The tea party yesterday was exhausting, but much fun. I always tend to overdo it when prepping for a party, and it's even more complicated, of course, when you're watching two kids while doing the work. The salad didn't get assembled 'til almost 5, and I never managed to make it to the asparagus rolls (although when food was running low around 7, I did throw together a quick angelhair pesto (ready-made sauce) with some fresh-grated parmesan, and that filled in the corners nicely.) Luckily, Adriana was there in the morning to help, and Kevin in the afternoon, but still, I was pretty much just going going going from the time I woke up at 4 a.m. until the party started at 3 p.m....and then the party went until 8 (scheduled to end at 6, but as long as people were having a good time and there was still food on the table, I wasn't going to kick them out!), and then I had a phone conference re: a WisCon panel, and then I went to bed.All of which means that while I was very aware it was Sunday, at no point yesterday did I even think about the actual date, which turns out to have been March 28th! Which means I forgot to call Jed on his birthday! Argh. Or rather, I forgot yesterday was the 28th at all; if I'd had possession of that key fact, I would have remembered to call. So Jedediah, so very sorry, and I hope you had a fabulous birthday -- it would have been so great to have had you at our party, which was just a spring party, but which would have been even better as your birthday party. Please blame the tail end of spring break (which has made my brain very bad at tracking days of the week, much less dates), as well as hostessing obsession.
That said, the party really was a lot of fun. It's the second party we've had the energy to throw since Anand was born -- once every three months is a sad comedown for a girl who used to have dinners and potluck brunches pretty much every single week. Those days will return, though. Highlights of this party included:
- teaching Adriana how to bake a cake (just from a mix, but she'd never baked one before, so it counts as an accomplishment, I think)
- watching Kavi race around like a crazy girl with lots of other kids (Roshani's three, plus Anne's two, plus Liz's one -- Simone, we missed yours!)
- filling the house with gazillion flowers, both ones I provided, and ones brought to me
- eating and eating and eating, my food and others'
- Anand in his tiny spring shirt -- you can't tell from this photo, sadly, but it has bunnies and carrots on it, painfully cute
- talking people through the house plans (which we have pasted on the walls) -- the neighbors seemed generally approving, which is a relief :-)
- Kevin sharing his homebrewed beer; I was pleased that he had a drinkable batch ready, when the tea party transitioned to a beer party
- catching up with so many old friends and new (Jennifer, Samanthi, Manish, Linus, Mary, Daniel, Heather, Aaron, Sharmili, Laura, Anne, Ron, Liz, Shilpa, Devi, Daniel, Mark, Tasos, Roshani, Tom, and I'm sure I'm missing someone...), watching them talk to each other and mesh well together, yay! Eras/groups represented included my childhood, college, Kevin's grad school, SAPAC and desi arts circles in Chicago, SF writers, Kevin's colleagues, Kriti festival, new neighbors, and even one brand-new person I hadn't met before -- I love that.
- and a special shout-out to Samanthi, who stayed and chatted with me and did all. the. dishes. after everyone else left, including hand-washing the china teacups and saucers -- Sri Lankan girls know how this is supposed to be done! And she said she'd finished reading and liked my book, which is, you know, pretty much the perfect note to end an evening on.
Sounds like a great party that amply repayed the work you put in! Awesome.