So much to be thankful for!

My brother Kenneth stopped over on Friday afternoon to have a cup of tea and a spot of lunch with me and the children. When he entered the kitchen and saw the disastrous state of affairs her looked at me with a very concerned look and said " you do realise you are having a party here - TOMORROW - don't you??? ".

Well, DUH! Clearly the only way to get things done around our place is to have a party! And what a party it was. So first the before and after photos of my painting efforts in our bowling alley Kitchen/dining room. It was painted this insipid pasty peach colour, that I could not tolerate, so I painted the dining portion of the room a Hot Sienna Red colour. Next week, I am going to finish the kitchen end in a creamy white. Overall, the color looks 400% better, and warmed up the room immensely.

Now, here is where I blather on about how great the Chef really is. The menu was as follows:

Starters

Deviled Eggs, Cheese & Mustard Tart,

Tempura fried oysters, Shrimp cocktail.

Country coleslaw, along side a cider roasted ham,

and we had a spring salad slotted for this space

but he decided to quench that idea and threw in a

pot full of FRIED CHICKEN!

There were a few other dishes of lovely

crunchy green beans and sugar snap peas,

and of course some crusty breads!

All wrapped up with a scrumptious carrot cake!

We had invited 14 or so people and 6 kids (including our brats) so I did my usual dish bitch duties and kept the place as tidy as possible whilst the chef worked his magic in the kitchen. See photo below.

Yes, it is sickening - however, practise, practise, practise - and this is what you get. Throwing a party for 15 - 20pp is actually a bit if a snore for this guy. He slept the afternoon away (for real) and at the very last minute - literally just threw it all together. Granted, we have been doing this for the last 14 years, and have a good grasp on throwing a dinner party - but yesterday was lovely. No stress, the paint job looked fab. and in addition to it being my birthday - everyone showed up, ate, drank and was rather merry when they all headed home at 1:30am!

In the photo below Bernie Ffrench, My mum Catherine and Bernie's twin sister Jackie Ffrench, my high school friends.

I think that this house of ours is slowly starting to feel more and more like home. A welcome addition is always a smattering of friends, both new and old. I think I have always been lucky in who I have befriended over the years - due to something my Mother Catherine drilled into my head from a very young age.

" Show me your company, and I will tell you who you are ".

All I can tell you, is although I am thousands of miles away from some of our very dear friends I am a very lucky (and happy) girl! It appears my friend magnet is working again!


That is all the WiseWords I have for today!

WiseMóna