12/25/09 Surprises!, MKate's Fab Party

Spoke to the kids this morning. Rain and family having a fun time at the Purik's. I spoke to John. He shared with me about his dad's death. He said that he was upset after visiting another sick relative. He went to the beach and sat on the rocks listening to the ocean. Suddenly he knew that a big change was coming. His amazing father died during the night. Very unexpected.

I went downstairs to make coffee. That's the first thing I do when I get downstairs. I opened the cupboard and there--right in front of the tins of coffee-- a game card (which I love) for my pet society. I was so excited. Luke knows how I love these game cards. Then after breakfast, I opened my computer and OMG there was another game card. I was so excited. Luke knows me so well.

Em and Bobby getting ready to take off for Beverly Hills. Chasing movie stars is what Bobby likes best (along with cooking.) Sadly Em tells me there was stress with one of the kids. I hope the trip works out.

After breakfast, Luke and I head for MKate's for her annual Chirstmas party. The house looks beautiful. I love her ceramic tree. I watch her preparing fish. (she's an amazing cook) (I'm lucky that I know so many amazing cooks) I learned how to prepare the filet and coat it with spices and a bit of flour --not too much. Everything else was already prepared. Enice and John came and Kay was there. Kris and Dana came after awhile. Much later Jennifer and Kevin came with Max and Abby.

I had some very good white wine. MKate loves to entertain. Lots of food and wine. Deserts that fill up the counter. A lot of food. I take my diet pills (healthy) and am prepared. I was careful. I had the fish (good), a delicious green bean dish (I only took a little), veggies, and home made cranberry sauce. So good. Also, I had a small amount of desert. MKates little chocolate cakes with chocolate goo inside--yummm. I also like the apple tart with layers.

The conversation was fun. We all laughed a lot. When the little kids came, I loved watching them open their presents. Max and Abby are great kids.

I bought a painting. MKate's son Kris is an artist. He painted an oriental themed painting of a bird. I've always wanted to buy this painting. Tonight--I BOUGHT IT! Yay.

When everyone left, MKate and Jeff, Luke and I had some time to visit. Jeff brought out a fab music video--5 fabulous musicians got together (among them Tom Petty and George (one of the Beetles) and they just started jammin. They wrote songs and sang. It was like being at a private concert. The DVD also had footage of the work they did together. We all loved the experience. It felt intimate. Like we were sitting around with these great musicians.

A great Christmas day with friends.