T Stands For Party Hearty

I know several of you wanted photos of the time I spent with friends last Sunday, but I didn't take a single photo.  Sad, but true.  Others wanted to see the photos of my friends when we got together last Wednesday, so I made sure I had my camera in hand, at least through the meal.  I originally didn't intend for this to be a T post, but I really had nothing else to show that would have been interesting.

I started long before the others arrived by burning the very first fire in my chiminea this summer.  You can tell it's the first because the rocks are clean, since I always clean and wash them before I put the chiminea away each year.  And of course, I save the ash for other projects, like dyeing or adding to my compost pile.

I brought all the food I had purchased the day before that did not need refrigerating, to the side table on my really dirty deck.  It made me realize how little work I had done out back since the party I had over Independence Day (July 4).   I had already cleaned this area, so was ready to move on.

When I brought the cups, lids, and plastic utensils out, I realized I needed to rearrange the side table, because it made no sense to me the way it was.  And if it made no sense to me, it wouldn't make sense to my guests, either.

It was also time to check on the fire again.  What a mess I still had to clean up. 

Next, I hung little glowsticks that have long lasting light inside them.  I thought they would be great light sources when night came.

As I was creating guacamole, my guests arrived.  The oil is for the foil I'll use to place carrots, potatoes, and onions on that I have waiting in the fridge.  I plan to make soap soon, so that's why I bought the large container of oil.  I also use it in my water candles.  One winter I went through a 35 gallon container of that oil while burning the water candles.  The only thing that stopped me was I ran out of wicks.

It looks like I need to clean my camera lens, too.

My friend Scott brought his friends from work.

In fact, they had just gotten off work.  I was glad I had started early.

Scott checked the fire,

then had a cup of coffee.  By this time, we had dismantled the table and gotten rid of the piece of concrete that held the old umbrella stand in place.  I had a new umbrella stand that I was really anxious to try, too.

While I was finishing the guacamole, Scott put the veggie packets in the chiminea.

Rearranging the wood to accept the veggie packets created a LOT of smoke, and I was surprised it showed so well in my camera lens.

Things got rather hectic after that, when I got out the charcoal and started the fire in my really, really old smoker/grill.  It was also time to bring out the rest of the condiments and such that had been refrigerated.

I did manage a few minutes to take photos when Scott found a swallowtail.  I would NOT have known what it was had he not told me.

I couldn't believe how close it let me get,

and how still it stayed,

while I took a few photos (have I mentioned how much I LOVE my camera?).

Next it was time to eat.  I made lemonade, but Scott and I both drank coffee the entire time.

You can see the old cinder block that originally held the table's umbrella stand in place.  Bobby (shown in photo) called it "Thor's hammer."

After the meal of hot dogs, hamburgers, and veggie packets, came the sliders.

Ice cream sliders, that is! 

Seems everyone was grabbing for one, and apparently, Scott got in the way of treats.  These were made using vanilla wafers and ice cream.  They were wonderful.

After about an hour or so of music (there's apparently an app for that on some phones) and great story telling, it started to sprinkle, so we had to move the party to the kitchen.  Clean-up had been quick because I had plenty of help.  Of course, I moved my camera to my office so it didn't get wet, and forgot all about it.

Chris wanted to know if my back yard was as large as my front yard.   My Sunday friends never went out here, because I would have been ashamed of this.  As I've mentioned before, although I have central heating and air conditioning, I keep a small window unit in the office to keep it cool because of all the electronics.

I have only edged and trimmed twice this year out back,

and the entire back yard needs to be trimmed, edged, and mowed.  You can see I've moved the cinder block until I can figure out where to recycle it.

At least I had cleaned the area before the party and before it rained.

I even remembered to place the top on the chiminea so it didn't get wet inside.

And finally, this is where I often do my resist dyeing, fabric bleaching, and other art that requires either water or a clothes line.  Yes, this is a horrible table, but it serves my purpose at the moment.  Maybe in a year or two I'll buy a new one, but now that I have a new umbrella stand that I can remove when I want to place a tablecloth on the table, I won't mind it so much.

I promise to NOT be so long winded next week, as I'm sure most of you are ready to share your own adventures this T Tuesday.  Share any drink related post, link it below, and Bleubeard and I, along with the T gang will be by to visit.  Be sure the post is in some way, drink related, whether it's art, music, books, sketches, scrapbook pages, photography, or some place you visited while out and about.