General Chat

Sounds like a good family day Allan. Shame about the vase though, when we have little ones coming I must admit that I pack everything breakable away for the duration. Your presents sound rather like my Christmas presents, minus the knives. Years ago senior family members would be presented with smellies, bath salts etc. Now it seems to be booze .......- sign of the times?- :-D :-D

Yep, we are PSD :-D

So, despite one missing family, we started to put the food on the table, first the carrot and celery sticks and the dip; realised we had forgotten the Polish sausage and biscuits and hurriedly put those out. In the meantime crisps had been distributed, a large packet of cheese and onion flavour and the same in plain flavour.

3.30pm the missing family arrive. We now have five children here ranging in age from 14 to 3!

Sandwiches, prawns and salad went out. Everyone seemed to be enjoying them. We had also done some cocktail frankfurters for the kids which went down a treat

Then the children started to chase through the house!

SMASH! A vase in the hallway, which had particular sentimental value and beauty to us, lay shattered in the hall. The only saving grace was that it had been broken by the three year old who was bawling his eyes out.

I then decided to open my presents.

Now, I never before had occasion to wonder what my family thought of me, but on opening the various goodies they must have formed the view that I’m an alcoholic homicidal maniac as I received three bottles of whisky, a numbered bottle of vintage wine a set of steak knives, a set of kitchen knives, and an extremely expensive Japanese stainless steel cleaver!:-D :-D

This view was reinforced when later in the evening my son and his partner presented me with two further bottles of Scotch. ( I don’t count my son as being one of those late as, unfortunately, he had to work and didn’t finish until 6.00pm)

So are you eating leftovers for the next week?

Lizx

Looks like you should have underlined Finger Food.

Normal people (cough)would have waited until they turned up to see what food there was











:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

:-D :-D :-D

:-D :-D

Now, apart from one nephew who has been seconded to Albany for a couple of years and would need a good four hours drive, the rest of the family were all travelling from Perth, which, if there are no incidents on the freeway, would normally take less than two hours, although granted that’s from the city centre and my family all live north of there.

Meanwhile, my daughter is only twenty minutes’ drive from us

2.30pm my brother and SIL turn up. First thing that my sil does is to produce a container of fried rice which she wanted to heat up in the microwave for her ‘lunch’ She then very politely offered some to me. My SIL is an extremely intelligent woman who has a Doctorate in some weird medical related subject (which could explain why she is now working as an Audiologist) but she is not very practical. However, I’m surprised that in her rush to have her lunch, even she failed to notice the food being prepared in the kitchen (OH was preparing the green salad and chicken pieces at the time). :-S

Apart from the fried rice SIL had also brought a banana cake and a boxful of some type of Japanese roll. I should, perhaps, explain the my SIL is Chinese and much prefers Asian food over European style meals.

At around this time the rest of the family, with one exception, turn up virtually together, with various apologies and reasons for being late, for example, booking into the caravan park and having LUNCH!
That could have been my fault as on the invitation that I sent out I did say that we would be serving finger food. To me that means food that you can eat with your fingers rather than a three course hot meal.

I must be the thick one in the family :-D

It's like talking to the kids isn't it.......and then??? :-D :-D :-D

I did, Maggie, and it was checked by OH before being sent. She knows what I'm like.

Between 2.15 and 2.30 Caroline except for one niece and her family who didn't turn up until 3.30pm, so that was twenty of them :-0

And.......Allan.....2.16 everyone turned up at once???

Brian - :-S

Allan - who wrote/ sent out the invitations?

:-D :-D :-D

Friday was a bit of a curate's egg with the puppy (now 9 1/2 months).
We had a training class in the morning which went quite well then went to a pub for lunch with other puppy parents as one of the pups is going off to advanced training shortly.
Gave Bianca a large rawhide chew during the meal which she enjoyed but we didn't watch carefully enough so she ate more of it than we intended.
Went to Sainbury's in the evening and as we entered the foyer she did a poo which we cleared up.
Coming out after shopping she was sick in the car park.
Filled the car with fuel and found that the fuel gauge is mis-reading so will have to get that checked out.
When we go home she was sick again so it was carpet scrubbing time.
So, a good start to the day but then downhill.

OK, so the two chickens were roasting, the house was full of bread, four loaves, two wholemeal and one white sandwich loaves and one white toaster (purchased by me in error) and two dozen bread rolls.

Now the plan was simple in design, but the execution was slightly flawed :-(


The menu consisted of crisps and picky things, carrot and celery sticks, some Polish sausage slices, little biscuits and dip. This was to be followed by mini meat pies, sausage rolls and some mini quiches. Then a chicken salad and a salmon quiche, together with a cold meat platter and prawns. the whole was to be finished with a fruit platter and cheeseboard. There was also a pasta salad and a coleslaw plus a plate of various sandwiches and some honey and soy chicken thighs. A cheesecake was also involved, which had been made the previous day together with the salmon quiche. ;-)

By 2.00pm OH had, by some miracle, prepared the trays for the picky things, the pasta salad and the coleslaw and also the assorted sandwiches as well as the chicken thighs.
2.00pm is important as that was the time I said that the whole shebang would start.

2.00pm came, and went, as did 2.15pm. No guests :-S

Maggie, I don't do hangovers mainly because I try to maintain a certain amount of blood in my alcohol stream.

Caroline, like the Curate's egg it was good in parts; the best part being when they all left :-|

JoyLousie, see my response to Maggie above, although I will admit to having a couple of whiskeys at about 1.00pm to fortify myself for the coming ordeal (non-hangover type) :-D :-D

Allan, you aren't still kalied are you? :-S :-D

I was reading this thinking he needs the hair of the dog great minds Maggie :-D

I'm sure it wasn't all bad Allan......

Hmm. Can we translate 'ordeal' as hangover?

Sounds like you need to lay down and a massage wouldn't come a miss.

Hope to hear how it really was a good birthday party.... :-D :-D

I will, Barbra, I will. :-D

It has taken me all day today to recover from the ordeal, so I'll post later :-0