Party!

Gosh, it's been a long time.  So very long.  I think the last time we had a party that wasn't a dinner party was, oh, August of 2019.  We did a wine tasting, the weather was terribly warm, and it was a fun time.  Add last night to the (meager) list of our parties.  A cold April night, wine and cocktails.  We had a fun time.

I have to say, all the work that Van did on the planters really paid off.  And all the work that Conrad and I did on swapping out artwork and tidying did as well.  The condo looked great.  I set up a nice spread of things to nibble on, and we were ready for guests to arrive at 7.

I didn't take many photos during the party.  For one thing, I was stationed at the bar I had set up in the kitchen,

making cocktails. 

And - much to my surprise - folks wanted cocktails, not wine.  So be it.  But there were people who came over we hadn't seen in so long, like Carrie and Ron. 

Almost 5 years!  Too long.  So good to see them.  So I caught a few photos, like of Jennifer

and Erik,

but not many more.  I was just too busy enjoying the talking with friends.

What a late night, though.  Clean up was done by one, but I was too wired to go to sleep.  I think I was in bed at 2 AM, and awake again at 7:30.  Oh yes, a Sunday morning nap was needed.

I joked with Van earlier today that I have now become a dinner party person.  Yes, cooking for folks is exhausting, but unlike last night, at least I get to sit down!

Easter dinner

I've gotten lazy, friends.  First there was a Christmas meal, now Easter.  And there am I, getting a Honeybaked Ham ham for dinner.  It's easy, I just make the sides.  Special occasion meal, Bob's your uncle.

Sigh.

Ah well, I did make sides.  A potato gratin from a new recipe, and not one I'll make again.  Some roasted carrots, some steamed green beans.  Buttermilk biscuits.  It was all fine.  Erik and Avery came over from next door, and the five of us enjoyed the meal.

Ah, but the dessert.  The dessert!  I haven't made this one in years, but it popped into my head to do it a couple of days before Easter, and so I did.  Tuscan cream cake from Emily Luchetti's awesome Stars Desserts cookbook.  A treat.  It could have looked better as a whole,

but a wedge of it was tempting to look at, I think. 

It was good, friends.  So good.

We're into April.  Spring break at work, some travel ahead, maybe a little more rain before winter is fully done with us.  Welcome to a new month, everyone!

friendly introductions

It was very good to have a real pick-me-up, carefree, even raucous evening to end my most recent trip up to BC. Oh, no worries - I kept things in moderation. Having to be at the airport by 6:30 on a Saturday morning can do that to a guy. The others? Well, a few sore heads and late mornings for them today.

A friend from Chicago, Giuseppe, moved to Vancouver last month. In a nice turn of events, he lives within sight of our place there - he can see into our condo from where he lives, apparently. I shan't comment more on that save to suggest that my sister close the blinds from time to time.

Anyway, not only is Giuseppe there, but his boyfriend, Brian (who swims in my lane) was in town for a conference and a visit. Brian will be in Vancouver himself someday, we hope, but neither he nor Giuseppe know very many people yet. A great opportunity, Friday night.

Marie stuck around, which was nice, and she and I had out a bit of BC red wine, some BC cheese, olives, Raincoast Crisps, walnuts, and dried Okanagan peaches. Two of our favourite Vancouverites, Chris and Sherri, arrived within minutes of each other shortly after 7:30.

it was all we could do not to eat all the cheese right away.

Giuseppe got there about 3/4 of an hour later, bringing along one of the guys from whom he's renting a room, Carl. For my part, I was really delighted to meet someone else from the neighbourhood, and Carl - who was pure fun right off the bat - utterly endeared himself to me when I learned he was born in Prince Rupert.

Carl's partner, Les, came long a little while after that, and he, too, was a super guy. Brian was the last to join us, and by that time, I think we were on to the 4th bottle of red wine (mostly BC).

We finished that one, and by 10 or so, we were at Campagnolo, just down the block.








I hope that they let us come back.

;-)

We were loud. We were having an enormously good time. Food? Incidental (but good - ling cod for me). People had more wine or switched to beer, and I wisely stuck to water and light eating. It was after midnight when I got home.

All in all, quite a night, and so much more and better than I could have guessed. I was just really tickled to have Giuseppe and Brian make some connections in Vancouver.

When next I have to go up, I think we'll head to the west end for fish and chips - Brian won't be with us, but there will be future dates. Did I say fish and chips? We're really going for the deep-fried Mars Bars...