In the summer of 2020 at the height of the now infamous “Pandemic”, my husband and I moved to our little cottage by the sea. We had no idea what we were in for. Our little place was old and riddled with deferred maintenance. It was smaller than the home we left and seriously lacked storage. In some ways, the move was made more difficult by the Pandemic. Excess things, (of which we had many) could not easily be discarded. On the other hand, moving during the pandemic did have it’s advantages. Because I was working from home and not having to commute, I was able to dedicate more time to packing. My husband had been furloughed with pay, which meant that essentially he was being paid to move us. At ages 51 and 52 respectively, the move Kicked our Ass!

One afternoon, dirty, exhausted and ready to waive the white flag of surrender , we dragged our sore and lifeless bodies to the front yard where we had strategically placed two oversized chairs on the lawn. It was this vantage point that served as a reminder of why we moved here in the first place and it was the view that would give us the energy to press on.

We had met our neighbors across the street briefly but knew them only in passing. We did however notice that every afternoon around 4 they would be out on their deck sharing cocktails with friends and enjoying that incredible view. As we sat slumped in our chairs too tired to even speak, I heard from across the street “Where you goin’ Ray ?” to which Ray replied “I’m taking our new neighbors a cocktail”. What Ray brought were two beautiful and unique Martini glasses filled with “Ray’s Famous Lemon Drops”. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship and an afternoon tradition I like to call Cocktails with Connie.