soup afterglow

1. Dawn not only had sliced at least six types of bread, prepared a luscious salad and various toppings, set a gorgeous table with fancy place ware for fifteen, but also supplied a variety of wines to delight!

2. Dawn also prepared fifteen attendee gift bags, gift-wrapped five raffle prizes, and prepared four deluxe prize bags for the cheftestants! That's Jenn helping to distribute.

3. My little bag bag received simply for being there contained all these goodies! There's a dish towel that proclaims "Timing Is Everything", a shotglass that measures teaspoons and tablespoons, new measuring spoons, a package of chicken bouillon, a container of parsley flakes, and a bottle of Flavor Boss Smoky Apricot BBQ Sauce - wow!!! Every bag was slightly different, but similar. How fortunate that I got the Apricot BBQ Sauce!

4. Dawn had a game to play, as she does for all her parties. This time it was Soup Trivia and I got all 15 questions correct! Just for knowing about Borscht and Ribollita and Tom Yum Gai and Vichyssoise and Gazpacho. As I told them, I eat a lot of soup! And now I have this cookbook that's just perfect for me: Cook It Quick. Right place, right time! It was given gift-wrapped, so the Universe made sure her hand landed on that particular one!

5. Dawn had a joke book, too, to keep things moving along! What is a ghost's favorite soup? Scream of Broccoli! What do you do when you notice two flies are in your soup? Find out what swim stroke they're doing! Hahahaha!

6. Dawn also had questions for us to answer so we could know each other better. The game tonight was Five Fingers, to count off on your hand answers to five questions. Those were: who is your favorite person, where is your favorite place, what skill have you learned, what is a favorite memory, and what is a favorite little treat? My answers were: my first niece, Christina Ann; Savannah, with all its trees; sewing; playing outdoor chess with Miyah and Chloe; and watching "Keeping Up Appearances". Most of the women are married, so their favorite people are their husbands. I just loved hearing everyone's answers to those questions... and learning more about them!

7. Many thanks to newcomer Julie for sharing her stash of alcohol-free drinks with me! She'd brought a six-pack of the Mango Margarita cans, planning to switch to them after a glass of wine. When she noticed that I was drinking wine, she offered one to me... and it was delicious! Then she gave me another! I know they didn't have alcohol in them, but they made me feel like I was participating in the ritual of drinking with friends. Very nice, as that has been absent from my life since A-fib arrived.

8. Many thanks also to Gina! She made four different types of biscotti as dessert and at the night's end, she gave me the rest of them!!! Cherry with vanilla, blueberry with lemon, pineapple with coconut, and cranberry with honey - no strawberry at all. Hooray! I'm so glad we had a chance to sit beside each other last night!