June 22 -- Solstice Party

The day started out rainy and windy. We had our usual breakfast, everyone had something different. Got the things cleaned up from breakfast and then began the to finish the preparation for the party this evening. Ed finished the potato salad and put in in a serving bowl. Bonnie made a quinoa salad. And we all pitched in with miscellaneous and sundry tasks. By 5 PM we were pretty much all ready to go. We started snacking on the hors d'oeuvres as soon as we started putting them out.

Our guests started arriving at 18:30 right on schedule. Melanie has a wonderful group of friends in the UK. We all had a great time. The Alaska smoked red salmon was a smash hit. The reindeer sausage was very well received. But the biggest surprise of all was that everyone thought the teriyaki chicken we marinated was the best ever. We passed out recipes for those who wanted them. And everyone said we should bring more salmon and sausage when we return.

The last guest left at about 23:30 and it took about an hour to clean everything up. Just left a few small finishing tasks for the morning. We all got into bed after a wonderful evening.