Herndon is truly one of the best places to live; I can’t imagine finding such a welcoming and caring community of people anywhere else. Last week I received a Cookie Report Card in the mail. You may remember that I delivered cookies that I had made at The Boutique Bakeshop to a few of my nearby neighbors, the weekend before Christmas. One of those neighbors decided to send me a report card; I couldn’t stop laughing when I opened it. My neighbor Sue is truly a character, and she never fails to get a laugh and a smile out of me.

Another of our neighbors brought over two bottles of 2014 Vintage Ale from Trader Joe’s to our house right before Christmas. He knows the key to our heart is beer. Smart neighbor. I believe this is the third year he has given us bottles of vintage ale as a gift, and it’s something we’ve come to look forward to. If you like beer, make sure to check it out; they only carry it for a limited time. Be forewarned though, it’s pretty strong, and likely to make you a bit tipsy. B.O.B. Bob and I usually share a bottle.

But wait, it only gets better. One of our Herndon neighbors that we have come to absolutely adore, is our friend Jen. Not only is she one of Herndon’s nicest residents, she also just happens to be the Vice-Mayor. A few weeks ago she dropped off an entire meal for us to enjoy, including Spiedies from New York State, Mango and Black Bean Salad. and a Butternut Squash and Quinoa side dish. She even brought a loaf of bread to go with everything.  Yum! Everything was so delicious, and it was wonderful to share a real meal together for once, that wasn’t at a restaurant, or consisting of appetizers. I even brought out the Christmas China for the special occasion. I’m looking forward to playing around with the Mango and Black Bean Salad recipe in the future. It was so good, and I think it’s possible to add all sorts of other ingredients to it for variety, such as toasted coconut, Cotija cheese, and even toasted pecans.

There have been so many other amazing neighbor moments over the past month as well; so I hope you’ll humor me as I mention just a few. Fun times spent with our Vosseller neighbors, including a party they hosted for my ?th birthday and an elf pajama breakfast featuring Ice Cream Stuffed Donuts and Anita’s Breakfast Burritos. Going to see “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with Linda, where I met up with an old friend and former co-worker, and we got to exit the building to a surprise snow storm. Homemade cookies delivered by Ken from him and Reiad, which were absolutely adorable, not to mention delicious. And then how could B.O.B. Bob and I forget all of the moments we spent at our neighbor’s homes celebrating the season with our local gang of misfits. So many of them threw together some amazing parties this season, and made it look so effortless, and we enjoyed spending time with everyone. Thank you all for making this such a wonderful community to be a part of, and I hope those of you that aren’t lucky enough to be a part of it, can form your own special crowd of local friends wherever you happen to live. Great neighbors make life better. If your neighbors suck, come visit us; we’ll introduce you around to some that don’t.