From what I've seen, milestone birthdays aren't that bad. I've been to some mighty fine parties for milestones. This weekend was one of those times. I hope when I reach 70, I am in as good of health as my father-in-law and that my family throws as big of a party for me!
Since food is very important to my in-laws, 'yours truly' spent the entire week in the kitchen making food. In all fairness, I must point out that I was making food for events besides the party -when it rains, it pours was certainly true last week.
The festivities began Friday evening with a finger foods buffet. To simplify our family's contribution, we stuck with one thing- the chocolate fountain and fresh fruit. It was something of a bust, as the heater in the fountain seems to have given out and the chocolate wouldn't flow. Fountain morphs into fondue pot.
There was a big push to get all the work finished Saturday because our electric company had given us a warning that the electric was expected to be off for scheduled repairs from 8-5 Sunday. Of all weekends! Virtually everyone got pressed into service Saturday morning. There was poor man's steak to mix & grill, bathrooms to clean, floors to mop and cheesecakes to slice & garnish. That last one concerned me most. I think cheesecakes tend to look better before they're cut but these had to be both sliced and neat enough to be displayed on a bridal shower buffet table. R & I arrived a little late for brunch, and I pulled an eat-n-run maneuver to keep working. In the afternoon the family took a scenic train ride.
We were to rendezvous at brother M's house afterwards. The big moment we had been planning & looking forward to for weeks had arrived. Had our guests arrived on schedule? And was Dad still clueless? Yes & yes. Actually he admitted he was a little suspicious that we might have something else up our sleeve but gave up on us when the train ride ended uneventfully. He walked right into this one! We had old friends of the family, currently of Oklahoma, hidden away at M's house. It's quite fulfilling to pull a complete surprise over someone, isn't it?
It seems like a minor miracle that we were able to pull 2 extended families (54 people) together from various states on the same weekend. (But then again, these people know a little something about miracles, based on some of the hair-raising close-calls.) These are the kind of friends with which we could pick up right where we left off 11 years ago. So many laughs! Although I wasn't part of the family when they lived in the same community, there are still plenty of stories that can be imagined and found hilarious.
Our electric was off for awhile Sunday morning, but thanks to our new generator, didn't inconvenience us at all. After church, there was lunch of poor man's steak, mashed potatoes, peas, butterhorns w/ peanut butter spread or strawberry jam, tossed salad, cheesecakes- pecan praline, white chocolate raspberry swirl, and chocolate peanut butter cup, and ice cream dessert (for anyone who didn't like cheesecake). I count it a compliment that our guests couldn't tear themselves away until 5:30 despite the looming 13 hour drive ahead of many of them. We came home exhausted and were asleep by the time they hit the state line, but it was worth every minute!
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