Last Tuesday I posted my Perfect Moment Monday post. Then I went out to dinner and realized I had this week’s post in the bag. Want to read more Perfect Moments? See what’s linked up at Weebles Wobblog!
Most of my posts about Nancy are now in the past tense. My friend passed away in April from Multiple Myeloma, one of the worst, one of the trickiest, one of the most painful cancers a person can get. Nancy was part of a larger group of friends, a group of friends brought together by a post on a Cooking Light Forum back in August 2001.
Really, my perfect moment starts there, back in 2001.
I’ve mentioned before that I met my cooking club, named Stir Crazy by Nancy, in September 2001. We had started talking on the Cooking Light Forums, and within a week or two of online conversation, someone was organizing an in-person meeting. If we were going to cook together, we probably needed to case each other out on neutral territory.
Enter the Corner Wine Bar.
The Corner Wine Bar is, as it name implies, a corner. A corner in Indy’s hipster neighborhood, which is centrally located and easy to find. We agreed on a time and a date, and somewhere in the first week of September, 2001, we met.
There were maybe 14 or so of us, and we went around the table and introduced ourselves. I really don’t remember much more than that, except that they served a carrot souffle which was to die for. And that I like the women sitting around the table. We ranged in age from late 2o’s to late 40’s, we were married, single, with and without kids, and we liked to eat. What more did we need to know?
From there we had a brunch at someone’s house. Not all of us were able to be there. We continued to meet after that — the next dinner the group was a little smaller, and then the third dinner, it seemed we were down to about 9. I don’t know what happened to the other women–we joking say that they split off and formed their own group. Maybe they did. If they found the kind of friends in each other that I’ve found in Stir Crazy, then I sincerely hope they did form some kind of group.
Fast Forward 9 years. We’ve been to wineries, we’ve been to films, we’ve been to farmer’s markets, and to each other’s homes. We’ve never actually gone back out to dinner locally. We’ve cooked dinner for the Ronal McDonald House. We’ve supported each other in fundraisers. We’ve welcomed members becoming moms with love and gifts.
We supported Nancy as we could, doing helpful things for her and fundraising what we could.
Last Tuesday night, the perfect moment of having dinner with strangers who’ve become good friends came full circle.
Last Tuesday night, Nancy treated us to dinner at the Corner Wine Bar. Unbeknownst to us, she left our group some money, with simple instructions,
“Go to the Corner Wine Bar and EAT!”
And eat we did. We toasted our dear friend, and we ate wonderful food. We ordered one of everything off the dessert menu, including the lemon tart, which was a running joke, and one that had us all laughing at the memory of our friend.
One night at dinner, at Nancy’s house, lemon curd was needed. For what, I don’t know. Nancy ran into the kitchen and came back out, holding triumphantly a jar of homemade lemon curd, exclaiming, ” You know you’re old when your stash of weed in the fridge is replaced by a stash of lemon curd!”
Oh Nancy. My friend, you are missed.
**With the bit of money leftover, we are making a donation to Second Helpings, a charity whose events we’ve attended over the years, and well, a food charity just seemed right.**
Wow. Nancy sounds like quite a wonderful woman. First, starting Stir Crazy, and then being mindful enough to arrange for a dinner in which she participated.
My sympathies are with you and with Nancy’s family. What a wonderful tribute to her you’ve written. Thank you for sharing this inspiring story.
That just brings tears to my eyes. Michelle, you are just a wonderful friend to so many different fun groups of people. I am glad to be in one of your groups. What a great story. I am sure Nancy was there with you.
What a wonderful post Michelle.
That is an amazing story! I think you should someday write about the Stir Crazy group – I remember hearing about them from the first week s after I met you – and feeling envious that I didn’t have that same type of thing going on….
Kate’s right – You are involved with such an amazing array of people surrounding you with such different friendships, and it’s a testament to your wonderful personality and ability to be a friend to others!!!
Cheers to you, Nancy!
Ah you ladies are too kind. Commenters are automatically included into “awesome friends” btw! 🙂