Housewarming postscript

Had a great time Sunday. One of the nice things about having a party, especially a housewarming, is that it forces you to straighten up the place, and clean it. Our family room looks a whole lot neater now, if a bit sparse. The den downstairs is cozy and comfy. We moved the futon from Dave's office down there so it's a better guest room and it's more comfortable to watch Josh's TV there. So Dave's office is now neater, and also has some pictures on the wall. We put up more shelves in the laundry room, which is now a great combination of laundry / storage/ freezer/whatever.

It was a great mix of folks, too, who all behaved according to the open house structure: come for awhile any time during the window and stay a long or short time. We had our first guests even before the start time, which I loved, and the last stayed after closing to help clean up. Nothing wrong with that. I really enjoyed the mix of neighbors, friends, folks from work, people we don't know well (like my sister's husband's brother and family) or don't know at all (my friend Laure's husband's sister's family). Almost all of the kids disappeared down into Lily's playroom and just stayed there, coming up only for occasional snacks. It was a lot of fun.

We did this at such the last minute that of course not everyone could come. Next time we'll give a bit more notice.

Folks brought lots of bread and sweets. Here's our menu, what we cooked and prepared:
roast turkey -- not much left!
cranberry sauce -- courtesy of Eliot and Madge
Greek frittata - they ate every scrap
two kinds of cookies, snickerdoodles and oatmeal chocolate chip
poppy seed pound cake -- not such a hit but then work devoured it the next day
two kinds of homemade marinated goat cheese, a sweet and a savory -- very popular
hummus -- recipe from Nidal from Yemen at PS 261 so you know it's authentic; very popular
pita bread, chips, lots of other breads
cheese selections
fruit selections
hot cider, cold cider, seltzer, Coke, coffee, tea, and someone brought a bottle of wine

It was fun! We have made some nice friends and we have some good contacts, too. And, we now have the party bug -- Dave's already planning a spring bbq potluck for the block. My fantasy is that we will have one a season, but at least one in December or January, to fight the doldrums. Late January is a great time to throw a party: It's after the intense holiday season, the snow is dirty and sad-looking, the air is damp and cloudy, and the sugaring season has not begun yet. I see sugaring as the kick-off to 8 to 10 months of rich harvests -- maple sugar, asparagus, strawberries, then all the summer and fall fruits and veggies. It's a great way to tell time.