Dinner with Carol Jean

Tonight, Liz and I were invited over to Carol Jean’s house, where we had dinner with her and her son Lincoln.

We had dinner with the Browns a long while ago. And of late, the pandemic kept everyone a little further apart. And the Browns were also contending a lot with Bernie’s health issues, in recent years.

Liz and I welcomed the chance to hang out with Carol Jean again, and we spent a bit of time sharing some whisky we brought… and just sitting and catching up in the living room, before dinner.

In the dining room later on, we had some aged cheese, along with a homemade chicken soup recipe and some baked bread (which was a delicious combination for the start of the Chicago winter).

We ended with a dessert of a freshly baked loaf of gingerbread, with home made whipped cream.

On our way out, we settled into the living room again and looked through some older papers that Carol Jean had – photocopies of things from the neighborhood, from a while back.

Carol Jean’s been on the block for a long while, and I think very much of the Browns as the staple neighbors/house on the block. I know she’s seen a lot of change over the years, and I compare that to the change I’ve seen – in my limited time to date.

Liz and I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to visit with Carol Jean and Lincoln again. And cherished the opportunity to catch up a bit.

When we first moved to Hyde Park in 2014, it was Bernie who came over to our house and presented us with some home baked bread that Carol Jean had made for us. Their gift was one of our first interactions with the neighbors on our block, and it set the tone for all the other kind and lovely people we would meet, from our street.

Both Liz and I feel fortunate to know the Browns, and are grateful they welcomed us into their home this evening for a meal… much like they welcomed us to our own home, so many years ago.

Related:
Remembering Bernie Brown
Dinner with Bernie and Carol Jean