STARSTRUCK

Saturday night our old neighborhood had their annual Christmas progressive dinner. We are so pleased that they still include us. There were about 30 people this year. The guests list varies each year. The organizers stay the same, but each year there are new neighbors. We are the only ones who live elsewhere.

We start at the appetizer house. We wander around from person to person to talk. There are lots of hugs and laughing. Champagne, wine, and a variety of great foods are brought. The table is full of deviled eggs, crab, cheeses, veggies and dips, nuts, and lots of other stuff I never got to. Our neighborhood does a party well.

The second house was the entrée course. Tables are set up for a sit down dinner. Fine china, linens, crystal, and silver are used. Candles all over provide a festive look to the setting. It is an incredibly beautiful setting. We had ham, turkey loaf, beef tenderloin, salad, mixed veggies, and a mushroom potato dish. And again champagne and wine were poured.

The third house was dessert and wines. Again we wander and eat and talk. We had cakes, pies, cookies, torts. Wonderful sweets were there. People stand around the piano and sing Christmas carols. And as at each house there were the neighbors to visit with.

Some of these old neighbors we see through the year and some this party is the only time we see them. It is so good to be with friends during the holidays. We laughed and gossiped, and talked serious stuff. It was a lovely evening. Except for . . .

One of the neighbors is a very famous actress who sometimes attends neighborhood parties. She and her husband wander in and wander out. You aren’t sure which course they will show up for, if at all. God forbid you should sit where someone has decided she might sit. And they say children are cruel.

We had a wonderful evening. We met new interesting people, renewed old friendships, and laughed and laughed. Merry Christmas.