wine parties

this weekend was fun. quan tao & i had 2 back to back wine parties & though different, both were fun. mind you, i don't usually have fun at my own parties but these were ok. plus dogs were on good behaviour for the most part & quan tuo was great too!

part 1
friday night was a bit hectic. supply shopping after work (it was busy so i couldn't take a nice stroll to chinatown as i imagined i could during the work day) & it was heavy!! quan tuo was already home when i got in & he was busy moving furniture around (for party lounge mode) & tidying up while i made food. the dogs were a bit confused since they weren't readied to go out. that's because our dogwalker was scheduled to come & get them but they didn't know that! the menu for friday included: 2 steaks marinated, grilled & chopped up with garlic, hamon serrano & chorizo with spanish almonds, beet salad, bruschetta on the spicy side, lots of cheese & quince, among other things. we drank about 13 bottles of wine (mostly from the wine sale a bunch of us went in on). smoked a lot! a few kung fu people came with their own people & a couple of friends of the non kung fu persuasion. the party didn't officially end til 8:30am saturday which included some clean up, a quick dogwalk & then a much deserved rest. i didn't feel like i really got a chance to talk to everyone but that's the deal when you are the host of a party larger than 8. but it was nice to see everyone & the flat was wicked comfortable & the balcony well used.

we awoke late in the afternoon & had to dash off to tenzin's bday party in red hook. thanks to kat kayla for the van! when we got there most of the puppies had already gone BUT tenzin's father, scrappy, the airedale was there! we also got to see snickers his brother & twin until about 1 year old. now they look so different from one another! harriet is so wonderful to have everyone over at the community garden area by her house again. machiavelli, tenzin, quan tuo & i hung out a while. i couldn't believe that scappy is only 7 because machiavelli is 7 (going on 8) & he is much younger in spirit & action than scrappy. then again mac didn't father 12 of the sweetest pups in the world! quan tuo & i grabbed a snack in the area before heading off to the grocery & taking a nap!

part 2
quan tuo was in charge of most of the food except the bacon wrapped scallops i made. the food included his delicious steak nachos, sliced pine apple, more cheese & crackers, edamame, among other things. this party included more dog owner & other friends but some kung fu folks did appear. it was nice & relaxed. lots of balcony action & it ended on the earlier side. lots of smoking & drinking beer, whisky, black bush & champagne (thanks charles!). it was fun. we cleaned up a bit more before bed this time. all the dishes in the sink & then a nice, well-deserved sleep.

sunday
quan tuo & i slept in til about noon & then i ran the dogs amok for a short time (til them tongues were hanging out!) & then we ate some left overs & delicious ham & rice (hadn't eaten rice since lunch friday!) then spent the day napping off & on on the couch(es) to science programs on the telly. eventually i got up, brushed the dogs on the balcony & then our friend revi came by! it was nice to hang out with her a bit. she is heading off to israel & morocco & has inspired travel envy in me like you would not believe! oh i dream of moroccan caves....
we didn't really have dinner, we just had multiple snacks throughout the evening & finally i could take no mores & had to go to sleep in my bed! quan tuo eventually came to bed which was great. dogs had a quick break in the evening & stayed in all night. they were exhausted too though. tenzin is able to sleep when people are over but not mac! so we all got some good sleep last night.

great weekend in all. it's great to know that quan tuo & i can have good parties with cooperation & break up the entertaining so it's not all on one person plus not being in charge of music alleviated what is usually a wretched pain in the arse for me! i promise not to be so crabby next time (fri) now that we have a swing of things & understand each other a bit more.

now back to reality. still nice weather but having to stay at my desk really requires MORE CHI!
amituofo!