Anticipation

Mr hazelh and I set up our party food production line in the kitchen this morning. Together we made 36 minces pies, 36 baby quiches, and 36 crecy pies. Then after lunch I added around two dozen puff pastry cheese twists. Meanwhile the sausages in soy sauce marinated.

Later in the afternoon we sorted out the house in readiness for the arrival of our guests: we cleared the porch completely; transformed the study into a music room; moved all the small kitchen appliances off the worktops and into our bedroom to make room for glasses and drinks; and placed chairs in small groups around the house so that people could sit and chat together in cosy corners.

We put out the carrot batons, celery sticks, baby tomatoes, and tangerines just before everyone arrived. Around the same time we brought the fizz inside from the cellar.

I moved a little more slowly than usual as we completed these tasks and struggled a bit with breathlessness when helping to move furniture, but otherwise was fine. It is astonishing to think that I was feeling so ill just a couple of days ago.

Jon was the first of our guests to arrive at 18:15. The last to leave were stalwarts of the kitchen disco Nadinepierce and Dr S at 02:15.  Over the course of the nine hours we ate, drank, and made merry in a manner that would have delighted my party legend father. I'm so glad that we decided to scale down our Christmas drinks party (in terms of the number of guests), rather than cancel it completely.

There were several other blippers at the party. Here are some of their blips of the evening:

* nadinepierce captured Jon and Darcie in the kitchen.
* Claire wore some amazing party shoes, photographed by ArcLight.
* Ridgeback13 provides the evidence that I am in much better health now than I was earlier in the week.

I blip my glass from my position on the sofa waiting for the guests to arrive. You can tell that it's my glass because my name is on it.

Exercise today: walking (12,024 steps).