25 teenagers, Dish Rags, and no camera (posted by Ann)

Steve leaves for school on Saturday, which on my calendar is less than one week away. I don't think it's really sunk in yet for me or for Steve, but preparations are well underway. There has been a parade of boxes going that direction, many phone calls, and lots of things to do and worry about, but we appear to be on track. He'll be visiting Mom and Dad tomorrow through Wednesday, then home for two days, then we leave on Saturday morning Very Early. Don is in Boston this week, so he'll meet us there for the weekend.

Steve decided he wanted to have an end-of-summer party, sort of a farewelll, so I said sure. Then it turned out that he wanted me to cook for 25 teenagers, and I said (gulp) sure. Then I found out that Don wouldn't be here, and I also found out that Steve had decided the menu, which needless to say wasn't hot dogs. So here's what I made in quantities suitable for the ravening hordes:

Ann's Famous Flank Steak
Thai Grilled Chicken
Moon Dust Potatoes
Salad with Grilled Corn, Avocado, Black Beans, Jicama, Tomato, and Onion, with Lime, Honey and Cumin vinaigrette

And of course - Pie. French Silk Pie; Red, White and Blueberry Pie, and Lemon Icebox Pie.

I prepared all of this in one day, all by myself, and served it to 25 teenagers. Whew.

I have to say that they were really nice, very well behaved, offered to help in the kitchen, cleaned up after themselves, thanked me, complimented the food, and in general made me feel good about the next generation. They also ate everything that wasn't nailed down. Regardless of the good behavior, I kicked them all out of the house at 10:30 since I was totally exhausted and I wasn't sure the good behavior would survive unchaperoned. If you know what I mean.

On to Dish Rags - in the middle of said party prep, I got my box!! Tiffany sent me beautiful pink and red stitch markers, which I will really appreciate. For some reason, (see above) I didn't get around to knitting until today, but it's all done and the box is full, labeled, and ready to be mailed to Kelley in Connecticut.

As for the camera, it appears that my camera is now Don's camera and is with him 24 hours a day. He said he'd buy one for himself, but I was really sweet and said "oh, no, don't worry about it!" If someone in this house is getting a new camera, it's ME!!! I'm now officially shopping - I'd like to get a Digital SLR, but I'm a little bit intimidated, so expect posts with no pictures for a while until I get over my angst. Maybe a week or two. Just kidding, Don, just kidding!