Our dinner party last night was fabulous! A great time had by all! Stephen made a wonderful dinner (grilled lamb, tzatziki sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and grill asparagus). Appetizers were baked brie (one with phyllo and one without to accommodate a wheat allergy) served with my favourite crackers (Mary's Gone Crackers Black Pepper). Dessert were those fabulous wheat-free brownies (my sole contribution to the dinner) with a raspberry coulis and a small scoop of ice cream.

I had banished my children to the upstairs to watch a movie until bedtime and they a great job of staying upstairs and going straight to bed after they came down to say good night.

I was striving to make the table look "perfect" for dinner and I realized that I needed some flowers to go with the glassybaby votives in the middle of the table. I thought "I'll just cut a couple of tulips from the garden". Easier said than done. My brilliant idea of trying to climb the retaining wall using a plastic patio chair and nearly stabbing myself in the heart with the kitchen shears when I fell (not once but TWICE) was somewhat successful in that I was able to cut three white tulips (the rest were too far gone). However, getting those three tulips came at the cost of a 30 minute time-out from dinner prep whilst I bandaged my lacerations and abrasions then Stephen plucked 25+ splinters out of my hand which I received in my unsuccessful attempt to break my fall (I grabbed the very old and rotting wooden posts on the retaining wall). If only I had the camera running - I am certain it would be worthy of the $10,000 Grand Prize (if even for stupidity).

Anyway, after a good cry, I went to Safeway to buy myself MORE tulips. The table looked great and I had a good story to share with my guests (while Stephen just shook his head).