Sunday Afternoon... Post-Party

Another great party... we all had such a wonderful night. We had hired a magician to add a little magic to the night, and that turned out very well. Some of his tricks were a little old-fashioned, like the stuffed rabbit he pulled out of his hat, but for the most part, his show was well-received and very much enjoyed. Especially by the children who were here... just watching and listening to them became part of the show.

The dining room table was totally filled with food, from one end to the other. The canapes from both the Greek cafe and the Italian restaurant were all delicious, and some of our neighbors brought over some goodies as well. We had enough desserts for half of Clear Lake, between what I had baked and what our friends brought to the table.

Weather was lovely... warm and balmy, and even so, the huge pot of hot wassail that I had simmering on the stove just disappeared, as did the egg nog. The coffee urn holds 42 cups, and all that was left was just a few cups. I'm glad I thought ahead to take out a dress that wasn't velvet... last night wasn't the night for anything with long sleeves.

I think there were about 60 people here... I haven't had time yet to look in the guest book and count the names. One person missing was our friend F, who went into the hospital the night before the party and she's still there. I went to see her this afternoon and brought her some books to read, as well as two trays of samples of the desserts we had last night. She was truly sorry to get sick just before the party, and she was very much missed.

Today is my husband's birthday, but we're waiting till tomorrow to celebrate that. We're just too worn out from last night's party, plus he had to go into work this afternoon for a graduation ceremony. His gifts are waiting for him on the breakfast room table, along with the Sunday Chronicle, which neither one of us has looked at yet.

The waitress from the Greek cafe was here last night to help me with the party, and that arrangement worked out just fine. When C came here last night, she brought a complete change of uniform for herself and she took a few minutes to change clothes and freshen up after working at the cafe. When she came out in her new outfit, she looked fresh and wonderful and she was such a great help from the beginning to end of the party.

I think it was after 3:00 when we finally got to bed this morning. I ran that dishwasher three times to do all the dishes and silverware, and by the time I got into bed, everything was put away, and my husband had taken out the vacuum and did all the carpeting. Had it not been so late, I would've asked the waitress to stay and help, but I felt it was late enough for her and she'd done more than enough during the party, and that's what I hired her for in the first place.

We're talking about next year's Christmas party.... a few ideas taking seed already. So we'll see what we come up with between now and then. For the moment, I'm ready to just put my head on my pillow and sleep the night away.