Peter Celebrates the Big Five O (+)
Stuffed grape leaves, and fancy cheeses. Goat cheese and fig jam on bruschetta. Green grapes. Some bubbly to toast. M and D brought the most drinkable wine. A secret in the carafe, a blind test. Carlo Rossi. No kidding. Beat out the pricey Portuguese wine. What do we know?
Dates and nuts in a chocolate South African pudding recipe, topped with whiskey whipped cream, created by his wife Janice. Happy Birthday to Peter. Live music at a party makes the evening rhyme. Marc on harmonica and Peter and Doug on guitar. Kim sang a number with the lyrics on her cell phone.
A fun surprise party. Well done, J.
Class of 2012- Congratulations Luke
Headed for the University of Michigan. The high school graduation ceremony is Monday night.
At the party it felt a bit like football weather tonight. Guests had on sweaters and jackets, long pants. Last week it was 90.
Luke and Friends sang and played musical numbers during the party and it was a lot of fun. His grandfather accompanied him on the guitar singing New York New York and Vanessa and he sang The Prayer at the close as Kim, his mom, played the keyboard for them. I don’t have the playlist but know that Brad Yoder played guitar with Luke and also Nina Sainato sang Quando Quando with him. A little jazz, some standards, a little show tune, a lot of musical improvisation. Congratulations Luke and all the best to you!
You have grown into a fine young man and will do wonderfully in whatever you pursue.
I like the one with the balloons but we decided on the one below. Hope you are okay with the two cause I could’t decide. I like that some of the party scene peeks into the background and the balloons declare it a celebration!
Vanessa’s Party Shoe Presses the Piano Pedal Plus Nina’s High Heel, Too
Young and trendy. Stylish and chic. These fancy shoes separate the youthful fashionable and the older woman’s footwear. I wore brown clogs. Quite a different look!
It was a good party. The live music made it great. The singing, the piano playing. The friends. The snow was falling as the night wore on. We’d seen a bad pileup on Bigelow Boulevard and the exit ramp due to black ice on our way to the party. Wondered if we should turn around and go home and avoid the first treacherous driving of the season.
But we were almost there so went forward with the evening’s plans-
the weather discussion goes on forever around these parts and it is usually not good
……Vanessa said she is 5’1″ and that these shoes are really comfortable. I had to ask. I was fascinated with the glamorous high heel.
I can’t even imagine. She seemed to maneuver perfectly. Vanessa and Nina sang and Luke played the piano and sang, too. He can transpose into any key. Incredibly talented young man looking at colleges now.
I had asked to blog the women and they agreed but didn’t get permission to show Luke on the blog. Nina has a website here. I’ll email and ask so it may be up with the three of them.
Vanessa sitting down and Nina standing
Eyeball Cake and the Happiest Birthday
Monday night Steve and I went to dinner at the Elbow Room (Pittsburgh) to celebrate his birthday. I asked him which of his birthdays was his happiest birthday ever. “Last year!” he said. We were out at Mark and Erika’s and the kids helped blow out the candles, eyeballs for the ophthalmologist. Laura had made the cake with the kids’ help decorating it. James made him a shirt with his favorite cat Fred sniffing the flowers. Mark gave him a book about Where They are Buried and Erika found some really nice summer shirts for him. It was a fun party. His best ever! The children really make life fun! Happy Birthday(2009) Steve.
After the Fourth of July Celebration Saturday Night
Hamburgers and hotdogs, some grilled chicken breasts. Redskinned potatoes and green beans, tomato and fresh mozzarella salad. Sparklers. One guest brought a margarita machine and some shrimp to grill- there were glass bottles of coca-cola with cane sugar and cupcakes decorated with flags. A fire in the firepit. Water balloons and squirt guns. Glow in the dark necklaces. Seventeen kids and their parents. Three grandparents. Steve drove in from Pittsburgh. Perfect summer weather. I practiced family photography with each family in the back yard. Lots of red white and blue. I planned to post the cupcakes in the cupcake display stand Joanne sent from Omaha but Jack, exhausted won out!
Jack fell asleep watching a movie his dad had put in- Michael groggy but still hanging in there, watching.
Memories Sparked by Disco Ball Reflections?
Donna Summer Anyone? How about Saturday Night Fever?
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