We started our blog exactly seven years ago today with our lemons, lemons, lemons post.  At the time, we were working on a book proposal about Santa Barbara, focusing on food and friendship and our wonderful community.  We would take to the road five days a week, walking and talking about everything under the Santa Barbara sun:  politics, art, local happenings, family, personal concerns, joys, heartaches.  And as we racked up the miles walking along our beautiful Santa Barbara coastline, we saw other duos just like us.  We’d overhear snippets of conversations that often resembled our own!

So we decided to start a blog to flesh out our ideas about the importance of women’s friendships, to discuss the nurturing quality of sharing food with family and friends, and to capture all that our charming city has to offer.  Originally our audience was made up of loyal friends and family, but soon many others discovered us too.  Our collaboration and our give and take with all of you helped us solidify our values and define who we were at this stage of life.

Rhona:  Joan and I have spent hours solving the problems of the world! We’ve analyzed our own personal histories, we’ve commiserated about what worries us and we’ve giggled at what delights us.  Oh yes, we have it all figured out!  So for me, Joan has been more than my morning exercise buddy; she’s been a constant source of wisdom, empathy, laughter, companionship, creativity …  and the techie part of our duo for sure!

Joan:  For me, Rhona is the best company anyone can hope for.  She is a safe haven for my deepest concerns, as well as my biggest cheerleader.  She has a heart of gold and endless compassion, coupled with a wry sense of humor that often catches me by surprise and fills the moment with glorious laughter.  Rhona’s wit, wisdom, and love of cooking found a home on our blog and have filled our posts with her distinctive and charming writing style.   I know her voice will be missed.

But all good things come to an end. So today when we met for breakfast at “our place,” the same spot where we first committed to actually starting this blog and the place where we’ve consumed many a latte as we came up with new ideas to share with you, we reiterated what we say to each other all the time:  how fortunate we are to have people in our lives who always have our back, who inspire and cheer us in the good times, who cry with us in the sad times, and who understand the passage of time in the same way.  Family and friends will always be the bedrock and the common denominators of a successful life.  The rest, as they say, is commentary.

Our blog will still  be available for a while should you want to revisit any of the recipes.  And we want to thank you so much for your support, your contributions, and your encouragement through the years.  Many of you have expressed a desire for us to continue in some fashion or other.  Perhaps we shall.  Stay tuned!

Until then we wish you cups of steaming coffee, or bowls of comforting soup, or plates of spicy beef, or tables laden with the bounty of your harvest — all shared with those you love.

It’s bittersweet to say goodbye, and so we leave you with a symbol of that, and a nod to where we began.  From our gardens we choose bright yellow lemons.  We add sugar and lots of water — voila, we have made something both bitter and sweet … and how grand is that?