As oppressive and dismal as the morning appeared, it was
gratifying that the afternoon was equally lovely. But I am getting ahead of
myself…
The rain continued more-or-less all morning. Saga didn’t
want to go out again; even when I was out in the garage dealing with setting-up
the beverage station and the picnic tables, she cowered in her kennel.
The first guest, Auntie Judy, arrived with stories of the
torrential rains that she had driven through and the fear she had had that the
party was going to be a wash-out. But with the along with the much anticipated
company, the arrival of the guests brought a noticeable change in the weather.
Within minutes of the arrival of my aunt, came the arrival of the sun. 
The weather for the rest of the day was excellent! We
probably had twenty or twenty-five people there… I was a bit too busy to
count. When I wasn’t chatting with my
relatives, I was helping-out in the kitchen. I did take a lot of pictures, but
then so did my Aunt Jen (who always has her camera with her when she comes) and
for the first time, the next generation got into the act.
My cousin, Joel – actually my second cousin, once-removed –
is a photographer and he brought his camera gear with him. This picture of me
is one of his, as is the close-up of my cufflink. He really has a good eye (and
a camera that is worthy of envy!) and his pictures turned-out great!
And of course, there was food! What party at my relatives’
place would be complete without a sumptuous surfeit of sustenance? We had food, and drink, conversation, and
company. It was an excellent day!
No family gathering would be complete without cards… so of
course a few spontaneous games broke-out. I think I miss the cards almost as
much as the company when I am at home. NOBODY plays cards here! At least,
nobody that I know plays cards.
So after the cards, the food, and the conversation came the
opportunities to take portraits and finally the cake. And lest you feared we
practiced restraint of any kind: the party (officially, the “Spring
Open-House”) unofficially celebrates my dad’s birthday and that of my twin
cousins who share the date. For this we had three cakes and an ice cream cake –
lest we run out!
The day was perfect for the party and the rain held-off for
the duration and resumed after sunset. What can I say? My family has always
been lucky! Not that we would have let the rain stop us from having a good
time, but it is nice when even nature gets into the spirit of the day!
Wherever you are today I hope that you have had the chance
to spend time with your family and friends!
No comments:
Post a Comment