2-3 hour party people

Is it a sign of a good party when there's some mighty good shopping for coats on the bed?

If Allison sees this blog entry, she should get a chuckle from the title.

Okay, catching up here. It's 11:11 (hah!) on Boxing Day as I start this. We're well fed and soon will head to bed. Tomorrow there are sales to hit. We have gift cards, and we're not afraid to use them!

First up, more party photos! Conrad and I agree - it was a terrific mix of people (minus some good friends who could not make it). All in all, they were well worth the effort, and we were glad to have them come over.

So, many many people photos, but cute guys included!

;-)

Brad, a swim teammate, straight. Sorry. Heck of a good guy, though!

Daniel, another swim teammate.


Warren, a colleague of mine.

Luis, a swim teammate. Very sweet, and rather cute. Excitable - Jeph knows what I mean by this.

Lou, a teammate stretching back to the days of ACC in Montreal.


Gil, unofficial photographer and a friend from Yoshi's.

FXK and RAS, frequently faces on the blog.

Michael (a Yoshi's regular) and Carrie (a swim teammate).

Luc and Dan (a swim teammate).

Rakhael (Yoshi's regular, also Gil's wife) and Ron (swim teammate, also Carrie's husband).

Kathryn (library person and someone I think the absolute world of), me, and Conrad.

Dan and Medgar.

Me with Luis (hot hot hot!) and his partner Dan.

Ron.

Paul (good friend not from Yoshi's libraries, or swimming), Dan (good friend and financial advisor), Pia (colleague), Kim (good friend and wife of FXK), and Warren.

Laura (friend from Yoshi's and wife of Michael) and Rakhael.

(in foreround) FXK, Jenny (from libraries), Kathryn, and RAS.

Kim, Warren, Jim (Conrad's colleage and Dan's partner), Dan, and Pia.

Dan, Luc, and Dan ( we had 5 Dans/Daniels at the party!).

Me and Pia.

Paul and Allan (good friend, also an engineer, partner of Paul).

Rakhael and me.

FXK and Warren.

Conrad and Daniel.

Rakhael, Medgar, Brad, Ron, Michael, and Laura.

FXK, Kim, RAS, and Pia.

Paul, Allan, Warren, FXK, Kim, and Pia.

Luis and me.

Laura, Michael, and Conrad.

Christmas party - teaser entry

The last four people left our Christmas party about 40 minutes ago, and clean-up has been fairly quick and painless thanks to some efficient and effective tidying throughout the night. I'm knackered and more than a little doubtful that we can get ourselves on the road to the UP at a decent time in the morning. No packing done, presents and more to get together, and we'll need a nice night of sleep.

Ah well. It's worth it when you get a good mix of friends from various spheres together, jumble them up with food and wine, and let them all interact enjoyably.

I have a bunch of photos, and Gil has shared many more, but it's too late to do a lengthy post. Accordingly, it may yet be some days before you get more party shots. For now, though, a few from set up
and one or two other shots of guests just chatting happily.



As for the food, well, I made

• white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies
• pistachio and dried apricot biscotti
• milk chocolate, almond, and orange biscotti
• walnut gateau breton (screw the diacritics tonight - I'm tired!)
• almond and lemon fregolata (shortbread)
• decorated cut out cookies
• roast boneless leg of lamb, served sliced and cold
• squash and blue cheese galette
• cilantro and pumpkinseed pesto dip for veggies

I'm missing something in there, I somehow suspect. I also put out olives, pickles (cornichons, peppers, onions), pate (again, screw the diacritics), 5 cheeses, hot-smoked salmon, and more.

Okay, must sleep now. Night!

60 trips around the sun

Happy birthday Kathryn!

Conrad and I went out to the suburbs last night with Francis and Kim so that we could be part of Kathryn's birthday celebration. A fine dinner (she cooked it all for us!!!) and good company, but best of all was celebrating such a birthday with someone we adore. And I'm totally stealing FXK's photos!

A toast to her, then!

And while I'm at it (Kathryn's birthday is today, in fact), a happy birthday (today) to Mustang. I hope we meet up again someday soon in Vancouver!

Happy birthday CG!!!

Seven years I've known this woman, and without fail, she magnificently rocks my world. Happy birthday CG!

baby back ribs

I can't recall if it was something Yoshi once told us or if it was something I read in a book (and if so, I think it may have been Turning the Tables). Basically put, pork does not sell in restaurants. It's a real shame, in my opinion. But then, I'm rather partial to pork. And veal. And liver. And lamb. And....

I'd like to cook pork more often, but that I don't makes it feel more special when I do. Add in the good company of Kim and FXK, some lovely Cabs, and we had the makings of a good dinner around the kitchen peninsula. Baby back ribs glazed with a sauce made from pomegranate molasses, tomato, and a few other things. Broccoli rabe and a cous cous and black bean salad on the side. That lovely fregolatta with cheeses for desserts. We are all well fed and satisfied. Beats the heck out of fighting the Mother's Day crowds at restaurants!





I should point out that Conrad has a tendency to take photos of me in action and I HATE IT!

LOL