Party one day... laundry the next.

And that's what I did today, the day after our Valentine's party-- two loads of laundry. One of towels, one of tablecloths. I always go through so many kitchen towels during the preparations for one of our parties....... constantly washing my hands, wiping down the countertops.... and using one fresh towel after another.

As for the tablecloths... it just makes for a nicer atmosphere when all of the tables I set up have matching linens..... all in ivory, very soft... plus I can just toss them into the washer the next day and touch them up with an iron.

I'm so glad I stopped using "real" dishes for our parties. Once our guest list started to grow to thirty people, the amount of dishes got out of control. I have more than enough plates and cups and saucers for everyone, but running the dishwasher two or three times after a party got to be too much of a chore. So I compromised--- I buy the prettiest paper plates that I can for our parties, then use matching paper napkins, and real silverware instead of the plastic stuff (which always breaks and doesn't work well with some foods). Paper cups for the punch, but real cups and saucers for the coffee and tea. (I hate drinking hot tea from a paper cup-- makes the tea taste weird.)

My husband and I are still talking about the party... still laughing at our friend S and his "YMCA" Charade. Before S and the "YMCA" clue, the most talked-about charade was another friend of ours (C's dad) who tried his best to mimic the smile of the Mona Lisa--- his Charade was the Nat King Cole song "Mona Lisa." As he stood there smiling like Mona Lisa, we were all just falling out of our seats----- and some of the guys thought he was trying to look like Oliver Hardy (as in Laurel and Hardy). That was a funny Charades game as well.... I think that was last year's Halloween party.

Oh, and J last night with his Charade--- which was a song called "Dancing Cheek to Cheek"-- he pointed to the cheek of his backside for the word "cheek" in that song---- and for all of his 60+ years, he never knew that the cheek to cheek in that song meant the cheek of a person's face, not the cheek of their dancing partner's rear end. How ridiculous is that?!

I swear, these parties are so much fun. And with all the work and the planning and the imagination in keeping each party different from the one before, it is so very much worth all the time and the effort. We have such a great group of friends here, and we're so very lucky to know them all.