Lawn parties at the neighbors'

Here are some pictures to show the kind of parties that Bernard (who passed away a few days ago) and M. (his wife), our neighbors and friends, used to throws every summer between 2003 and 2019. This one happened to be the first one we attended. It was le 14 juillet (Bastille Day) in 2003. Often there were anywhere from 50 to more than 100 people out in their yard, and there was usually a sit-down lunch or dinner served. Or both. We were always invited.

In the photo on the left above, you can see how we were seated at lunchtime. That's our dog Collette in the picture. In the middle photo, that's M in white with blond hair. And on the right, there's Bernard standing close to his "punch pot" — he was ladling punch into glasses for anybody who wanted some.

Bernard was always out on his riding mower cutting the grass before a big party or whenever the grass started to look slightly overgrown. That's how we'll remember him.

In the photos above, the woman in the red and white blouse is Josette, from whom we had bought our house across the street a few months earlier. You can see Walt in the middle photo and again Bernard in the photo on the right.