Champagne - Libation or Weapon?

It has been a great few weeks so I won't try to pack it all into one blog entry. Ginger and James' party deserves it's own nod as it was a fabulous night. You know how sometimes you go to a party and everyone you meet is friendly, interesting and attractive? Well that was our night at this party. Everyone came to entertain - the best kind of group.
Adi, Pete, Rob and I checked in at the Inn at Venice Beach which I recommend if you are looking for clean, affordable and ideally located accommodations in the Venice Beach area. Adi and I departed for a manicure where I met Cutie, the smallest dog I've ever seen while waiting for my turn to come up. We met up with our boys at Baja Cantina afterwards and carefully had a late lunch (dark nails + utensils = potential disaster) before heading back to the hotel to primp for the party.

























Let me start by saying Ginger and James really know how to put out a spread of good food. Not to be shown here, but most photos from that night found me sitting, not standing at the breakfast counter eating buffalo meatballs, prosciutto, olives, pot stickers, vegetables and dip and oh the list goes on.
I had a great conversation with Donna and Wayne, proprietors of an amazing and unique shop called Surfing Cowboys on Abbot Kinney. If you are in the Los Angeles area and are looking for something unique for your home decor, you'd be just silly if you didn't visit their store.
Click here to view the desk with floating cabinet (includes chair) that I now want for my birthday. It is unnatural for a writer to not have a desk.
































































Having spent New Year's Eve (last year) with James, I was prepared for his signature 'let me top you off' move. See he targets anyone holding a champagne flute right around midnight, for maximum damage the next day. Not wanting to be teased the following day of my reaction to champagne (aka Amber-Amber-Sleepy-Juice) I pre-empted this attack and even caught it on film.




















Adi and I stayed up talking until 3am back at the hotel. I left for Georgia the following day and haven't seen my dear friend since then! Tonight is New Year's and it is going to be a quiet one with friends. I returned home from my 10 day trip to Georgia and immediately fell sick with the flu.

Next entry - Ya'll Have a Merry Christmas! Full recap of the holiday in Georgia.

The Holiday Season Is Upon Us

• 35 Christmas cards written with care
  
• Two visits to the post office for international deliveries
• One UPS pick up
• Gift list checked off (except for a copy of A Very Special Christmas Vol. 1 - a mighty reward if anybody has a copy they would be willing to lend to me)
• Plane tickets to Georgia purchased
• Cat care sorted
  
• Holiday party invitations RSVP'd to
• Still no dazzling holiday outfit - hmph
  

It has been a good week with sunny weather and lots of errands taken care of. I depart for Georgia on Monday to spend Christmas with my family. It has been a long time since we have spent the holiday together and I can't wait to see my little niece Ava Soleil. My sister says she is running everywhere now. I don't get to see her more than a few times a year so I've developed a plan to ensure she loves me and hopefully remembers me until the next time we get to see each other (top secret - will unveil said plan post holiday visit).

The week started with Bill and Tori hosting a white elephant party at Casa Chino. Bill fired up his legendary tri-tip, chicken and grilled veggies on the barbecue. The rest of the group shared some amazing salads, garlic bread and Tori's egg nog. I asked if anyone knew the story behind bringing an anonymous gift to a party for exchange, thievery and cat fights. Nobody did.

I looked it up.

The name "Dirty Santa or White elephant" loosely refers to an old tradition of giving second-hand gift items that are either kitschy or burdensome for the owner to maintain. It originates from an old Burmese cultural reference to the value of an albino elephant, which is considered sacred and must be well taken care of, despite the financial burden that it may bring to its owner.

Our white elephant party had a spending limit of $15. Next year, I think perhaps a minimum price point should be set as demonstrated by my unlucky selection...














Although Bill wasn't the one who contributed this gift to the party, Rob thought it best to leave it in his freezer as we left for the night. Hee hee. Sorry Bill!

Last night we attended Rob's company Christmas party at Chad's on Chapala. Five years ago there were 8 people in attendance. This year we needed two tables of 20. The company has really grown and sounds like a great place to work. I have to say, that one of the newer members of the team made a gutsy move in bringing a gift for the white elephant portion of the night.
Wrapped in paper with a cannabis leaf design the recipient found talking Cheech n' Chong plush dolls. Really.


















Rob and I came away with some cocktail accessories which we will no doubt put to good use when our Third Thursday parties resume in February. Mark your calendar for February 15th!


















This weekend Rob, Adi, Pete and I are heading down to Los Angeles to attend a holiday party that our friends Ginger and James are hosting. They live in a beautiful home a block off of Venice Beach and it is sure to be an elegant evening. These two have quite a love story that started in London. I'll have to have them guest blog one day with the sweet details.

Next blog entry: photo montage of beautiful people acting out from sheer holiday giddiness.

No Snow? No Problem!

A special thank you to Maureen and Ken who sent us our Christmas tree all the way from Washington!

Slekt


Sam Melhouse - Rifleman
Company E of the 104th Infantry Regiment
Attached to the 26th Division which made up a part of the Third Army under the command of General George Patton.
Battle of the Bulge

I returned home from snowy Idaho earlier this week. The gathering of family for Sam's service was a welcome retreat. In the company of dear people who I am lucky to call my own, we sifted through photos Grandma and Grandpa had carefully catalogued. We looked at them a little more closely even though we'd seen them before. Looking for clues of what their lives were filled with on the coffee table or in the yard behind their smiling faces.

Their daughter (also my amazing aunt and godmother) Lise had encouraged them to write their memoirs in their own hand over the past few years. We are all grateful for her persistence as we read them and learned so much about how our family came to be. It was a valuable exercise and I came away with a sense of belonging to something important. It is an unlikely story that originated in Norway and in Denmark, joining in California and is now represented in Florida, Georgia, Idaho and even our little town of Santa Barbara.

We spent most of our visit between Aunt Lise and Uncle Tom's home and Grandma and Grandpa's home. Once the service on Friday was through, we all hosted an open house and lots of family and friends came to talk with us about their favorite stories, look at our family photos and eat more food than should ever be available in one house. Ask me for my Aunt Lise's Speedy Spuds recipe some day - you won't regret it.
I thought this natural line up of all the girls' purses was adorable and worth noting.

As the trip progressed into the weekend, we spent all of our time together. Every time I visit Lewiston I learn a great new game from my cousins Stephanie and Heather. This time, I learned three: All in the Family, Apples to Apples and Catch Phrase (go team #1!). My family has a quick sense of humor and we all laughed a lot. I think we needed it and it felt good.

Mexican food at El Sombrero is a tradition when we get together in Lewiston. Mort can't find anything like it in Florida so our crew takes over the big table upstairs and we stuff ourselves silly with enchiladas, tacos, tostadas and of course a margarita. There is comfort in traditions and this one is a keeper. I was a little worried when my Uncle Tom's platter (yes, I said platter) was put down in front of him. Nobody knows how many items were on it, but only one sad little tostada tortilla was left behind. I believe this is what some people refer to as their 'moment of Zen'...



















I got a little restless in the mornings at Grandma and Grandpa's house before we would meet up with the rest of the family. Kim drove me to the thrift store just down the street (ok a block away but dang it was cold!) and I found an $0.80 jigsaw puzzle of a forest that I thought would keep me occupied. I was wrong. Turns out my sister has a mild case of O.C.D and couldn't walk past this thing without committing at least an hour to it. A team effort, we ended up conquering it in 24 hours (with 2 pieces missing - hey it was only $0.80 what do you expect?). I think we created a new tradition. Next stop - Christmas in Georgia with a puzzle of a snowbank.















Sunday was our last full day together. Kim and Mort had to drive to Spokane (about two hours away) to catch their flight on Monday morning. I was sad at the thought of them leaving having enjoyed our time together at Grandma and Grandpa's house, around their table having important conversations that I took so much from. Most nights we stayed up until one or two in the morning shedding new light on old situations. Clearly we all needed to get a lot off our chests and have many unanswered questions put to rest. It was more than I could have hoped for. Thanks you two.

So where was I? Sunday, yes. The only natural thing to do at the end of an emotional trip is to go bowling. Really - try it the next time you have a lot going on. There's something about launching an eight pounder (I'm a wimp and I know my limits) down a glossy alley and breaking 100 for the first time...priceless. Uncle Tom added a new twist to the sport: Poker Bowl which is quite possibly the world's most perfect game. Get a strike? Take two cards. Get a spare? Take one card. At the end of 10 frames whoever has the best hand (up to five cards) wins the pot. When Aunt Lise and Uncle Tom pulled their own bowling balls and bowling shoes out of the trunk I admit, I was scared.
I love the looks on people's faces after they have bowled...













































































































Sunday night Kim and I cooked dinner for all of us in Grandma and Grandpa's kitchen.
Kim and I love to cook together. She is the only person I am completely in sync with when it comes to proportion, ingredients and timing.
After going through plans A, B, C & D we settled on our old favorite that mom was a master of; roasted pork. Kim pulled together an amazing combination (get your recipe book out, this goes really well with Speedy Spuds) of fresh rosemary, shallots, garlic, olive oil, white wine and salt n' pepper. Seared then roasted, our tenderloins permeated a warm savory welcome to Aunt Lise, Uncle Tom and the girls.
Aunt Lise said it was good to see activity in the kitchen and Kim and I felt privileged to cook what would most likely be the last dinner cooked in Grandma and Grandpa's kitchen.
Grandpa always did the dishes and I thought about him there with us while I loaded the dishwasher.

Kim and Mort left the next morning, Heather had to head back to school.
I took Aunt Lise and Stephanie to lunch at one of Grandpa's favorite places (mine too) then Stephanie headed back to Walla Walla.
Later in the afternoon Aunt Lise gave me some invaluable photos of our family and I read both of my grandparent's memoirs that day.

Oh if that table could talk.