Party On!

Tis the season for parties. We had our 29th Annual Eat & Run the other night. Eat & Run is a progressive dinner party, beginning with appetizers and ending with dessert, traveling from house to house. Back in the day, we made four stops (appetizers, soup, salad, dessert) then it got down to to three because we got too big ( in numbers, not weight!). When we had 28 people one year, we had to split for dinner and continued that for a while. Last year we had a big snowfall so just 13 of us trudged up the Thompson's drive with our food and snow boots.


This year we played it a bit differently with all of us going to appetizers at one place then dessert at another. Since I do all the organizing, I like this arrangement much better because it's sooo much easier.


We gathered at Marsha's place which is like visiting a foreign country, or many foreign countries. Marsha has lived all over the world and her home reflects the collections she's accumulated. It's comfortable, cozy and interesting. All the rooms are small, which made it nice for gathering in intimate groups in different areas. One of the living rooms reminds me of an Ethiopian restaurant with low pillowy seating, candles all around and a certain ethnic flair.


Even her cat got in the holiday spirit.


The evening before I got to participate in the Langstaff's annual holiday sing a long at Shepherd's Hey Farm nearby. Me and 200 of their closest friends! The Langstaff's own a beautiful farm at the foothills of Sugarloaf Mountain just 3 miles from where I live. Over the last 2 years or so they had this magnificent stone house built, with this great room which held nearly 150 of us! Cindy and David Langstaff are involved in the Revels, a celebration of the solstices and the seasons that are part musical, play and drama. Many of the cast members were there, leading us on in joyful singing of holiday songs.


The house is sort of Shaker style, but on a very large scale. The detailing is impeccable and I wandered around marveling at the craftsmanship.


Shepherd's Hey is an old folk tune for Morris dancers. It is so fitting for this farm, with the family so musically inclined and sheep graze the pastures of their property. The evening was a fun-filled event and really put me in the holiday mood. The only thing missing was a light falling of snow.