Hippity-Hoppity Easter dinner...

Yours truly decided last Thursday to make an Easter dinner this Sunday. Yes, I am aware that most normal people don't plan a holiday meal 3 days before the holiday but I've never claimed to be normal. It wasn't so much that I wanted to celebrate the religious aspects of the holiday, I just wanted to eat ham and mashed potatoes. Luckily my friends were free on short notice so there were 8 of us for dinner yesterday. Tristan pitched in with the cleaning and the house was actually looking presentable--well except for the office but all the crap had to go somewhere....I was making stuff all day but I still didn't seem to time it right and dinner was not on the table at 5pm as planned (more like 5:45?). Anyway, at least we put out a bunch of appetizers so there was no coup! Our group, clockwise from the left--Tristan, Darcy, Mark, Michele, (picture Grady's girlfriend Yumiko in the empty chair--she came after I took the picture) Grady and Grady's brother Randy.
Here's the spread. I was so excited to use some of our wedding gifts such as the placemats, napkins, the dragonfly napkin rings and the red goblets. I thought we had 5 yellow plates and 5 red but somehow we only have 7 altogether now so I got a purple plate. We had ham, Tristan's chicken enchilada suisa, mashed potatoes (which Darcy mashed with a whisk because I stupidly cooked them in a pot that was so deep the hand mixer couldn't reach the bottom--whoops! Thanks Darcy!), green beans, corn and biscuits. Michele and Mark brought lovely pink tulips, baked beans and some cheezy au graten potatoes--yum! Darcy supplied us with chocolate mouse cakes for dessert. We also had key lime pie and a strawberry pie and Yumiko brought these fabulous deserts that were little works of art. Pear tarts, chocolate tarts with little crepes, and a few other pastries that were all hand made and yummy!

In preparation for company, we decided to have Magellan and the other kitties "sheathed" with soft paws so we could roll out the rug we bought last Saturday and rolled up again the next day as the cats had attempted to destroy it overnight. Tristan picked orange to match Magellan, and of course Samantha & Amanda had to have orange too because you get like 40 in a pack. They are little vinyl things that you glue onto the cats nails. Don't be horrified! It's all edible. The cats can eat the glue and the claw covers and be just fine! We had to clip their nails first then you put glue in the little claw thingy and stick it on. Tristan came up with a way to hold them down--straddling them on the bed without sitting on them while I filled the things with glue. I think Tristan was more scarred by the whole experience (literally) than the cats were. They licked at them for a while but now they don't seem to care that they are on. They all look like they had their nails done. It seems to be a good alternative to declawing your cat which is cruel and should be illegal. And our rug is still intact!

Since the house was actually clean, I decided to take some pictures of our living room for you all to see. Especially my family and friends who keep asking for pictures. And yes, curtains are on the "to do" list. I'm thinking whispy gold sheers on either side of a taupy suede-like roman shade. I'll probably have to make it myself which means it will be up some time in 2008 when I have time....



This is a shot looking into the dining room. Once I finish all the dishes from yesterday, I'll take a shot of the kitchen/dining room. You'll have to wait for the other rooms because they still have a ways to go.... and no knitting updates because, since my shoulder has practically imobilized me, I have been forbidden to knit. I know, it's been awful. I don't know how to keep my hands occupied while I watch tv. I've done a little bit of quilting instead because it consists of smaller movements and doesn't involve my shoulder muscles as much. Oy! maybe I'll feel better once school is finished for the semester--only 5 weeks left!