The Dinner Party That Wasn't

Have you ever been so psyched up about something only to watch it crumble at your feet in 10 million pieces while you watch helplessly? That is how I feel about the dinner party that fell apart. My dad got sick on Thursday night, and they did not make it to Fairhope for the Bostic family Christmas and my mother’s very fancy birthday party that I had been planning for several weeks. Here was the menu:

Mesclun salad with avocado, cranberries and roasted walnuts
Gruyere-garlic mashed potatoes
Roasted broccoli with buttered walnuts
Beef tenderloin with cranberry-port reduction and gorgonzola butter
Apple pie cheesecake with warm caramel-apple topping

Doesn’t that sound good? I had prepped all the dishes , had my $54 tenderloin marinating and my table set when I got “the call.” I know it seems silly to be so upset over such a trivial matter, but I really am still depressed about the situation. Aaron and Sandi came on Friday afternoon with all the presents. We went to eat at Gambino’s Friday night hoping that dad would make a miraculous recovery and come Saturday. That didn’t happen. So on Saturday, we opened our Christmas presents without our parents for the first time ever. It was really very sad. Then we cooked all the afore-mentioned food for my mother’s birthday and ate it without her. Again, very sad. Did I mention that Justin has either food poisoning, a bacterial infection or intestinal flu? Yeah, that also happened on Friday, so he didn’t get to eat my good food either.

All complaining aside, we (well, I) had a great time with Aaron and Sandi. I am so glad that they still came to see us. My brother loves me! And if this is the worst that has happened to me in 2007, then I am doing okay. Right? Right! Here are some pictures:

Sandi doesn't like dogs, but she loves Isabelle and tolerates Ollie. Isabelle's shirt says "naughty" and Olivers says "nice." He is just misunderstood.

Bless his heart... This is what he looked like all weekend. And still does. Pray for him. Check out my t-shirt quilt!The Chappell family and their treasures.

One of Sandi's gifts from us. She loves being a Bostic!

The sweater we got Aaron was too little. Oops. I exchanged it and actually got $1.90 back. Odd, but nice.

Naughty Isabelle chewing her bone on the tree skirt, where she is not allowed to chew bones. Her birthday was on Thursday, so she was probably punishing us for not celebrating like we did for her brother. Sorry, Isabelle.

My beautiful table! It looked better in real life.

The yummy cheesecake that DID NOT CRACK! Amazing.
Mom and Dad are hoping to come to Fairhope the weekend after Christmas. I held their Christmas presents and my mom's birthday presents for ransom until they do. Dusty, I did send yours home with Aaron and Sandi. I hope they make it in one piece. Happy Monday to all!