Last Day of The Month....

......... And here goes February. Too fast, too fast. So hard to believe, but I've been saying that for years now-- that the days, weeks, months, years...... fly by so quickly.

Another warm, sunny, gorgeous day today. So nice to see our "normal" weather back again.

I met A for lunch today, and we shopped around at some of the stores, looking for whatever caught our eye. I was searching for some St. Patrick's Day items, but didn't find anything better than what I've already found. Lots of things caught my eye, but I didn't buy much.

There's a store called "Tuesday Morning" that has so many pretty dishes and glassware. If I had a big pantry with lots of glass-fronted cabinets, I'd be filling it up with dishes and glasses of all colors. Reds and greens, and special serving plates for holidays. I've got my grandmother's love of fine china. Her cabinets were always filled with all sorts of mis-matched plates and cups and bowls. I don't think she had a full set of any one pattern, but no matter what was on her table just always looked beautiful.

Thinking back to when we had to go through my husband's mom's home, I wish now that we had kept more of her pretty plates and serving pieces. We brought home as much as I thought we had room for, and I've been using all of the pieces for our Charades parties and smaller dinner parties. My china cabinet is filled, and so is the buffet, and so are the kitchen cabinets and the coffee bar. I found some beautiful green glassware in "Tuesday Morning" this afternoon, but I put them back when I realized that I really had no more room to display them properly.

If we ever do get another house, I will make sure it has a huge pantry, or better still, a "butler's pantry," and I would love a bigger kitchen with lots of glass-fronted cabinets. But we truly love this house. It's just every once in a while, we think about last year's hurricane, and we don't ever want to have to be in that situation again.

Our friend B, who moved up to Dallas last year, has told us that it's "time to get out of Dodge." And this is coming from a man who was born and raised in Galveston, went to college in New Orleans, and who never ran from a storm in his life. But last year's hurricane had him on the phone to us telling us to "get out, get out, get out." And we did, and it was truly the hardest thing we've ever had to do here. We don't want to do it again. But we don't want to move, either. Such a dilemma.

The Apprentice....

Tonight was the first new episode of Trump's "The Apprentice." They've switched the night from Thursday to Monday. I don't know why I'm so interested in that show, but I have been since the first season. Maybe it's the great photography-- wonderful shots of New York. Or maybe it's just something really interesting to watch while I'm exercising. And I've said from the beginning that there's a lesson with every show. Tonight's lesson was not to talk against your teammates. Jeez.... that girl just couldn't keep her mouth shut, and in the end, it's what got her fired.

Gorgeous day today.... sunny and very warm, pretty blue skies.... I could've walked and walked out there this afternoon, but Gracie had other ideas. She saves her long walks for my husband. Probably because he walks her without a leash. I always keep her on the leash, so I feel more in control. I know that she responds to my husband the first time he calls her, but with me, sometimes it takes a second or third time. And I don't want to take that risk with her, no matter how well-behaved we think she is.

I've been taping some of the "What Not to Wear" programs for my piano teacher. For the past couple of weeks, she's been giving me blank tapes to use, and this week when I go for my lesson, I'll see if she watched the first tape I gave her. For some ridiculous reason, K's husband doesn't want to pay for the cable hook-up, so she doesn't get the channel that "What Not to Wear" is on. I think he had some sort of disagreement with the cable company, so he cancelled the service last summer. We just have basic cable in our house, we don't pay for all the HBO and entertainment channels. Without the basic cable, you get very few channels, so I can't understand K's husband's reasoning. I mean honestly, if her husband doesn't want to pay for the cable connection, then she should just pay for it herself. K's husband buys a lot of her clothes, and gives them to her as gifts. Which is probably why she needs to be watching "What Not to Wear."

"The Thing About My Folks"

That's the title of the movie we watched last night. After going out to the Chinese Buffet for dinner, we decided to see what was new at "Blockbuster." We don't get videos very often, but every once in a while, we have a look-see in there.

Neither of us had heard of this movie before.... the package just caught my eye because of the photo of Olympia Dukakis. I've always liked her, and figured that she wouldn't do "just any movie." Peter Falk is also in this movie, and Paul Reiser. In fact, Reiser wrote the script and produced the film.

In the movie, Olympia and Peter Falk are husband and wife, Reiser is the son. There are other great characters--- Reiser has three sisters in the movie, as well as a wife & family of his own. The magic in this movie is between Reiser and Falk, and there were so many parts of this story that reminded us of when my dad was down here.

The movie will make you laugh out loud.... and it will make you cry, so have some tissues nearby.


The sun is out today and it's a glorious day.... so nice to see, after all the cloudy days we've had. Our young friends C and L rode their bicycles over here yesterday and had breakfast with us. They rang the doorbell at a little past 7:30.... we were still sleeping, but it didn't take us long to wake up once we knew who was at the door. The girls stayed till nearly noon-time.

C's 15th birthday is coming up, so we've made plans to take her out for a birthday dinner. We gave her the option of inviting one of her friends to join us. So it should be interesting to see if she'll ask L, or if she'll ask one of the boys. C and her friend M are best friends, and they see a lot of each other. On a friend-to-friend basis, not a dating thing. C isn't ready for dating yet, and she knows that, and neither is M. They just have a lot in common and they're both nice kids who like riding bikes, playing games, and watching movies. Plus, M is a budding chef and loves to cook, and is always surprising C with new recipes. When C invited M to our Christmas party, he brought along a tin of his homemade cookies--- you would've thought they came from one of the best bakeries downtown.

Anyway.... so nice to see the sun shining. I hope the cloudy, foggy, drippy days are a thing of the past now.

Go Texan..... Go Greek!

Today is the day when everyone here is supposed to "dress Texan." That can mean anything as simple as a red bandana around your neck, or an outfit complete with boots, hat, denim, fringe and lots of silver and turquoise. I don't know if they "go Texan" up in Dallas, but they sure do take it seriously around Houston.

I've got jeans, and western boots, and even a denim blouse that is covered with silver and faux-turquoise and fringe (a tag-sale find, for just a few dollars). I don't know how this tradition started, but I know it has something to do with the rodeo being in town. Which of course gives me another party idea--- dress Texas, bring something Texan. (But not this month... or the next.... we've got enough dinner parties between now and the end of April.)


I was watching the Food Channel yesterday and I happened to catch one of the chefs making Greek spinach pie. Not in a baking pan, though--- he was wrapping them up into little triangles, sort of like the way you fold a flag. Well, looked easy enough to me, and I decided to try it, even though we went out for Greek food the day before. I watched him fold those little triangles, and I thought I had it down pat.

My spinach-pie recipe made 26 triangles. Or I should say that I had about three triangles... and twenty-three little bundles of interesting shapes. With each one, I started folding the fillo into a triangle-shape, but then had to go with the flow of the dough as it cracked here and there. I showed the baking pan to my husband and told him to keep an open mind. "Somewhere, in this whole wide world, there must be a country that folds their flags like this." That was my theory. My other theory is that next time I make these, I need to defrost the fillo in the fridge the night before I try making the triangles.

The little individual spanikopitas were delicious, regardless of their shapes, and I plan to make those for the St. Patty's Day lunch instead of making a whole one-pan spinach pie. Maybe by that time, I'll have more practice in folding flags.

Today may be Go Texan day, but yesterday was Go Greek. Opa!!

The Trail Riders

On my way back from my piano lesson this morning, I saw about thirty Trail Riders-- approximately 30 riders, 30 horses, a dozen covered wagons, and at least two dozen "riders" who were walking rather than riding.

At this time of the year, that can only mean one thing--- they were headed towards the rodeo grounds just outside of the downtown area. The Trail Riders come through this way every year on their way to the Rodeo, but we never know which day or which road they'll be taking. It was a nice surprise to see them all this morning. Every bit of traffic slowed down for the horses, and just about everyone (me included) rolled down their windows to wave. It isn't wise to blast on the car horn, because it might scare the horses, and besides that, no one down here blasts the horn anyway unless it's a real emergency. (That's the easiest way to spot a "Yankee"-- he or she will be the one leaning on the horn the second the red light turns to green. No one does that down here.)

It was so quiet on the road as all the cars slowed down to 5 mph or less.... I could actually hear the hooves of the horses hitting the road. I hope the weather gets better for the rodeo, and for Mardi Gras as well. Galveston began its Mardi Gras celebrations and parades just this past weekend.... in all of that cold, wet weather. Needless to say, we didn't go. It's just not fun unless the weather is nice. Same for the rodeo, since a lot of the attractions are outside.

I don't think we'll be going back to the rodeo anytime soon, though. We went there a while back, when Barry Manilow was there for a concert. Poor Barry.... the Texas rodeo crowd was just not into his style, and it was easy to pick out the Manilow fans in the audience. (We were the ones not shelling peanuts or eating chili-dogs with chips and guacamole during "Copacabana" and "Weekend In New England.")

The sun is trying its best to come out today... we've actually seen some sunlight for a little while this afternoon, and it's very warm outside. Add a little sun and it will be downright hot. My husband and I drove into League City today for haircuts, and to have lunch at the little Greek place in Kemah. We hadn't been there in the longest time. My own Greek spinach pie is just fine, but can't compare to Skipper's.

We also stopped in at Nana's Attic for some fresh ground coffee.... they always have the best selection.... all those large glass jars filled with coffee beans. I swear, you can smell all the coffee before you open the door. I looked in the shop for shamrock teacups... not a one. I had also looked around J's antique shop over the weekend when I drove there with V. Not a shamrock teacup in sight. I guess eBay is going to be my only source for those.

However, if you want a rodeo outfit, a red bandana, a fringe-covered jacket, ostrich boots, or dinner plates with a horseshoe design, you won't have trouble finding those in League City. Which only goes to further prove my theory--- there are no Italians here, there are no Irish, there are no Catholics, no Jews, no Greeks.... just Texans, through and through.

87th Birthday

I called my dad to wish him a happy birthday....... he's 87 today...... although he insists (with a wink) that he's 49. He's been "49" since his 49th birthday, so I guess he thought that was a good year to stick with. Daddy sounded just fine over the phone, but I think he's lonely. The assisted living community just isn't his style, or maybe it would be if it was closer to the family home in Queens. As it is now, he can't get there on his own. He doesn't drive anymore, and the medication he has to take every day makes it unwise for him to travel alone anyway. Thankfully, he's paying attention to that little side-effect of the medication.

I don't know what I can do to fix things for him. Years ago, we tried having him down here with us, and that only worked for a little while. He got homesick for the family, for NY, for "a local bus," for the subways, for good Italian bread, for "real" pizza, for The New York Daily News. For the entire six months that my dad lived here with us, he never thought The Houston Chronicle was a real newspaper. And when my father thought it was time for him to go back to NY, he turned from a quiet daddy into a loud Italian who had nothing good to say about southeast Texas.

As soon as we realized that my father wasn't going to embrace the Texas way of life, we made arrangements to get him back to NY. He was happy, and so were we. Now he's not happy anymore, and needless to say, my husband cringes when I suggest that maybe we should try it again. Moving from NY to TX at 87 years of age is just a ridiculous idea, and I really know that. But it's still hard to talk to my dad over the phone and know how lonely he is up there.


Today has been cloudy and foggy... much warmer than it had been, and the rain they promised never found us. But it's so foggy and wet out there, it may as well just be raining. A bad-hair day for sure, and not a day to be outside walking around the streets, which means I'll be doing exercises in front of the television in a little while. If nothing is on the Home & Garden channel, then I'll exercise while I watch the Olympics. I haven't seen much of the Olympics since they started, except for a few of the ice skating competitions. I don't know why, but I just haven't been much interested in any of the events this year.

Still Cold.... Still Cloudy....

Drove into League City with V this afternoon..... to look around J's antique shop. V hadn't been to the shop since before the holidays, and when she and her husband S came to our Valentine party last weekend, she asked me if I'd go there with her today. So off we went for a couple of hours. V drove us in her car, a large Jeep, so I figured she had planned on doing quite a bit of looking and buying. My little two-seater car has a small trunk, which can handle shopping for one, not two, unless the "two" aren't buying quite a lot.

The main part of J's shop was cold, for the simple reason that J hadn't turned on the heating system. What? Some things never change.... J was doing that same thing years ago when I worked for him. J claims that he never feels cold.... which I think is a lot of nonsense--- I just think he doesn't like to pay for heat, and I told him so. The annex of the shop was toasty warm, for the simple reason that L was working in there today, and she doesn't like to be cold. Needless to say, V and I looked quickly around the main part of the shop, but took our time looking at everything in the annex.

I've been looking around for shamrock teacups.... not a one in J's shops, but I found some on eBay for a very inexpensive price. I don't plan on having enough teacups for everyone at our St. Patty's day lunch, but I thought having three or four of them would be a nice touch for the ladies' place settings.

I also found some pretty emerald-green glass candle holders at the shop today, two of them for just $3.00....... love those 50%-off booths at the antique shop. There's always a few dealers having great sales at the shop.... a 50%-off sale means that the dealer is probably going out of business and just wants to get rid of her inventory. Great for the buyer, not so great for the seller.

V found some Christmas decorations, and some porcelain Easter bunnies for her home. We also found lots of gorgeous Victorian furniture, which neither of us have room in our homes for. V's home is chock-full of antiques, as she's been collecting for years also. If she didn't love her house so much, she'd be looking for a bigger house right about now, she said. But they don't want to move, so she tries to buy little things, or big things that don't take up too much room--- like a lamp, because it goes straight up, and doesn't take up floor space, which is at a premium in her house.

It was fun to look around..... and next time the two of us go antique shopping, V wants to drive into Alvin to see what's new at the big antique mall out there. We laughed and said we're already planning to drive further away to find more things that neither of us has room for. I could walk around antique shops for hours, though, whether I buy or not..... it's like stepping back in time, which is always a nice thing to do.

Colder Than Cold.....

........ At least for this part of the state. When I walked Gracie this evening after dinner, I could actually see my breath. The weather gods are making sure we're paying attention here.

As I walked around the corner, I saw that there was a party going on-- an outdoor party, complete with a huge white tent in the yard, lots of lights climbing up the tent poles, and a silver disco-ball in the center of the tent. Cars of teenagers were pulling up in front of the house. I'll bet they all thought they were going inside the house. Well, surprise, surprise... the party is outside under the tent and there's a cold mist raining down as the temperature drops. Talk about poor party-planning..... Rule #4--- check the weather before raising a tent for outdoor entertaining.


Our St. Patrick's Day lunch is just about set...... there will be seven of us to enjoy a springtime lunch, with St. Patrick's Day just giving us an excuse to get together. I've already confirmed the date via phone calls, and I wrote out invitations (green, of course) just to remind them of the date and time. In the invitations, I suggested they wear something green. Everyone asked if they could bring something to add to the lunch, and I told them "as long as there's something green in it--- naturally green, not food-dye green."

I have my little table-top white topiary tree decorated with green shamrocks...... I put that together last spring for a St. Patty's tea party that I never got around to hosting. Our friend Frankie passed away at the end of February last year, and I wasn't much in the mood for a tea party in March. But everything is better this year...... we all still miss Frankie, but the hurt isn't so raw and fresh.

Into my clear-glass, over-sized brandy glass (that held all the red hearts for Valentine's Day), I put green "Easter grass" and green beads and green shamrocks. It's filled from top to bottom with all that green and it looks great. I will probably use that brandy glass at Easter-time as well, and fill it will colored eggs. I also have an Easter topiary that I made last year, decorated with tiny eggs, baby chicks and ducks, and curls of pastel ribbons. We didn't really celebrate Easter last year, but we've already invited friends for this coming Easter Sunday.

I'm going to keep the favors simple for the St. Patty's Day lunch.... the green shamrock Mardi Gras beads for all, and the chocolate-covered gourmet pretzels that are sprinkled with tiny green shamrocks. We can all wear the beads at lunch, and I'll have the pretzels wrapped in shamrock-covered cellophane favor-bags. Unless I find something else (gourmet and shamrock-shaped), the pretzels will be just fine. I wonder if the French bakery makes special cookies for St. Patty's Day?

Hopefully, the weather will warm up again before the St. Patty's day lunch. I'm so tired of dressing in layers, and bundling up when I go outside. We didn't even go out today, other than to walk Gracie. My husband asked me if I wanted to go out for lunch or dinner.... I told him "let's just eat in.... it's too cold to go out." Guess it was too cold for him as well, because he didn't try to change my mind.

So here I am, trying to remember the Dalai Lama's words about "be gentle with the earth." For some unknown reason, it is supposed to be this cold on this day in this part of the universe. I shall try to stop complaining, and just rejoice all the more when the sun shines.

Good Karma

The following is from an eMail sent to me by a friend of ours who moved up to Dallas last year. These words are from the Dalai Lama, and they're just good-sense creeds to live by, not only to bring good karma to yourself, but to promote good living in your own little corner of the world:

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three Rs-- Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you'll know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great relationship.

7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older, you'll be able to think back and enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Frozen what????

Okay, I've had enough of this stupid weather. The temperature was in the 50s for our Valentine's party last weekend, then it warmed up into the low 80s at the beginning of the week. Now they're telling us that Dallas will have frozen rain (what!?) tonight, and we could have the same down here tomorrow night (what?!!).

I'm tired of wearing camisoles underneath long-sleeved sweaters, and I'm tired of wearing scarves around my neck, and I'm tired of wearing long slacks instead of capris.... and I am totally tired of not enjoying sunny temperatures above 85 degrees.

And I also know I shouldn't be complaining because they just had a blizzard up in the northeast and they just had mudslides in the Philippines....... but come on now, we're in southeast Texas here.......... we've got palm trees that are going to be dripping with frozen rain and our pink flamingos and white egrets are going to be shivering in their little feathered feet.

Can the weather gods please give everyone a blessed break?

Out With the Old.........

The new dishwasher was delivered today....... one GE dishwasher in the back of a pick-up truck with one installer from Best Buy. He had the old dishwasher out and the new one installed within an hour's time. Probably less than an hour..... it might have just seemed that long because Gracie barked from the minute he pulled into the driveway till the minute he pulled out.

This new one has push-buttons instead of the dial, and looks very stream-lined. Perfect ivory color, perfectly neat and tidy door-front on the dishwasher. The other GE was a top-of-the-line model and it lasted for nearly 16 years, so that's what I'm expecting from this one, which is also their top model.


I've started to plan the lunch for St. Patrick's Day, and the dinner for Easter Sunday. I've decided to have a lunch for 8, rather than a tea party for St. Patty's. Last night's dinner out with our friends J & S was so enjoyable that I decided I'd rather do a dinner party than a tea. So I started a box for St. Patty's Day, and another box for Easter Sunday. The invitations are in the boxes, and so are the vintage postcards that I'll be using as placecards. The shallow boxes are just to keep everything separate while I'm planning both dates.... the boxes fit easily onto my closet shelves, which keeps them away from curious kitty-eyes and kitty-paws.

It's very easy to stay organized with this closet in my sitting-room. You open the closet doors and you're faced with about 20 shelves......... plenty of room for eBay items waiting to be posted, Half.com books waiting to be sold, placecards and favors and centerpieces waiting for the next lunch or dinner or Charades party. Plus all of my wrapping and party items, and craft supplies, for when the creative urge pops up.


The weather has gotten back to normal here......... low 80s, rather than low 50s. It wasn't as sunny as it could've been today, but that's okay. I'll take cloudy and warm over sunny and cold... at least for a while.


And speaking of "out with the old," that's what I've been doing with the clothes in my closet again. I've been watching that show "What Not to Wear" on the TLC channel........ love that show! As a result, I hereby swear never ever to buy another piece of clothing larger than a scarf that is covered with a floral print.

Valentine's Dinner Out

We waited till tonight to go to our favorite restaurant for a Valentine dinner.... we knew that yesterday would be too crowded there. Our friends J and S tried to get reservations there for dinner last night, but J waited too long to call them, and the restaurant was booked solid. They decided to go tonight instead, and called us to see if we were still going. So rather than make reservations for the two of us for tonight, I called and made the reservation for four.

We met there at 6:00 and we didn't leave the restaurant till after 10:00...... such interesting conversations with J and S every time we see them. Especially J...... he's a retired medical doctor who is very well-read in so many subjects-- from medical to spiritual to emotional and everything in-between. No matter what J is talking about, and whoever his audience happens to be, he makes a connection with his listeners and you just don't want to miss a word of what this gentle, intelligent man says.

Our friends K and C were working at the restaurant tonight, and both girls looked exhausted. They both worked last night, and C said that it was the busiest holiday-night they'd ever had. We also found out that the owner is planning to open another restaurant, not too far down the road from the present location. The new restaurant will be a little bigger, and that worries me. More tables means more meals being prepared, which means more chefs needed in the kitchen, which means that Stefano won't be cooking every dish that comes out of the kitchen. And that's what's so great about this restaurant-- Stefano's cooking. I firmly believe that you can give someone else a recipe but that's no guarantee that the outcome will look and taste the same.

Time will tell........ if all goes as planned, the new restaurant will be ready for an August opening. I understand Stefano's desire for a bigger restaurant, but I sincerely hope that his special magic with the food won't get lost in the renovations.

Here's How It Starts......

I found some beautiful vintage St. Patrick's Day postcards.... and pretty green invitations.... and Mardi Gras-style plastic beads with green shamrocks on them.... and green shamrock stickers.... and gourmet pretzels covered in green and white chocolate and sprinkled with tiny green four-leaf clovers.

All of that can only mean one thing: I must have a St. Patty's Day Tea Party. I've already made a list of 8 friends who I know would love to come to tea, and I've made a list of foods that I can make-- all of which have a green touch: Greek spinach pie, biscuits stuffed with pesto, Key Lime mini-tarts, scones sprinkled with green sugar crystals, and those white grape juice cocktails that I made for New Year's Eve-- but instead of a strawberry in each one, I'll drop in a slice of kiwi. I'll use the green & white chocolate pretzels as favors, and I've already bought the shamrock-decorated cellophane bags to wrap them up in, plus I've got pretty white ribbon that has green shamrocks on it. The latest Avon booklet has green enamel & rhinestone shamrock pins, so I may order 8 of those also.

When I write out the invitations, I will ask everyone to dress in something green. And the centerpiece for the dining room table will be the little white and green shamrock tree that I made last year. Come to think of it, I have a set of dishes with green trim, so I'll set the table with those. Now I have to find St. Patty's Day napkins, which the Hallmark store should have.

One little idea....... and I sure can run with it. Last time I had a tea, it was on a Sunday, so that's what I'll do this time. It worked out well for everyone, since two of the women who came to my last tea have to work every Saturday, and the Sunday afternoon tea was like a mini-vacation for them.

But that's the next project. Today is Valentine's Day, but we're going out for dinner tomorrow or the next day to celebrate. (As if our Valentine Party wasn't celebration enough.) All of the restaurants are just too crowded tonight, and that's not my idea of a good time. I made my husband a pot of crawfish bisque soup for dinner (it's pink, in keeping with a Valentine theme), and I stopped at the ice cream shop and bought fresh strawberry ice cream. I found two beautiful red cocktail glasses in SteinMart yesterday, and I'll use those to serve the ice cream.

Happy Hearts Day to everyone out there!

Party Gifts.....

I spoke to some of last night's party guests during this afternoon, and they were all saying the same thing-- that they had the best time last night. And everyone was thinking the same thing: what are we all doing to make these parties better and better each and every time?

Magic.....! Everyone just walks in here expecting to have a good time, and they do. We have a few friends who are very quiet, but even they let loose after a while and just have a great time. I think the decorations help a lot.... I don't go over-the-top with Valentine's decorations, but there's something in each of the rooms to remind everyone of the holiday, and the centerpieces on the living room tables really set the mood.

Just like for our last Valentine's party, I gave each of the ladies a necklace of hearts--- Mardi Gras-type necklaces of plastic heart-shaped beads..... each woman picked out their own, with color choices of pink, purple, white or red. Most wore them around their necks, some wrapped them around their wrists. It was just a festive touch that added a little something.

I already talked to some of the wives whose husbands opened their gift bags and found the Valentine's ties tucked inside..... they loved those ties, and plan to wear them on Valentine's Day. Hopefully, they'll remember to wear them to our party next year. That will be a hoot-- for all of the men to show up wearing the same heart-spotted ties.

Well, I guess I've talked about this party enough...... Time to start thinking about the next one.

The Morning After.........

I think I went to bed at 2:30 last night......... Clean-up was easier because of the plastic and paper plates, but there were still lots of serving dishes and silverware to get into the dishwasher, plus all the cups and saucers from the coffee and tea. And I don't like to go to bed with the living room and dining room looking like a party just broke up, so I got those rooms back in order before calling it a night.

The sun is out this morning and it's bright and cold........ where are the warm temperatures that we had??? "Cold" meaning it's about 55 degrees out there, and it had gotten colder during the night. Some areas had a "hard freeze" last night, as the weatherman called it. (Is there a soft freeze?) I should quit complaining, because I heard that NY was expecting at least twelve inches of snow yesterday. I'm surprised my sister didn't call me to tell me that, but she knew we were getting ready for the party here.

I woke up this morning at 8:15 and jumped out of bed because Barry Manilow was going to be on "CBS Sunday Morning," or whatever that morning show is called. I turned on the little TV in the kitchen and kept an ear out for Barry's segment. When it was getting close to 9:00, I thought he might have been on in the first part of the show, which I missed. Then I realized that the show is on for over an hour, so I kept listening as I was straightening up the breakfast room.... and then there was Barry, in all his humble best. No wonder he is so loved by his fans...... he really is such a nice person, and even after all these years, he still finds it hard to believe what music has done for his life. And to his life as well, I'm sure. He keeps his private life very private, which I admire. So many "celebrities" feel the need to splash everything onto the media and/or public.

I'm still shaking my head over last night's party....... it was just so very, very good. My husband is still sleeping, and when he wakes up, I'm sure we'll be talking about it once again. I couldn't imagine having a better party than last night's, but I've said that before. Somehow, we always manage to top ourselves. I have friends in NY who would just love these parties, and on mornings like this, I find myself wishing that I could have those NY friends here. And really, with all that snow up there, wouldn't they like it better here anyway?

Way After Midnight....

I know I've said this before, but I will say it again, and I truly mean it: Tonight's party was the absolute best. We have such a great group of friends, and the Charades group has grown into a very interesting, lively bunch of people. We all laughed so hard tonight that we were hurting, and it seemed that no one wanted to stop playing. The Charades game went on till 11:30 or so, with just a few people having to leave early because they live on the other side of downtown and it takes them an hour to get home. We were playing ladies against the men.... and the ladies won by about six points. Not much of a margin, but as the men said--- a win is a win.

The potluck dinner buffet had everything from spiced pecans to cherry pie, homemade Greek hummus and homemade southern cole slaw, a Philippino vegetable & noodle casserole, baked Italian ziti, and Spanish rice with fish and sausage. There were many other dishes, but I'm just too tired at the moment to remember them all. The pink Valentine punch was a hit, and I filled up my extra-large punch bowl twice during the night.

We did something different with Charades this time.... my husband bought a huge sketch pad and we gave everyone the option of drawing the clues and/or acting out the clues. I don't know which was funnier--- the acting or the drawing. And I can't even tell you which clues were the best or the funniest, because they really all were. Everyone said the same thing as they were going out the door--- "This was just the best party ever."

My husband wore his red Valentine tie with the little white hearts all over it. All of the ladies just loved that tie. And they will all be surprised when their husbands open up their gift-bags when they get home, because one of the gifts for each of the men was that same tie. They can wear the ties on Valentine's Day this year, and we'll see how many of the men come to our Valentine's party next year wearing that same tie!

So now of course, we're thinking of the next Charades party. I know that I had been thinking of having smaller dinner parties for 8 or 10 people, rather than a large party for 26 people. But honestly, how could I do that? Everyone really looks forward to these get-togethers, and so many of our friends say "We just couldn't ever miss one of your parties!" --- and we know that some people in the Charades group will cancel or postpone other things just to come here for one of our parties. There's just no way for me to cut down a guest list of 26 to 30 people to just 8 or 10.

Our friends K and B told us tonight that they won't be doing their usual Easter morning brunch and egg hunt this year. K is just too busy with other responsibilities, and she has to travel to California just before Easter-time. No way for her to put together an Easter party for 40 people. Which, of course, got me to thinking that my husband and I haven't ever had an Easter-time Charades party before.

But we'll think about that tomorrow....... right now, my husband is sound asleep, and that's what I plan to be doing as soon as I get out of these party clothes. That was another great thing about tonight--- mostly everybody wore something pink or red, and we all looked as Valentine-y as the punch.

Party Night Cold Snap

Wouldn't you know it........ we've had very warm temperatures here for the longest time, and then last night a cold front moved in and the temperature dropped below 50 degrees. That's freezing in my book. The other day when it was warm, I picked out my clothes for our Valentine's party tonight-- a sleeveless black dress with a red ruffled poncho-type of shawl that goes over it. I'm not going to change outfits now, so this sleeveless will have to do. The ruffles of the shawl go to my elbows, plus I'm always up and down and back and forth during the parties, so this should be fine. This shawl is very Valentine-y.... the ruffles look like petals on a rose. I bought my husband a bright red tie with white hearts on it, and he didn't think it was too silly to wear, so we'll both look like a Valentine card. (Thankfully, my sister in NY won't see me, or I'd never hear the end of it.)

Our cats have been out on the screen-porch since yesterday. I hate to keep them out there when it isn't warm, but I really have no choice once I start preparing the house for a party. It's days like this when I wish we'd opted for a glass-enclosed sun room instead of a screened-in porch. The only reason we didn't do that was because our breakfast room is all glass-enclosed, and it's pretty much a sun room in there, which is right next to the screen-porch. But I can't keep the cats in the breakfast room during a party because half of our friends end up in there at some point during the night.

Well, I've done all I can to make sure the cats can keep warm out there on the porch. I've got blankets covering the little house that AngelBoy sleeps in, and blankets covering the crates that they curl up in. And to make things even more cozy for Mickey Kitty, I took the leopard throw off of our bed and put it outside on the porch. Mickey loves that leopard throw, and he cuddles up in it and rolls around on it when it's on the bed. When I put it on the porch this morning, Mickey and ShadowBaby were fighting over it, so I had to fix it so they could both share it. Half of the leopard throw is now draped on a cushion of one of the deep wicker chairs, and the other half is tucked into the vintage doll bed which I put in front of the wicker chair. Last I looked, Mickey was curled up in the doll bed, and ShadowBaby was curled up on the chair, and both of them were warm and content with their part of the leopard fur throw. Kids....

Everything is ready now for the party. All I have to do is plug in the coffee urn, turn on the oven for the casseroles I made this afternoon, and light all the candles. Oh.... I also have to make the punch. Because the weather was so warm, I bought all the ingredients for a pink Valentine's punch--- pink grapefruit juice, 7-Up, and strawberry sherbet. You mix equal amounts of the juice and the soda, then add in scoops of the sherbet. As the sherbet melts, the punch gets thicker and sweeter, and pinker. I also bought fresh strawberries to float in the punch bowl. It will look very Valentine-y, but I guess I'd better turn up the heat and make the house good and warm or no one will be interested in a cold punch. Had I known we'd be in the middle of a cold snap, I would've bought what I needed for hot apple cider. I could've used a cookie cutter to make heart-shaped apple slices to float in the cider. Oh well....... that's an idea for another party.

One More Thing for the To-Do List......

My carefully planned-out pre-party list of things to do came to a halt this morning while I was vacuuming the carpeting. My normally easy-to-push vacuum started being very sluggish, and I was straining to get it around the house. I looked down at the beater-brush and saw that the silly thing was at a stand-still. Well, no wonder I could barely push it from one side of the room to the other. Wouldn't you know that something would go wrong with that machine the day before a party?

So there I was this morning, having to change from my house-cleaning clothes to going-out clothes so I could drive that vacuum halfway across town to the vacuum store. With my two-seater Thunderbird, there was no way to fit that vacuum into the trunk. I had to set it on the floor of the passenger side of the car, with the handle leaning back against the seat, which I had to tilt backwards. All that vacuum needed was a hat, and you would've thought I had a skinny-necked person in the car with me. Off I went, so the vacuum-cleaner guy could tell me (once again) not to vacuum scatter rugs or fringed runners with that machine. (I don't have fringed rugs anymore, and I use a carpet sweeper on the scatter rugs.) Twenty dollars and two new motor belts fixed the problem, and back I came to not only finish vacuuming the carpets, but I started at the beginning again, just to make sure every last bit of dust and cat/dog hair got picked up.

It's 3:30 as I'm typing, and except for the little ride in my car, this is the first time I've sat down today. The day before a party is always like this, and so is the day before the day-before-the-party. The tables are all set up, the tablecloths and centerpieces are set out, and so are the plates and flatware. I decided to use pretty Valentine paper and plastic plates for the potluck dinner, but when I put the plastic forks on the sideboard, I just couldn't stand the look of them. And I even bought the heaviest plastic ones that I could find--- those heavy clear ones that make a squeaky noise when you're holding a bunch of them. No matter how "heavy" they are, they're still plastic forks. I put them away and took out all the "real" flatware. There are five sets of flatware in this house, so heaven knows I've got enough forks for a party.

All the cats are out on the screen-porch, and they've been there since this morning when I started cleaning. Had it been sunnier and warmer, they would've been out there since yesterday, but I let them in the house yesterday, which left me more things on my to-do list for today. It's nice and warm today (after morning rainshowers) and I hope it's the same tomorrow.

Mickey Kitty was a riot with those heart-shaped Valentine balloons. He grabbed hold of the ribbon attached to a balloon and started walking around the house with it. If you had your eye on just the balloon, it looked as if it were floating around the house on its own. At one point, Mickey ran under the sofa in the breakfast room, and he still had the ribbon in his mouth. My husband and I watched as the balloon went lower and lower towards the floor, until Mickey decided to let go of the ribbon. That kitten is such a funny little thing.... and little he still is. Mickey doesn't seem as if he's growing as fast as the others did. Maybe he was the runt of the litter, and quite possibly he will stay very small as he gets older.

Mickey reminds me of the little kid in the "Family Circus" comic strip--- the kid who runs around in circles to get from Point A to Point B, rather than going in a straight line. That's just what Mickey Kitty will do------ rather than go in a straight line from one room to the other, he will jump up on one side of a chair then down the other side, then go to another chair or sofa and do the same thing, then go under a table or around an end-table....... any direction will please him as long as it isn't a straight line.

For the next couple of days, however, the cats will have to be content with the porch, with maybe a few romps in the backyard if I have time to keep an eye on them. AngelBoy and ShadowBaby go into the yard on a daily basis, and Rusty always stays on the outside deck. So far, Mickey Kitty hasn't wanted to go out in the yard, and that's fine with me. He's too small yet, and he can jump very high, so I don't want to find out if he can jump onto the fence. (The other cats can't, which is why I'm comfortable letting them out in the yard-- I know they can't get out.) Mickey also runs away from the door if the bell rings, unlike ShadowBaby who will run to the door. AngelBoy hides when the doorbell rings. As for Rusty, the only way he'd get excited about a ringing doorbell would be if there was a kid delivering a pizza on the other side of the door.

So Many Books....

While I was doing the grocery shopping in Kroger this afternoon, I saw a woman wearing white capris and a white tee-shirt. On the front of the tee shirt were the following words: "So many books.... so little time." Underneath that was an imprinted picture of a pile of books.

Her tee-shirt made me smile, because I've often thought the very same thing--- that there's just not enough hours in a day, in a year, in a life-time, to read all the books I want to read. I spoke to the woman, and told her how much I liked her shirt, and she said only true book-lovers understand the words on her shirt.

She asked me what I was reading now. My response: "I've just started The Piano Tuner, by Daniel Mason." ---- She replied: "Oh honey, I've read that one.... you're going to love that story and you'll want to read it again."

Which is another thing that only true book-lovers understand--- that the same book can be read from cover to cover more than once.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Valentine's Day....

Valentine's decorations are going up around here, and the house looks red and festive. I've got hearts on mirrors, hearts hanging from the mantel, and more hearts hanging from the chandeliers. I surprised my husband with two heart-shaped balloons yesterday, and they've become part of the party decorations. That is, they will be, if Mickey Kitty can let go of them for a few hours.

The heart-shaped balloons have a long ribbon attached to each of them-- they're filled with helium so they'll float up near the ceiling unless I tie them down to something. Mickey Kitty discovered the ribbon and started to chase it. Then he discovered the balloons that were attached to the ribbons, and he became a Kitten With A Mission.

His mission: Capture the balloon. And lord, how he has tried. He played with the ribbons for hours yesterday, and for hours today. He played with those ribbons so much that he forgot to chase after AngelBoy and ShadowBaby, which was his previous mission. I told my husband that instead of spending money on catnip and cat toys, I should just buy some balloons, get them blown up with helium, tie ribbons on them and let them float around the house. Instant kitten-sitter for the baby cat.

All the gift bags are filled and tagged and ready for the party on Saturday. The centerpieces for the tables are all sitting in my closet and waiting to be set out on Friday. For the dining room table, I have my little Valentine tree which is chock-full of frilly heart garland and small glass heart ornaments. The tree itself is white, but there's so many pink and red ornaments on the tree that the white is just a subtle background.

There will be two tables set up in the living room.... one centerpiece is a huge clear glass vase which I've filled with red glass hearts--- each heart has a red ribbon tied to it, and there are red-ribbon streamers spilling out of the top of the glass vase. The other centerpiece is a red heart-shaped basket that's filled with vintage Valentine postcards from the turn of the century. The table in the breakfast room is the smallest table, and I'll use one of the heart-shaped velvet boxes for that centerpiece. Or a heart-shaped candy dish filled with chocolate..... a centerpiece that people can eat. That would work just fine.

I'm guessing that our two young 14-yr-olds will be popping in on Saturday morning, so I've got two red plush teddy-bears waiting for them. The red fur is soft and squishy, and I took a bright rhinestone heart and fixed it onto the bear's fur, right over the spot where its heart would be. So the bears will be their surprise on Saturday morning, and they can easily take them home with their bicycles. Those girls are still in the Barbie Doll/teddy-bear stage, which is nice. Living where we do, most of the 14-yr-olds are 14 going on 15, rather than 14 going on 27. (I wonder how fast that's going to change when C's family moves to Vegas..... Jeez..... don't get me started on that.)

Stupid Computers

There are days when I wish that I didn't give in and get a laptop. I love this little machine as long as it works properly and does what it's supposed to do, but it frustrates me to no end when there's a glitch. And why should there be a glitch in the first place? This laptop is just over one year old!

Not being as computer-savvy as my computer-genius husband, I can never fix a glitch. The best I can do is turn the computer completely off, then turn it on again, with the hope that the disruption in electricity will jump-start its brain into activity. If that doesn't work, I slap the silly thing shut and just wait till my husband comes home.

I don't know what's more frustrating--- to be sitting in front of a laptop that freezes up, or standing beside my desk while my husband presses keys and says "Hmmmm" a few times as he de-glitches the laptop. (With a really bad computer problem, I've heard him say "I could kill Bill Gates for this....")

This computer responds to whatever keys he presses, and the screen promptly comes to life and follows whatever commands he gives it. Come to think of it, our dog Gracie is the same way--- if I take her leash in my hand and ask her if she wants to go for a walk, Gracie will just sit there and look at me. But all my husband has to do is whisper the word "walk" and that dog will run to the front door and dance around in a circle till my husband opens the door.

My take on all of this? My laptop acts like a cat with me, but changes into a dog when my husband sits in front of it. With me, the laptop is thinking "So you want to type? You want to search eBay? Come back later.... I'm napping at the moment." With my husband, all he has to do is sit down in front of this thing and I know the laptop is thinking "Wowie, zowie, we got the big guy here who knows what he's doing.... let's see where he's going to take us this time.....!"

Stupid computers............. If you don't see me here on any given day, you'll know my laptop is either napping in the sun or purring to its own beat.

Whose Idea Was This Anyway?

This is about the time when I say to myself: Just whose idea was this? Translation-- a week from tonight will be our Valentine's Charades party, and all this week I will be busy with the preparations. So much to do...... no wonder we're the only ones hosting parties-- it's a lot of work.

I've got a to-do list that I keep amending with each party--- what to do one week before the party, five days before, three days before the party, two days before, one day before, and (finally!) the morning of the party. Following my list, and checking things off as I go, makes for a smooth party-night, without me being exhausted by the time the first of our friends rings the doorbell.

Used to be that our dear friend Frankie was always the first to arrive at our parties. I would count on that, and she'd keep me company while I did the very last-minute things. I'd be busy in the kitchen, and Frankie would make herself comfortable on the sofa in the breakfast room. I made sure to have the coffee urn prepared in advance, and the machine would have the coffee done half an hour before the party started, which was typically when Frankie would come up the walkway. She would give both my husband and I a big hug, then look at all the decorations, then she'd go to the coffee bar and help herself before settling down on the sofa. She wasn't a cup and saucer lady-- she liked a big mug. Frankie always said that cups and saucers were for the tea drinkers. "If you seriously love coffee, then you need a mug, child, and the bigger the better."

Every time one of our parties roll around now, Frankie comes to mind and stays there. It's been almost a year that she's gone, and it seems like just yesterday she was dishing out hugs and making us all smile. She was a remarkable woman. If there is a god up there, I'm sure Frankie is giving him/her a serious piece of her mind.

New Cell Phone

Finally got an up-dated cell phone yesterday. I've been meaning to do that for months now, but never thought of it when I was driving in Nassau Bay, which is where the cell phone store is. Instead of having a phone that looks like a little brick, the new one is half the size and half the weight. Cute little thing that flips open, and it has better reception than my old one did.

The young man in the store wanted to sell me a phone with lots of bells and whistles--- eMail, text messaging, photos, videos. Are you kidding? I can barely remember how to program the VCR/DVD player, much less send eMail through a tiny phone with even tinier buttons. Just a simple, basic phone is all I wanted, and that's what I got.

The instruction booklet is as thick as a bible. I've been reading though it since last night, trying to figure out the phone. This morning, our young 14-yr-old girls C and L rode over on their bicycles to have breakfast with us, and C showed me how to use the phone in less than a minute. Maybe instead of giving out instruction booklets, the phone store should have 14-yr-olds there to show people how to use their new phones.

I figured out how to use the address book in the cell phone, but by the time I remember how to retrieve the numbers I put in there, I may as well just punch in the numbers manually.

This cell phone story was much funnier the first time I typed it, but I hit the wrong key and deleted that first draft instead of saving it. The second draft is never as good as the first. Maybe I need another 14-yr-old to give me some computer lessons.