The older I get, the more I appreciate weekends at home, hunkering down with a book or just taking a breather and catching up. But every once in a while a weekend comes along with a host of possible social events, and in the case of this last one, four came in the course of a day.
In trying to decide which to attend, I ended up committing to all four, which made for a whirlwind but very fun day and evening. I try to avoid situations in which I might spread myself thin, but this time around, I discovered that party hopping can be a blast!
I didn’t find out until Saturday that some friends who moved to Arizona this past summer, who’ve been back visiting this week, would be guests of honor at a party at a friend’s house that same evening. But how can one refuse seeing friends who have gone missing when they show up? I wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity to see Patricia and catch up on the latest. Plus, when the host mentioned her husband would be cooking his native Peruvian food, well, at that point it was settled.
I missed the chance to take a photo of Patricia, but sneaked a few from the party. The center of attraction besides Patricia was the lomo; Lomo made by Lucho. Lucho, by the way, had to make a hasty exist just as the lomo was about to be served. A doctor, he got a call to do a baby delivery, so he did not get to enjoy the meal with us, but had the privilege of helping bring a new soul into the world, which is just the coolest thing!
I do hope there was some lomo waiting for him when he returned. Seriously, I am going to be craving this stuff everyday from here on out. It was that good.
Tender, well-flavored strips of meat with tomatoes and onions on rice, along with a side of fresh green beans, fresh fruit and apple crisp for dessert made for a tantalizing visit. Invigorating conversations and a hug from Patricia topped it off.
The next party was at Stella’s and Greg’s. I have no photos to show, but the house was filled with people who had worked super hard on a recent effort to pass Measure 1. While I wasn’t super involved in that effort, I did help from the sidelines. They had planned this party before the eventual defeat of the measure, but called it a victory party. After all, some victories are seen only from the long view, and we are convinced that the cause for life is worth the fight; the lifelong fight, if that’s what it takes.
This proved to be the perfect party for me because it was filled with people who believe in the kinds of things I do, had great snacks, and ended with a small collaboration of people gathering around the table to have a truly deep and delightful discussion. For an introvert like me, this is when things get fun at a party — when the crowd has thinned out, and just some die-hards remain. That last hour made it all worth it, and I felt energized, having helped close out the party.
Earlier in the day, I had a chance to mingle with my longtime children’s author mentor, Jane Kurtz, who lives in Oregon now, but previously was a North Dakotan, and did much to inspire me in my work in children’s literature. Jane is such a beautiful soul; it’s never a bad day when she is around and I adored the chance to hang with her for a bit. Add my friend Bethlehem, “Bette,” to the mix and there was no chance of things going sour. I’ll write more about this gathering on Wednesday.
Finally, a friend posted on Facebook a couple days back that she’d be selling her awesome-applesauce mittens at a special event, so I pulled my daughter with me to do a little Christmas shopping. Not to mention grab a pair for myself, since my mittens have all gone AWOL. Her business, which she runs with her mom and sister, is called Three Woolly Chicks and a Gopher and produces the cutest, and warmest, mittens around! I was so pleased with this little venture. I’m not much of a shopper but I just love shopping local and crafty around this time of year.
All these events happened in one day and by the end of it, I felt filled up on “happy,” good food and love.
Q4U: What party did you attend recently?
Leave a Reply