easy for everyone to get drinks, to take a little break from the party, to go out for a smoke, and to return to the party.

Relatives and friends of both Debbie and Jim were there, as well as some friends of Erin's. Also, Jim's son and two daughters were there, which was nice because we haven't seen either of them in a long time. We sat near one of Debbie's brothers and his family, whom I've known for many, many years and we had a great time talking and laughing with them, as well as with others at the table who just happened to be Debbie's other brother and his family. We were also sitting quite close to some of Erin's friends, so we got to laugh a bit with them, too.

The Italian buffet was absolutely delicious. It included salad, ziti with marinara sauce and meatballs, roasted potatoes and sweet sausage, and nice tender Italian bread with butter. Desserts included a beautifully decorated graduation cake, a chocolate mousse cake, cherry cheesecake, and assorted little pastries. And, there was a coffee station. It was all so tasty.

We really did have a good time. The entire afternoon was very enjoyable.


Edie and I with Erin