Neighbors

The three-pound bag of Clementine oranges was a lot for one person. I’m fortunate to live in a 55+ apartment complex, so I asked my neighbor, Mary, if she wanted to share them.

“What’s a Clementine?” she asked. “Never heard of them.”

But she was brave enough to try them so we split the bag. Turns out she loves them. Since then, we have shared three other bags.

When Mary makes a Sam’s Club run, we split the toilet paper, paper towels, and Kleenex.

Mary made “Christmas Casserole Cookies.” I had never heard of a recipe where the cookies are baked in a casserole dish like a cake, and before the dough is fully set they are cooled and then rolled into balls. She shared four with me and I ate them all. Gave me the recipe, too.

I made a “Bulgar Lentil Pilaf,” and the recipe said it served six. That was way too much for just me, so I shared it with Mary and Lorraine. They were a little dubious. Neither had ever heard of bulgar wheat and weren’t sure they liked lentils. I gave them some Feta cheese to sprinkle on top. Lorraine told me, “I’m a cheddar person,” but she agreed to try it.

The next day Lorraine called me and said, “Turns out I like lentils. That was very good.”

And I thanked her again for the single-serving frozen cheesecake she gave me. Did you know Pick’n’Save sells single servings of Turtle Cheesecake and Key Lime Pie in the ice cream section? My neighbors and I learn from each other.

Today I have three pounds of short ribs in the Crock pot, begging to be shared. Mary made another Sams Club run.

Karen called to see if I needed anything from the store on this particularly frigid morning. Her daughter was taking her shopping.

It sure is good to have neighbors. How about you? Are your neighbors helping you to survive winter?