Sunday 26 February 2012

A Journal of a Party-thrower



"Hospitality, n. The virtue which induces us to feed and lodge certain persons who are not in need of food and lodging."Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary, 1911 

6:30       morning call
7:30       Prepared first Sauce for the Koftas which I prepared the 
              night before.
8.20       2nd Sauce with Thai spicy parcels
9.20       Cleaned Guest WC using a miracle stain remover which sent me
              crying out to the terrace to get fresh air. Went out to fetch TP.
10.25     Someone called up but cp was  low-bat. It turned off and I 
              couldn’t find my pin code. Continuation of Domestic Goddess role.
14.30     Went out for the second time to buy drinks, chips and ice cubes.   
15.46     Washed hair, took shower.
16:00     Start of preparing finger goodies, deep frying Thai spicy parcels,
              heating koftas cutting veggies and preparing dips with my hair 
              wrapped in towel. I don’t want to smell like a walking egg roll.
18:10     Arrival of first three guests: two blondes, one black hair;
              followed by another one. More telephone calls for the direction 
               of the nest. One guest called up as she was controlled by the
               police, and she had to return back home to fetch car documents.
               A surprise visit from a guest who told us she became
               grandma that day. More reasons to celebrate, it’s a girl!. 
               Dinner: drinking, eating, entertaining, inter-active cooking with 
               Je, our dear friend from Thailand. More jokes and wine. 
               One friend asked me if I informed my eighbors about the 
               party. No, I said. We are well-behaving anyway. Singing of
               birthday songs in three languages. Cutting of the (ikea) cake by 
               the three birthday celebrants of the OTAP, 
               (Organization of Truly Attractive Pinays!). 

  
Vicky, Marilou and ML

01:10   Last guest to leave. One BFF stayed overnight to catch 
            an early train to NL. We shared a  round of Dao,
            Portuguese red wine. Too strong, BFFsaid, we needed 
            steak for the drinks.
07.30   Woke up to ensure BFF gets up to catch the early train to
             NL. Went back to sleep.
09:45    Found a beanie cap left by one BFF. Poor her, 
             it was freezing cold in NL. 
11:05   Called up the owner of the beanie cap. Started clearing stuffs away.
11:45    Finished hovering and hearing crunchy sound of dropped 
             nuts and chips. Collected pink feathers of a polyester flamingo.
12:05    Time to enjoy Fado and started to relax a bit.
12:35     Reheated “Tiramisu” of “iPad” Thai noodle for lunch. 
              Washed wine glasses, More cleaning up. Returned boxes of glasses
              and party pan to cellar.
14:20     Siesta finally! Journal closed. Until the next party to throw.

Monday 13 February 2012

Pre-Valentine's Day Cooking from Hubby

Another hubby's instant mix tonight. Recipes which he does only once.
It looks so tempting that I asked him how he did it. 
Ingredients:
  • Spaghettini
  • Straw mushrooms
  • Sausage
  • Thai Mix
  • Chinese bean oil
  • Mixture of instant chicken broth 
He cooked the pasta in water with spoonfuls! of Thai mix (dried red chillies).  At this point, he didn't know yet whether he would make a soup or dried pasta. Decided not to have soup so he discarded the spicy broth. Added sausage, instant chicken broth, hot bean oil to the pasta and lastly the straw mushrooms. A bit of olive oil and another drizzle of the Thai mix completed his dinner which he gladly shared with me. A fiery pre-Valentine's Day dinner. He's going out to fetch a bottle of sparkling wine while I am helping myself to a bowl of joghurt with banana and prunes to pacify my stomach. A super hot dinner. Only for the brave hearts, tell you.

Sunday 12 February 2012

Integration Attempt: Attending Mass in a German Community


 Weather says it's about -3° to -7° today. I thought I could also do some minutes of power walking and visit our local church instead of taking the train to the city.  To which church this time, I thought; to the Evangelicals or to the Catholics? Shall I support the small Protestant church this time or see what's new inside the Catholic church? I decided to attend the Catholic mass seeing that the Protestant chapel was not yet lighted while cars were filling up the parking space of the Catholic church.
I learned that they hold extra "Gottesdienst" (divine service) for the small children with their parents in the parish hall while the regular mass is celebrated inside the church. Just imagine a church full of screaming and laughing children when the priest delivers its homily; you could then very well imagine how masses are held in the Philippines or among the Filipino communities abroad or in what they sometimes call now diaspora.
I wonder why Germans don't hold hands while praying the Lord's Prayer? Too uncomfortable gesture of faith for the pious Germans while Pin@ys in their churches give their hands willingly, feeling at home with one another?
In this particular mass, I noticed that I was the only foreigner, I mean non-European as this community is getting over populated with pious migrants coming from Eastern Europe. Surely, the freezing temperature was a big hindrance to keep the Lord's Day holy or my "kababayans" were thinking there would be another mass in this month where the weather would be friendlier, where they would feel more at home, more integrated and more anticipative of the post-mass "Salo-salo" or shared meals among friends and acquaintances. Feast be with you!