The buyer finally called me after 9:00pm last night. I was SO worried about him, because when I spoke to him at 2:30pm he told me it was a 5 hour drive, which meant he should have arrived around 7:30pm. When I didn’t hear from him at 8:30pm I left a message on his cell (which was turned off) and must have sounded like his mother, because I told him I was worried about him.
When I still didn’t hear at 9:00pm, I left another message on his cell (which was still turned off) and I must have sounded like a stalker, because I told him I didn’t understand why he wasn’t calling me and didn’t he know how worried I was about him.
I really WAS worried, because he had only driven an RV once before – the last time he was here to take it to the MOSSY FORD place to be inspected. So, I was rather nervous about a 5 hour trip by himself! Fortunately, all was well and it just took longer than he expected. He’ll be staying at his Mom’s tonight and tomorrow will go to the local DMV for the VIN # verification. Hopefully, all will go well and then he’ll be back home on Monday night.
I was asleep by midnight last night and only got to watch the first 20 minutes of SNL. Amy Poehler wasn’t on – because she had her baby, which they named “Archie.” I think that’s saddling the kid for life, but what do I know.
The star was a guy I never heard of before – Jon Hamm – who currently stars in MAD MEN, a show I’ve never watched (but should, since it takes place in the 1960s and I’m sure the vintage cars, furniture and clothing would thrill me!). He did a great job and it was a fun show. I finished watching it this morning when I woke up!
Last night, while I was watching TV, I cut out a bunch of the Halloween skeletons and owls and I now have enough for all the girls in HR! I’ll put one of each on their desks. They’ll be thrilled!
So, this morning I was waiting for a call or an email from the woman I had tentatively planned to meet today, and I finally heard from her at about 10:30am. She said another day would be better, and I guess I was happy, because I DID buy everything to make the chocolate-covered strawberries! I washed them and laid them all out to dry (you have to be sure the strawberries (or anything you use) is perfectly dry, or the chocolate will clump).
I did some stuff around the apartment and figured out what I was going to wear and then I started melting the chocolate. I started with the milk chocolate. I had a big container of strawberries from COSTCO, so it took me two baking sheets and a small try to fit them all. When they were all in the fridge I jumped in the shower. When I was finished in the shower it was time to to the second round of dipping – covering part of the milk chocolate with the dark chocolate.
When that was done I got dressed (my black t-shirt with the pink CRAFT MAFIA logo and a full black peasant skirt with a black sequin design around the border. I wore my black straw mule sandals.
The last step in the chocolate covered strawberry process is drizzling the white chocolate on top. I forgot to buy the CRISCO, which you use to “water down” the white chocolate. Since I forgot it was a little thicker than usual, but it still drizzled form the fork, so I managed to get a nice design on each one.
I put them back in the fridge to harden, put on my make-up and then transferred them from the three trays of wax paper to a big plastic tray I had. I covered it with press-n-seal and brought them to the car.
I blasted the air conditioner all the way to his house, because I was afraid they’d melt. I hate to make you jealous, but it was so hot that most of us stayed inside during the afternoon and he had the air conditioner on. And it’s the end of October!!!! By 3:30pm it was nice enough to go outside, because the sun had shifted and there was now some shade in his backyard.
He had quite a spread of food, but the only dessert he had (besides candy) was my strawberries, so I was VERY glad I brought them and – as usual – they were a huge hit. People just go CRAZY for chocolate-covered strawberries!
He also had nice sandwiches on croissants (but they were ham or turkey, so I couldn’t indulge), chicken wings with a dip, crudite and dip, mini quiches, salsa and chips, and really nice big shrimp cocktail. I had a lot of shrimp, a couple of quiches and a lot of chips and crudite.
One of the girls served the chocolate covered strawberries and everyone was loving them. I was so happy!
The last time I was at Bob’s (with Eric) there was another couple there with their two sons. They were back again and everyone was fighting to hold this baby, who is now 6 months old. He is SO gorgeous, SO sweet, SO good, SO easy-going – he’ll let anybody hold him – and I got my fill of him, too. He’s delicious!
I enjoyed seeing a bunch of people from work and also met some of Bob’s friends from his condo (which he is now renting) and from some of his previous jobs. They were all really nice.
As soon as I got in the car to go home I called Eric. I told him I missed him so much at the party and that the couple who had previously met him asked for him and said they hope he’ll be coming back soon. He had called and left a message on my phone saying he hoped the strawberries came out great and he hoped I had a great time at the party and he wished he could be there with me. I wish he was, too. It made me sad to be there without Eric. It’s not like I never socialized without him, but we always enjoyed going to parties and it just wasn’t the same without him.
I got home just as it was getting dark. I continued cutting out skeletons and owls (I will be done tonight, because I’m bringing them to the office tomorrow). I watched my Sunday night TV shows and got prepared for the week ahead.
It was nice go have someplace to go today. I’m glad I was invited, and I’m glad I went. One positive thing is that I wasn’t the oldest person there. There were at least 3 or 4 other couples and some single people who were older than me (some much older). That was a relief, because I knew a lot of the people Bob invited were in their 20s and 30s and I was worried that I’d be the “grandma of the group.” I was so glad that I wasn’t!
Everybody loved the window treatments and were very complimentary of the work I’ve done with Bob. They love the paint colors he picked out, the renovation we did in the dining room (tearing out cabinets and installing glass and granite shelves with lighting overhead) and are anxious to see what we’ll do next. I told them Bob is not in a rush to get it all done.
He’s on a budget and used up a lot of it on the window treatments. He needs a dining room set, but it’s not like he’s hosting a Thanksgiving dinner or anything, so there’s no deadline. He has a bed, but he’s looking for a new bedroom set. He also needs a living room set, but right now he does his entertaining in the den, which is right off the big kitchen/dining room area and the door to the backyard, so he’s not in a rush for that either. All in good time, I told them – all in good time!