Weekend Update

I think a weekend update may be in order. It was kind of a hectic weekend, but ultimatey a fairly good one.

The weekend began when I received a call from Chiara on Thursday explaining that they were evacuating Houston and possibly on their way to Amarillo. I stayed near the phone Thursday and made preparations at our house in case they were needing a place to stay.

That day ended with the first rehearsal of the 08-09 season. After the hectic pace of the day it was pleasant to be able to sit and enjoy some music.

Friday came and went. Well, it was a little more busy than that. Bryan had a gig on Friday night so I planned to spend the evening by myself - a calm evening at home! After a trek to the grocery store I began prepping for our first dinner gathering. I spent the evening prepping deviled eggs, pasta salad, potato salad (i recently mastered my mom's delicious recipe), and bacon wrapped jalapenos. Phew. That's a bit of cooking. My eyes were also tuned to the TV as I watched the weather reports of Hurricane Ike.

Saturday morning met Bryan and I with more work. He headed to the TV station to broadcast the Tri-State Fair parade and I headed to the office to copy music for youth orchestra.

After I finished my work I headed to the house to prep a dessert for the dinner party - Triple Chocolate Cheesecake. Martha Stewart, can I just say you know how to make a cheesecake! This was the first cheesecake recipe that I had made that did not crack or stick to the sides of the pan. It was phenomonal!

Bryan and I joined the folks from the TV station for lunch at Country Pride. It's apparently a tradition that follows the Tri-State Fair Parade Coverage. That was the best Chicken Fried Steak I've eaten.

Saturday the party prep continued as Bryan and I prepped the house for our guests. Yardwork, housecleaning, and such...

We had invited Bryan's brother - Steve - and his family over for dinner. Their son had helped us move into the house and we promised him a steak for his efforts. So, that's what we had. Well, actually - Phillip had a steak and the rest of us had brats! ;-) Good food, good conversation, and fun filled the evening. Bryan's sister-in-law asked me if I had taken pictures of my food because it looked fabulous. Regretfully, I must admit I did not take any pictures. I'll have to work on that for our next gathering - as I am sure there will be one.

Votes for the couches were also placed as Bryan's family confessed that they thought both sets of furniture should stay in the living room. It's the thought that we are currently going with - it all fits, so why not?

Sunday morning included a visit from Kelly and Kevin (kelly had to make a work delivery) - but we seized the opportunity to give them a tour of the house. :) We hope to have another party soon at which we can welcome our friends to our home.

And to round off the weekend, there was youth orchestra rehearsal.

Phew. Is that really a weekend? Yeppers! And we are now off and running with symphony rehearsals.

More later...