Finishing up the year

Last night hubby and I went to two "open house" parties. The first was held by my boss, the farmer, in his improved and expanded old farmhouse in what is called steeplechase country. There were nervous little waiters passing around all kinds of exotic tidbits to women whose racks of rocks could choke thier pricey livestock. These things get easier as the years pass, I've learned to hide my shyness and trepidation behind a glued-on grin as I tell people how fabulous they look and comment on the oysters etc. And I've never had watermelon chunks with feta and bacon, have you? No, don't try it, the crab fluff in wantons are tastier...The second party was in a modest Bolton Hill basement with a much more diverse crowd, with equaly groaning boards. A good portion of the guests picked instruments out of baskets and jammed on. For this the smiles and comradarie were genuine. Today I worked off my gluttony hauling some of Mum's old stuff to the thrift store loading dock, which was open for receipted donations. ( buying all one's clothes second hand and redonating the usables for deductions makes them about free. It's greener, too.) Tommorow is another day of excitement in the field of financial services!