It’s 11:31 p.m. The guests are gone, except for Terry and Lila tucked away in the spare bedroom. They got here after buying a BMW somewhere in the area. They had gone to several places. Finally they found something they wanted. They will pick it up tomorrow and drive it back to New York. I forgot to ask them where they will park it since they live on Lower Second Avenue still – in the loft building I used to live in. It’s a dicey area – gentry and low-life mixed together, with a soup kitchen nearby. CBGB, a trendy bistro/disco/bar/grunge gathering place was on the other side of the block. I wonder if it is still there. Nothing lasts. I’ll have to ask them in the morning. Terry is interviewing for a job that will base him in Miami and Naples. That means they will be down here most of the time. That would be wonderful.

Oh … the party. It was a success, ‘though three people couldn’t make it. There is food left over, of course and Lila helped me clean up.

The weather calmed down, it was clear and cool but not cold. The boats came – there were 11 in all and they were grand. Some had Christmas music. We yelled, they yelled. One boat was so pleased at our reception, it made a circle in front of our house. Lila and Nadine, who used to be in fashion in Canada, got along really well. After the far-flung guests left, Lila and Terry, Mickey and Nadine and their guests, Toni and Ted, stayed late and we sat around the dining table and talked the New York talk.

My local friend, Terry, who did the food, was the belle of the gathering. Her stuff was so terrific, everyone was overwhelmed. She had smoked salmon with cream cheese, purple onion and capers on french bread, prosciutto wrapped around perfectly cooked asparagus and drizzled with raspberry sauce, a curry/tomato combo that resembled guacamole that one spreads on biscuits, a large veggie platter with a curry dip, crab salad, there was honey baked ham and potato salad, and there was a fruit platter with another dip, also tiny quiche, and mozarella and prosciutto rolls. Even my pasta dish got honorable mention. Nadine looked at me and said, I thought you were going to have a modest offering. I lied, I said.

Lila took some digital pix and will E mail them to me and if I don’t get techie memory loss, I will post. I wore a sleeveless silver sequined top I bought at a local art gallery’s retro room and black sheer pants that I would never wear on a sunny day. Also I resurrected black silk pumps that I haven’t worn in years -- 3 inch heels. I was TALL. I had to be careful not to fall on my face. It has been so long since I did the heel thing.

Nadine brought cream cheese cake as we had agreed she would bring dessert. I had also bought a box of Belgian chocolates and hid them because Ed was gulping them 3 at a time. So, of course, I forgot all about them and found them after everyone left.

I am afraid to get on the scale tomorrow. So it goes.

xx, Teal