Martini Night

Michael left for the first of a 2 day workshop on fund raising on Monday morning (4/25), while I headed to my studio to cut more muslin for bases for my new “empty drawer” project.  I got almost all of the blocks cut out by the time my meeting started at NOON.  For the first time, the Volunteer Club has decided to have a fund raiser in October, and we are doing a chocolate sampling, champagne swilling, dance.  I think we had a really good meeting and covered all of the points of things we need to do.  Paula came down as a consultant on the project (she has done LOTS of big parties in the Lake House and had many worthwhile suggestions) then she stayed afterwards just to talk.  She just got back from a 2 week cruise through the Panama Canal and she got sick 5 days before the end of the cruise :~(.  She was pretty miserable and couldn’t wait to get home.  After she left I spent an hour on the community calendar trying to figure out when we could have the Chocolate Bash.  We already had a date reserved, but it is opposite the “Halloween Bash” and several people at the meeting explained that that is also a dance and very well attended.  They thought we were lose out by competing with that, hence the search for a new date.  I wrote down some potential dates and headed up to the lodge to see if I could talk to the scheduler.  She wasn’t available (only available between 9 and 3), but I ran into 2 martini ladies and we sat and talked for over an hour.  I just had time to read my book for 1/2 an hour when I got home before it was time to get dressed and head out to martini night with a theme of “April in Paris”.  Alice made crustless quiche bites, 

mushrooms stuffed with French Onion Soup flavors (even though I don't really like mushrooms, these were YUMMY!), 

a Nicoise salad, 

and baked brie with an apricot/almond glaze:

Everything was delightful and with the second martini (which was called a French Kiss) 

she served a Napolean dessert, 

which looked exactly like Loree’s éclair cake from a few weeks ago.  The drinks and food were wonderful, but the talking and playing TABOO was better!  I got home just after 10 and read my book for a bit before bed.