April 23, 2009. Chevy Chase, Md. Pleasant Evenings.

Last evening we had dinner in the home of Fred and Phyllis. As always, our food was wonderful, cooked by Fred. He likes to cook and cares about cooking, which shows in his meals. The bouillabaisse we ate last night was delicious. They sent us home with a container for tonight's dinner, which was even better. But the best part of the evening was the conversation. They winter in Florida and they summer in Switzerland, so although we are good friends, our times here in Maryland do not overlap very often. The more time they spend in Florida the better they like it. Sometime soon they will probably turn Florida into their permanent residence and sell their house in Potomac. Last evening we discussed the pros and cons of living in Florida. It is complicated, but it seems to me that as Florida has no income tax, they are better off to call Florida home. They pay out of state property tax already, which is higher for residents. However home owner's insurances and health insurance and car insurance are more expensive than in Maryland. They would probably buy a condo here. It was a lovely evening with good friends.

Sunday evening we dined at the home of Wendy and Claussen. The big excitement was the new pup, to be picked up on Thursday in Syracuse, N.Y. The picture of the three little pups are just darling. They are just like little bears. Wendy has amazing ability to train animals. Her dogs have all been champions in both show and obedience. She has rescued two greyhounds and now has the new pup to train. It will be fun to watch the dog grow up. She started out riding horses with her Father, but when they moved to Bethesda and then had three children, riding regularly was impossible, so she started to train dogs. Once again, our evening was spirited and fun. Claussen grilled salmon, so along with boiled new potatoes and salad, our meal was wonderful. This summer, for the first time ever, they will spend all of August and two weeks of September in Nova Scotia. It is just lovely to have your friends just along the path along the shore, living besdide us. We are very fortunate.