We just got back from our little trip. We went down to CT yesterday. Da (Pa's boyfriend) and A's second oldest sister Pa's friends had a surprise 50th birthday party for Pa. She was completely surprised. It helps that her actual b-day isn't for a few weeks... The cast of characters made for a good and entertaining evening. Pa's oldest Ab came in from NY. To keep the secret of the party she had told her mom that she was taking the day off and going on a weekend cruise. She was happy to see her there. Ab is loving NYC. Her son Pe even made it. Not without drama, of course, but he did show up. His Uncle worries about him. We also got to meet a lot of Pa's friends. It is always nice to put a face with the names you hear in stories. One of the hosts was quite quirky. He was hurrying around straightening things on the tables, putting chairs back in their place if someone had moved it out of position, and keep an eye on your drink if you set it down. He would scoop up anything that looked out of place. There were a few people leaning on the back of a couch at one point. Having hardwood floors, the couch would occasionally slide a bit. He kept coming over to push it back in place. He was following my b-i-l Ra around. Ra sat in a chair that had a shelf above it. Mr. tight pants came running over and moved the chair out about 6 inches with Ra in it! He said that he was concerned that Ra would knock something off the shelf. At another point someone asked Ra to dim the lights a bit, and in the process of doing it he tipped an egg (decorative not edible) off of a little egg tree. It didn't break, but the host was there immediately with a disapproving look. Then Ra was asked to turn up the music where people were dancing. Mr. tight pants host was there in 2.3 seconds to turn it back down. Odd thing is they host parties all the time! His wife was delightful. She made it a point to talk with everyone, and had a good time herself, while serving dishes and other hostess duties. I was talking with my niece Na when one lady took an interest in me. She was quite concerned that I did not dance. She approached me at least five times with reasons I should join the dancing- which ironically she was not participating in. She finally grabbed me by the arm and told me I had to at least sit in the room where the dancing took place. I guess she saw her job as a recruiter. I later found that she even went up to A to report my dancing deficiency and lack of participation. I think she had a bit too much sauce. There were lots of great goodies to choose from. Our niece works for the company that catered. Pork with a slaw on top- simple and delicious, and salmon with lox, a cheese tray with too many to name yummy cheeses. Little meatballs that were to die for. One of the standouts was Cajun shrimp. Of course there were tons of desserts. A had a decadent pastry with vanilla and chocolate cream fillings, on a flour less chocolate cake and draped in fudge! At about One a.m. Mr. tight pants decided it was time for everyone to leave so he took Da aside and asked him to subtly give us laggers the boot. So Da in his robust style came in and announced to everyone that Mr. tight pants wants us out, so get your coats!

We stayed in a so-so hotel in Old Saybrook. A had to get up early to drive back to NH and work at the store. At least the hotel was walking distance to Dunkies for morning java. A was nice enough to let me stay down for the day, and come back to NH with my s-i-l and her husband. A's oldest sister Ka and her DH, Pa, and Da, Da's brother and I went to see a house under construction that Pa&Da are looking at buying if/when they sell their current homes.

We then went to brunch at Mohegan Sun, one of the casinos in CT. I am not a gambler, but enjoyed some of the artwork they had and a great salt water fish tank wall with a tunnel going beneath. We went into a couple of stores, then Pa, Da, and Ka proceeded to lose on the slots. Ra, Da's brother, and I determined that we were the winners since we did not play. It is like a toned down, much calmer and quieter Vegas, but the smoke was stifling. Very ornately decorated though. They had the enormous building quartered off and themed by season.

We left Po at home with a ham bone. We figured he could work that for at least a day, so he would not miss us (or be hungry...) Great time. Looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow.