Ho Ho Holy Mess in my Kitchen

Cranberry/Chrysanthemum centerpieces...

Whew. What a day that was.

Rob (and therefore, I) hosted a going away party for a long time, very loyal staffer at Chez Nous. And not just any party...no. That would not do. With Rob as chef du cuisine and myself as sous chef, Rob whipped up both his signature interpretation of Paul Prudhomme's Chicken Big Mamou on Pasta and Shrimp Diane. For *twenty* people. Despite his really admirable efforts to prepare much in advance, the poor host still spent over half the party at the stove. Thank goodness we have a very open floor plan so that the revelers gathered at the kitchen table and in the family room were not out of earshot...because Rob certainly could NOT allow them to gather and not monitor their conversation....

Great crowd, really. The majority of Rob's crew have been on board since before Haley was born so we're well acquainted and happy to be together. There have been a handful of new positions added to his supervision in recent years and they seem an affable enough lot. There were kids, there were newlyweds, there were lots of grown ups for me to talk with... good food, good fun. Rob can sure 'nuff do the cajun thing.

Other than smiling, keeping the food on plates and everyone happily engaged, I had little official role other than responsibility for music which Rob stipulated could be anything I wanted so long as it was 1. instrumental, and 2. included some of that hep cat Lyman Medeiros' work... I enjoyed being able to synchronize the music throughout the house via my Squeezeboxes; that's much better than the single stereo blaring in one room or the schizophrenia of seperate selections depending on the room...

The event was scheduled to begin at noon. The first guest arrived at ...... noon. Bam! Boys and Girls: that is JUST uncalled for. I was not yet even in the shower, having JUST finished the mopping. Folks finally drifted out at 5-ish and just as we were settling into the post-party glow, snuggled into blankets in the living room with books and tunes... ding dong! The curiously missing guest arrived asking, "oh no! Am I the First Guest??" Oh. Not by a long shot, Dear. Thank goodness Rob directed her the other way through the house so I could dash upstairs and change out of my jammies...