Having lots of fun is hard work!

If I wanted to stay up longer, I'd need to find some toothpicks which - ouch! But I had a terrific day, even if I did wake up at 6:00. I read stories until it was time to start cleaning, rearranging stuff and - the time-consuming necessity of washing all the fruits and veggies. I have apparently stumbled on a way to make tired fruit look luscious again: just pop it in a warm bath to rejuvenate.

I left some things out of the menu because I was already stressed out and running out of room on the coffee table. I put out hard & soft oka cheese, cambozola and two types of crackers. Also black olives, grape tomatoes, blackberries, red grapes, cherries. Cherry smoked ham around fresh pineapple chunks. We also tried one of the fancy white wines I'd picked up in wine country because it was judged to go well with spicy Thai, Korean, and Indian foods. Well, I sure tested the compatibility with what I was serving!

John showed up at 1:00 by which time I was already overheating from all the rushing back and forth. I'd meant to get dressed (no, I really did), but ended up just putting my gorgeous mango-azalea top over my heavy satin nightgown. As we sat and ate, we exchanged outrageous stories about the past, and laughed our heads off. I mentioned I would be using my slow cooker tomorrow so, suddenly, whatever was on the table became a likely ingredient for a new recipe. Oka cheese too hard? Throw it in the slow cooker. Same for the grapes. Etc., etc. I had NO idea that c-J could be so silly.

Alas, c-J had to depart finally after 5:00. As I saw him to the door, I enjoyed seeing a gorgeous sunset - the layer closest to the horizon a deep pink colour. I was so tired, the dishes are still sitting on the coffee table. The only thing I did was finish off the black olives while the leftovers of the cheese returned to the fridge.

I was disappointed my usual Thursday shows were repeats but I probably would not have been able to pay full attention. I was happy to get a confirming e-mail from Ashley about when she'll arrive on Saturday. More party! More food! More laughter! Yay!

Now, if you'll kindly excuse me, I am going to collapse into my bed and get some well-deserved sleep.