We went to our first Senior’s Club Pot Luck last Thursday. Many people here join the Senior’s Club even if they are not all that senior. The theme was Spanish or Portuguese. The only ones to bring a dish from the theme was Jim and I. Sharon, the Librarian, said that no one ever paid attention to that sort of thing, but they like to have a theme. It was good to meet some people that have been here for decades. I keep forgetting that everyone knows everyone here, and has for years, except for us. They welcomed us and took them into their group with open arms, literately.
The attendance was low. It had been miserably cold and snowy and it is a busy time of year. It was the hard core original members. I have to admit it was a bit like visiting the old folks home. One lady was a little vague in her conversation and as we chatted, the last slow and stupid fly of the year, landed on her plate and got bogged down in her meal. She squished it with her thumb, wiped it off with her napkin and continued eating. I offered to get her a new plate and meal, but nah, she had cleaned it all up with the napkin, it was fine…… all righty then……
We sat across from Mildred, who has lived here forever. We bought our property from her. She chaired the meeting after dinner with the same humour and rural hospitality that I am sure she has shared with Coutts for all the years she has been here. A very sweet lady. We sat next to Ken, that as a boy, played in what is now our yard and burned down the shed that was here. He and his friends had their first attempts at smoking near where we now park our car. We helped decorate the Christmas tree, Ken and I had a short game of shuffle board and Jim and I called it a night. It was good. That night we knew that we not only joined the Senior’s Club, but joined a community.
Last night we went to the town Light Up and Pot Luck Dinner. Two Pot Luck dinners in one week, a first for me. The attendance was much better. We met the same seniors from last week and about 50 other people. It was a wonderful evening. There were lots of kids, for Coutts, food, Santa, singing, hay rides and I won a draw for $50 from the local grocery store. The local grocery store is 18 kilometer away, Coutts doesn’t have a grocery store.
When we wanted to move and chose Coutts, it was much like a Pot Luck. Come on down and see what you get. We moved here because of the land prices. Serviced town lots in Coutts are among the lowest, if not the lowest priced lots in Alberta. We had no idea what a wonderful little community we were moving into. Oh the town has it’s grumpy and it’s nosy. The ones who only grumble, complain and don’t get involved. We don’t hang with them, mainly because they stay home, grumbling and complaining and aren’t involved. Living here is like the Pot Luck dinner, if you try a little of everything that is offered, soon you have your plate full. We have been here a year, my plate is full and life is good.
Until next time.
AKA Mrs. Clay
