BBQ

It was a successful party, against all odds, 'cause I just didn't have my head in the right place for the whole planning, expectation, anticipation and all other -tions for this party.

Mr Handsome and I (grilled chicken, BBQ sauce from scratch) tidied up the yard and driveway; put a speaker in the window so we had tunes; hung a bright red apron from our portico; put out tables, with vintage cloths and napkins; used our blue-glass plates, our wine stems with blue in the stem, and the FISH GLASSES!
We put drinks in our big, metal tub with ice (Mr Handsome wanted the Blonde to bring ice, per tradition, but felt so bad that she was sick! We always forget ice and I always wind up calling her in a panic to please bring some!). Drinks means a ginormous bottle of pino grigio, Two-Hearted Ale (Bell's), IPA (Founder's) and Oberon (Bell's again). Also, some Coor's Light for Museum Girl and Law Man, kiwi-strawberry juice and milk for the kids, and baby cans of Coke products. How CUTE are those baby cans?!?! That's the only reason I bought them, their inherent cuteness - what can I say, I'm a sucker for marketing.
We also put some philodendrons outside, with my little gnomes peeking out, to dress up the driveway and back door.

Lima and her crew brought a DELISH Mexican 7-layer dip and masses of really tasty (read: salty) chips and came early, around 6, so they had to help us a bit. I had stuff for the kids: hats, bunny ears, a tiara, necklaces, dump trucks, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, crayons and huge paper, a couple other little things... but the total HIT of the party was when Furniture Couple (Magic Salad! YUM!) and their Pillow (kid) brought an artillery toy! Oh, yeah they did! It was a rocket launcher, powered by a person jumping on an air pillow. The air in the pillow is forced out through a hose to the pipe that launches the foam-padded/tipped rocket. It was a blast! heh heh - blast, get it? We also brought out our little mini-tramp for the kids to jump on, and some sparklers, once it got dark.

We had lots of chairs and the chaise lounge kinda scattered around the backyard, deck and driveway, into little conversational groups, but everyone seemed to be congregating around the grill and the food and drinks tables, so we moved them all to the driveway. Mr Handsome strung fairy lights around the perimeter of the yard and I put out lots of candles in jam jars. I'm beyond disappointed that we didn't take any pictures! My camera's battery's dead and Mr Handsome forgot his camera! WAH! The yard looked so pretty, filled up with friends. I just wish like ANYTHING I'd had my shit together more on that front.

Conversation flowed pretty well and everyone seemed to get along well. Book Doc, Museum Girl and Law Man really hit it off! Only one instance of tears: Pillow kept playing with the rocket launcher while we were eating and it hit a couple of people (one of them was me), so I told him we'd have to stop the artillery until after dinner. Tears ensued. He survived. Stickers with shiny bugs helped to dry the tears up. It's very hard being three.

Mr Handsome and I didn't get to bed until 2:00 a.m.! We both prefer to clean up the night OF the party, rather than waking up to a gawd-awful mess. I had to get up at the butt-crack of dawn for a dog call and I've felt rather unwell all day because of the lack of sleep. I only had two glasses of wine, so I KNOW it's not a hangover. But it was worth it, we both had SUCH a good time. We use to throw parties on a regular basis, much larger than this one. We were both very worried that we'd fail after being out of practice for so long. But it was a LOT of fun. I'll rally tomorrow. I've got Monday off! Except for a couple dog calls. And they're for the BEST boy-dog in the WHOLE wide world!

I married Donald Trump

Ooooooh! Mr Handsome bought the cottage today! He made an offer and it was accepted! Now, we just wait for paperwork to go through. He's like The Donald, buying up property! It needs a lot of work: new wiring throughout, new roof (and ceiling) over mudroom, heat (! there's no heat!), other stuff I can't think of right now. But the price was irresistable. So. We're going to fix it up and maybe sell this place or maybe rent it out, I'm not sure what he's thinking, actually. Heck, if it turns out to be a problem, we can always sell the cottage, the land is worth more than what we paid! It was a repo - I feel bad, in a karmic sense, that we're benefiting from someone else's misfortune.

In other news, our DSL modem went toes-up, so we're on dial up now. Geez o peets, is it slow. So, I won't be downloading (uploading?) any pics until next week when we get a new modem. I want to put pictures of Lima in here and of course, pictures of the cottage! Wheeeee!!!!! A cottage! It's extra-extra funny 'cause I was JUST telling Museum Girl that Svend and I have NEVER wanted a vacation home because then you're tethered to it like a criminal on a chain gang. Yet, here we are, vacation home-owners. HA!

Catching up

Yesterday, the yoga studio had a free yoga class offered, so of COURSE I went, thrifty woman that I am! I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to participate properly, due to the damn fibromyalgia, but I did really well! And it was fun! And I'm super sore today, but not immobile, like I have been in the past when I've done exercise. Additionally, I had lots of dog walks yesterday, so I might have just overdone it in general, but I STILL don't feel incapacitated with pain. SUCH a relief. Thank god for pharmeceuticals. I'm going to sign Mr Handsome and myself up for a yoga class!
I'm caring for Samba this week and he's doing very well after have had surgery to remove an aggressive cancer in his nose. They had to take his upper mandible and jowls, so he looks very odd. Actually, it looks horrible, but he's still the same loving, lovable, wonderful, best-dog-in-the-WHOLE-world Samba. I am so glad he looks like he does, because it means he had life-saving surgery. I just love that dog as if he were my own.
Tonight, it feels like Seattle, but warm, outside. It's really damp and misty/drizzley. Everything is so fragrant and lush and luminously green. Really gorgeous. And Mr Handsome wants to buy a little cottage in Spring Lake! Wow! Exciting!

Pretty as a

When Mr Handsome and I were wandering around, looking in resale shops for an Anniversary Outfit for me, we came across a fave art gallery of ours and I commented on how very much I liked a couple of the paintings in the windows (you can see where this is going, I bet). Well, the next day, I went off to take care of sweet TJ kitty and darling Samba (best boy dog in the world), which takes a good couple of hours. I cam home and there it was, above the fireplace, looking JUST RIGHT! Turns out, he'd been in that neighborhood earlier in the week, taking the car to the "doctor" and saw the paintings, too. Admired both of them, just as I had. Liked the firey one the best, as did I. Sometimes I think we're never going to make it, that we've got zip in common. Other times, I think we're more alike than I realize. I know it's time to get to re-know each other before it's too late.