~ Cherried Forgiveness ~

Our dear friend, Peggy, has moved back to town from Whitefish, Montana.  We were not going to forgive her for moving away from Montana, where we could easily and shamelessly use her house as a base camp…..but then she fixed us dinner last weekend:

Pesto and dill encrusted salmon, roasted vegetables, Basmati rice, and chocolate-dipped potato chips,

washed down with chocolate wine.

She is SO forgiven.

But not because of any of that.  Nope.

And not because she brought us Montana-made stoneware mugs.  Nope.

And not because her hearth was bright and warm and felt like home.  Nope.

And not because her conversation was engaging and witty as always.  Nope.

She’s forgiven because she made us this:

with cherries she picked by hand, herself.  And to it she added this:

And some of these, which she also made:

Oh, what are those, you wonder?  Cherries.  Hand-pitted by Peggy, herself.  And drowned in 100-proof Vodka.  These ain’t your usual, run-of-the-mill Marachinos, Baby!

She mixed it all together to make this:

And by my second one, I couldn’t even remember she had ever lived in Montana in the first place.

We love you, Peggy!