This Sunday we hosted our best party ever: great food, fun company, relaxing by the pool, and significant seismic activity. But let me start at the beginning.
Hot cross buns! They were time-intensive but very delicious. I had enough to share with friends and neighbors and they were one of several tasty selections on the table. Care for a bite?
My wife made two kinds of quiche. It seems that life with Uncle F$@-k-Up has affected her. A few minutes after she put them in the oven she yells, “Oh my God, the eggs!” Our quiches were on their way to being egg-free before her quick thinking saved the day. One was Canadian bacon and gruyere, the other was broccoli rabe and red pepper. I made fresh lemonade and there were enough cupcakes and candies to keep Toddler Harbat whizzing in top gear.
After our guests arrived we had lunch and an egg hunt, where the girls were directed, “Maybe if you look over there, near that potted plant, you might find something?” It’s hard to be subtle when a 2-year old is standing about two inches from an egg and is looking up in the sky for it. Here they are marching through tall grass in search of the elusive spotted egg.
We were all sitting in the living room when the glass patio doors started to shake. Must be the girls roughhousing, I thought. Hmm, awfully rough. Then the house was doing a gentle hula sway. Ahh, earthquake. I saw concentric waves forming in our swimming pool, like rings in your wine when you ping the side of the glass. When the sway turned into a belly dance, my wife recommended we all go outside. So we walked out into the front yard, and I had the curious sensation on standing on my concrete front path and bobbing up and down as if I were at sea. The girls raced around the front yard in their socks, oblivious of everything. Turns out it was a 7.2 a few hundred miles away, and by the second aftershock, the conversation hardly slowed.
In all, it was our best party ever! See how excited Toddler Harbat is about it!
Writer, architect, father, husband.
Those hot cross buns look delicious! We also felt the earthquake here in Phoenix, too. Sidewalks cracked and water surged over swimming pools.
Glad TH had fun. She is absolutely adorable!
Wondered how you all fared in the big "sway". Glad you went outdoors–better to be out and away from buildings that might choose to relocate at that time. Food looked absolutely yummy and TH was adorable as usual. Is that a new social smile she's working on??
Yes, you recognize the social smile. Well, it's a cross between smile and death grimace. But she's always willing to do it for pictures!