The Event ~ Echos From the Past

Saturday night we had dinner out (in), in a home of people we did not know.  Except I felt like I  knew this older couple just a wee bit.  Backup  a minute.

A year or so ago I read a book (which I don't do very often) called "Echos From the Past".  It was in a box of books that landed in our garage from an auction.   What made me notice this book was that it was written by a local woman that used to own and operate a  store in Scottsbluff years ago, Anita Osborn.  She was a German lady, you could tell by her very defined German accent.  The book was about her childhood years being abandoned as a child during WWII in Germany and her escape from Germany. (Her parents had to choose to leave her behind when they escaped, because they couldn't take all four of their children.) I found it quite interesting, especially since I could put a face to the author, as she shared her German memoirs, her echos from the past.

Back to the present ~ Last week a friend, Steve Huber, called and asked if we would join them for a genuine  home-cooked, German dinner  at the home of Bill and Anita Osborn.  Absolutely YES, no doubt about it.  Then I asked what the deal was.  Steve had bought this "home-cooked German dinner for six" that Anita and Bill donated at a fund raiser several months ago.   Steve and the Osborn's finally scheduled the dinner for Saturday night and Tim and I were one of the couples Steve and Sue invited to join them.   The other couple was Jim and Cindy Neuwirth, people we know, but don't really associate with. 

I remembered this was the lady who wrote the book.  I grabbed my copy of the book and took it along and Anita autographed it for me. 

The evening was elegant, the food delicious, the hospitality wonderful.  We started with hors 'dourves and German cocktails and German beer, followed by salad, mushroom soup, beef and gravy, potato balls, red cabbage and vegetables, ending with a very delicate German cheesecake, all accompanied by German wine.  The last little treat was a German chocolate filled with German liqueur.   German music played in the background.

Bill and Anita served the entire meal to the six of us at a table graced with white linen, elegant German Bavarian china, crystal, silver, and flowers.  I asked Bill and Anita to sit and join us for dessert which they did, and we continued to fellowship, sharing interesting conversation around the table.

Bill and Anita Osborn were gracious hosts.  It was such a pleasant evening out ~ an event I was glad to be a part of as we made new eventful friends.