Yesterday I had a small horde of ladies descend upon my house to help me throw a baby shower for Pari. I had invited Pari to come over to make gingerbread houses with Penny and me...but I neglected to tell her that most of the church ladies would be there too, and, oh by the way, um, there would be no gingerbread houses. ( What are the ethics of lying in the case of baby showers? Does this count as a sin? ) She was very surprised and blessed so I was happy and satisfied. She got a lot of nice, pink, girly things for the baby which is due to arrive sometime in the next couple of weeks.
We played a couple of games, including one where the contestants, who have their eyes closed, have to transfer six cotton balls from one bowl to another bowl using only a spoon- no hands allowed. It was pretty funny to watch them often carefully spooning thin air from one bowl to another. The winner was my own mother-in-law! The other game was a contest to see who could correctly identify six baby foods ( the ones you buy in little jars- not the kinds you mix up yourself) by sight and smell alone. ( The labels were covered up.) ( I did allow tasting on one.) The winner in this case was Sarah Aldrich with five correct answers.
Well, by the time everyone had gone and the house was- mostly- cleaned up, I was pretty beat. After a siesta of sorts, I went out to get the mail and encountered my neighbors- Clay's family. Another guitar lesson is in the works for tomorrow night ( Thurs) and I am looking forward to it. The mom, who stays at home, was commenting on the fact that she noticed me outside that morning in SHORT SLEEVES sweeping leaves off the driveway. It was fairly chilly- in the thirties or forties- but I was on a roll, going a bazillion miles an hour trying to accomplish everything before people came for the shower... and I didn't want to stop and get my coat...This woman seemed stunned that I could do this and proclaimed, "You KNOW you're a Northerner when it's this cold outside and you're in short sleeves!" A Yankee set on a hill cannot be hid.
(When she asked if I was sensitive to the cold, I said yes...But I guess my Northern-ness was still confirmed by the fact that I was scrambling around in a frenzy. I can't escape my identity.)
She also said she'd noticed that I had a lot of ladies over and said, " I wondered if you were having a luncheon or a Bible study or something..." and I told her all about the shower etc. and we had a really nice chat. She is a very kind, personable lady. She offered to loan me some of their china if I ever held another function in my home again! Wow. I don't think I'd ever take her up on it because, knowing my luck, I'd probably break something...but, it was incredibly nice of her to offer. Anyway- the whole conversation just made me chuckle. This neighborhood is full of stay at home Moms and apparently not a sparrow falls, not an insect moves, not a hair of my head falls to the ground, but it's noticed by someone around here! It almost tempts me to go outside and do something REALLY crazy, just to see what the reaction would be...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
Lying[even for a babyshower] earns you a great big
!!!!KA-SIZZLE!!!!
You northerner you! Hehehehehehee. I just found that funny since today it wasn't above 20 and the windchills kept it in the singles, lol...
In a neighborhood like that, it sounds like you could start your own charming, clean, uplifting TV show...like "Contented Housewives" or something.
Sounds like quite the little fishbowl.
Yes, Penny and I will be the stars of the show.
Yes- it's almost like Fairwood in a way! But- no Bibleschool. And no communal playground. And no trash house. Etceteraaaaaaa.....But there IS a swimming pool.
So is it a Northern thing for you to "scramble around in a frenzy" and a Southern thing for your neighbors to be "so graciously in y'all's business," bless their hearts?
suggested crazy things to do: 1. Go out everyday at the same time for a week...walk back and forth from the fron door to the street in a spiral. After the third time proclaim " This area is now free of all good-for nothing gnomes"
2. Put on a scarf and hat and grab a shovel and start shoveling your driveway. When ask what you are doing tell them that you are just practicing in case you move back north again.
and finally 3. talk with the tickest Boston accent possible. When they say words like car....look perplex and ask for an explanation. When they describe it say "oh you mean caah"....or something along those veins.
Great ideas, Melo!
Speaking of Boston accents, the other day at work, Brad said something in a Boston accent, like "cahds" instead of "cards" or something like that, and one of the girls who works in the store was like, " Oh! Is that how people in New Jersey talk?" Ummm...WELL...
A neighborhood full of stay at home moms? Wow, that must be southern thing. Our neighborhood is a ghost town during the day.
I laughed out loud at your quote: "A Yankee on a hill cannot be hid!" Maybe it's my Yankee genes that make me not a total Northwesterner.
I was at a wedding shower where they played the cotton ball game. Our winner was a 60-70 year old lady from Switzerland, I believe. A good time was had by all!
I'm trying to picture moving cotton balls with a spoon but not using hands. Do you stick the spoon in your mouth?
(You can call me Amelia Bedelia if necessary.)
Amelia Bedelia, Yes- I failed to mention the whole tele-kinetic part. Oops! My bad!
Correction: Actually, Brad said "Quaddahs" instead of quarters - not cahds/cards. This provoked the co-worker to ask if that was how people in New Jersey talked...
Post a Comment