Christmas begins in DC

On Sunday Steve and I went down to DC to Margie's house for her annual holiday brunch party. Kota has been doing very well on his medications, so well, that I felt no guilt about leaving him and Rosie Lee for the afternoon.

 He's reclaimed the top perch on the kitty tower, the throne he'd had to vacate for a couple of months until the doctors could get him stabilized, and now he's feeling so much better, it's a delight to see him getting back to his antics and regaining his cheeky expressions. We hike every day now regardless of the temperature. If it's cold he'll go so far then stop and ask me to pick him up, when I'll either tuck him inside my jacket, or if really chilly, wrap him up in his blanket which I sling over my shoulder until he needs it. He knows full well he's getting special treatment and is lapping up every second of it. Which I am too.
Margie had sent a last minute message to the crew requesting that we bring more males, as apparently she was a bit short, noting that most of her acceptances had been from girls. Richard decided to have a little fun with her e-mail, answering with, "Great! More guys! Do you need burly guys? Surly guys? Girly guys? Squirrels guys? Would you like them with a house? Would you like them with a mouse?"
I had to give my two pennies worth too, by responding with a little rhyme,
"Burly, not surly.

With a pet, like a cat, 

Nought resembling a rat.

Single, likes to mingle,

Urbex on first date,

Now that would be great!"

Margie ignored us both, making me laugh even more. I was arriving with my quota of guy friends as I was picking up Steve and then driving to Rob's house, where we'd collect some firewood he'd kindly chopped for me, and then I'd take him also to Margie's house.

This afternoon was destined to be one of many laughs for me, which God knows I needed, and they started at Rob's house. I spotted his Christmas tree and asked when he was finishing it. "It's done!" he said and went to turn the lights on. There was only a handful of ornaments decorating the lonely boughs but Rob was very proud of it and his big grin as he posed next to his tree made me laugh out loud.

 We arrived at Margie's and the first thing I noticed was the fireplace. Not the one in the lounge area but the one hanging from the ceiling in the kitchen, logs crackling and flames leaping.So amazingly realistic that Steve tried to warm his hands on it and was bitterly disappointed at the lack of a result. We had imagined the logs crackling too, since there wasn't any sound from the monitor, but it was funny.

Margie's beautiful paper daffodils catching the afternoon sun. She grows these bulbs every year.

We had arrived an hour or so late but already the food was disappearing fast. The turkey was being demolished right in front of us so we quickly grabbed plates to snaffle a few mouthfuls. Folks were really tucking in, so many dishes of stuffing mashed potatoes, veggies, with sides of paté and crackers, cheese and relishes, fruit and cakes. Food was arriving all the time as new guests poured through the front door, and soon the rooms were packed. There were so many people I wanted to chat with but we were finding ourselves gradually being edged towards the kitchen area and so we decided to brave the outdoors and claim the small patio down below.

I was surprised twice as I went down the steps, once, noting that the weather was lovely, only a very slight chill in the air, and then I also realized Margie's patio was bare. Usually it's a little grotto area out here, vines and creepers and roses climbing up trellises on the back of the house, up the steps and over the fence, hiding the alleyway. But Margie had had a new brick floor laid out here so this year had not been able to grow much, needing to keep the area clear for the builders. We pulled out the chairs and sat as we had every year, looking up at the tree with its twinkling orange lights. And at a large flock of sparrows who were nestled on the small branches above us, staring down as we looked up. Of course the inevitable happened and Rob was left with a sparrow signature on his jeans, causing the rest of us to laugh uproarously as he speedily vacated the bench. The birds continued to sit above us, chattering and twittering but no more presents were left.

My shirt was supposed to show a twinkle in the sunlight but the photo doesn't show that. Rainbow colors would shoot from the tiny sequins as they sparkled in the sun. I do love things that glitter! Steve posed with a horrendous 'pretend poo' that Margie had got to play a prank on Tony, but once he brought it out to us, it was squeezed so much by everyone that the odious white contents oozed out and it was tossed away. Over the fence I think, but I was glad to see the back of it, it was truly awful.

Much later I headed back inside to see if there was anyone I hadn't chatted with. I noticed a few people were missing from last year's event but there was still a great crowd. The food table was getting bare but somebody had placed some superbly delicious cheese scones in the middle, which were soft and warm. Steve picked out some 'sweets' from a Hong Kong box, which I guessed Richard had brought back from his travels. I didn't like the look of them and Steve noted that they tasted 'odd', unable to identify the flavor. Enough said, I wasn't trying them.

The party was still going strong out on the patio, our little crew still stuffing their faces and braving the white missiles from the sparrows above, who seemed to be determined to remain in the tree, however much noise we made. A cake appeared for Emily's belated birthday, another odd creation, peanut butter carrot cake. Who'd have thunk? Steve and I did try a small morsel of that but I'd had enough of eating for the day. There had been some wonderful creations, Margie's punch being one of the best, as usual. This year it was a banana rum concoction. I had no idea what else it contained, but it was delicious. It would have been easy to simply stand there with a straw running directly into the punch bowl, but sadly, by the time that idea crossed my mind, the bowl was empty. This was my cue for us to leave. I had a little puddy tat at home who needed his meds and it was a work day the next morning. We left the party to continue into the evening and left the noisy bright city for our quiet rural homes, my cheeks aching from the laughter still sounding in my ears.