A party

We did this before: we had the so-called backyard shuffle in the Summer, where the 4 families from the neighborhood cooked different foods, then we went from house to house, sampling. Today it was slightly different in that we all went straight to Sun and Jas, our backdoor neighbors. Everybody brought food, the hosts provided wine, beer and desserts. Meg made cabbage rolls, which were a huge success, after initial disappointment. The neighbors still remember the noodles she made last time and were expecting the same.

The evening started with apple cider and a casual conversation, with kids playing in the basement. Then we all went to a buffet style table and loaded plates with food. After this hard work, I picked the guitar. Wine and beer was flowing freely, so was unfortunately the conversation too, especially during the guitar play. The Argentinian neighbors clearly enjoyed singing and listening to guitar music, so did the Indian hosts. But the other two families, Asian Canadians, weren't in the mood and kept on chatting, making me feel like an unpaid pub musician.

Finally, the kids were called, the younger of the two Argentinian boys had a birthday few days earlier, so the cake was brought up, candles lit. The boy especially liked having his birthday song sang with the guitar.

After midnight, coffee was brewed and the party broke up at 1:30. Some kids were asleep and had to be carried home, other hopped around us adults on the last reserves of otherwise boundless energy. It was a pleasant evening amongst friends.