On Laughter

Another successful dinner with the dinner club last night. It was my turn to host. I made fettuccine Alfredo (homemade sauce), green beans with sunflower seeds with a garlic and red pepper seasoning, and baby corn with an onion seasoning. It turned out quite well. Everyone had at least two plates. It warmed my heart to see my friends enjoying something I had made. Especially since I'm not that great in the kitchen.

There was a plentiful supply of wine. We polished off a gallon... and then a bottle and half, it was nearly obscene. We sat around the living room belting out Christmas tunes and playing a silly board game, laughing hysterically. It's truly what friendship and the season is about.

Tonight my husband and I are hosting a Winter Solstice Party. At least thirty people, if not more will be here. There will be a bonfire out back for the brave ones who are willing to hang out in weather which is only in the "teens." Of course, we've got the basement set up quite nicely as well. Tables, chairs, games, dim lights. I think it will be a semi-epic party.

Alas, I'm already exhausted from shopping earlier today, and maybe from the inordinate amount of wine I consumed last night. Though, I am looking forward to having some fun nonetheless.

On Friendship

A few weeks back, some friends of mine and I decided having a meal date would be a good idea. We had talked about it before of course, but it never happened. Welcome to our second dinner date. Our plan is to rotate hosts with a different type of meal each time, ie: breakfast, lunch, dinner. The first week was breakfast, consisting of quiche, toast, hash browns, fruit, and of course... screwdrivers. It was a great success. Lunch last night consisted of cheese & broccoli soup, sandwich roll ups, cheesy bread, an assortment of desserts, and of course plentiful wine.

It will be my turn to host in a couple of weeks, and I must say I'm thrilled that we're keeping up with this so far. Of course, it's still new and fun, we might bore of it quickly, but it feels so... grown up. Plus it's a wonderful excuse to get together with close friends and share a meal and laughter. Laughter lightens the heaviest of hearts. At this juncture in my life, I'm feeling particularly grateful.

On Completion

4/18/2008 - 11/30/2010

I can now happily say that I finished the first draft of my manuscript. After nearly ten years of scribbling random stories, starting manuscripts only to let them sit unfinished, I actually saw this one through to the end. Of course, there's still so much work left to do, starting with editing and re-writes. It feels amazing to be finished and now I can jump fully into the Christmas season without wondering when I'll set some time aside to finish the book. I'm hoping the editing and re-writes will only take through most of the winter, and maybe I can move on to the next step by spring.

A huge milestone, and I couldn't be more ecstatic.