Perle is at it again...

My friend A in North Carolina calls me "Perle," because I host so many parties here. Come to think of it, our friend Frankie always called me Perle as well, mostly when she called to RSVP for the parties. Perle is Perle Mesta, a well-known Washington D.C. hostess who had a passion for parties, and a guest list comprised of the rich and the famous from coast to coast. Perle was well-known for the entertainment and food at her parties, but the most important thing was her guest list. The Powers That Be (especially in the D.C. area) didn't want to be excluded from her party list.

I was so intrigued by how both A and Frankie described Perle that I found a book on the story of her life and her parties. Simply called "Perle : My story by Perle Mesta," (with Robert Cahn), the book was pubished in 1960 and was wonderful reading.

Well, we don't have the rich and the famous at our parties (heaven knows I've tried to get Barry Manilow here), and we certainly don't have the D.C.-diplomats on our guest list either (nor would I want them), but our ever-growing Charades group surely does have a lot of fun.

I spent a few hours yesterday in SteinMart and Hobby Lobby, searching for decorations and party favors for Valentine's day... found a bunch of neat gifts, and along with what I had left from last year's party, I have more than enough for everyone on the party list. I plan to fix up a little shopping bag for each couple this time, rather than giving every single person their own party bag. Of course, we have single people who come to our parties, so they'll get separate goodie-bags. I found a heart-shaped basket for one of the guessing games, and filled it with all-things-Valentine...... so that will be the biggest prize. The two other prizes are gorgeous coffee-table-sized Valentine's books, with heart-shaped candles and a pretty rhinestone heart pin. If a man wins, then he can give the prize to his Valentine...... or I can buy a box or two of chocolates, in case one of the men win. That might be better.

Gorgeous day here today.... sunny and clear... it could be warmer, but it's not exactly cold. We've already discussed how frozen I feel as soon as the temperature goes down past 75, so I won't go into that again.

Young C was here after school yesterday afternoon.... her virus and cold are all but gone now, so she's back on her normal schedule. I gave her the invitation to the Valentine's party, and also gave a separate one to her mom and dad. C squealed: "Are we having a Valentine's party?" Yes, we are. She gets so excited at the thought of a party, and walked around the house looking at all the decorations that I've put up already. I told C that she could invite just one friend to this party. Usually, I let her invite two or three, and sometimes five, but we've got so many people coming to this party that I had to limit her to one friend this time.

During my shopping yesterday, I also found some Christmas gifts, so they're up in the closet for next Christmas. I also found some pretty things for our own Christmas table, so they're packed away now as well. We have a beautiful gift shop in the area here, but their prices are so sky-high that I don't buy from them till after the holiday. They're independently owned, not part of a chain, so I guess they can charge whatever they want, but honestly... they wouldn't have so much stuff left-over after each holiday if their prices were more reasonable before the holiday.