Weather the Party

Last night we celebrated Twelfth Night with the annual NY State Weatherization Directors Assn. Holiday Party.  The company was good and the artichoke/spinach dip was fabulous.  The cocktail hour in the bar was filled with good conversation and I reconnected with a couple of spouses I had not seen since the previous year.  By the time we were called into the tables my head was swimming with White Russians (why did I have two?) and a tummy full of artichokes and garlic.  I could have used a sofa to lie down on.  I don't do well at banquets where I am trapped in one seat for hours.  I much prefer parties in people's houses where I can wander around, check out what is on their book shelves, find the corner of a sofa and take out my knitting.  Yes, I am not the life of the party type.  Too many years with only sheep and dogs for company I guess.  The chatty charmer seated next to me kept me entertained for a while with talk of his former profession of dairy equipment sales but even he ran out of steam after time.  I shouldn't tell people that I am a special education teacher because they invariably have a child with special needs and are having a tough time with their district getting the kid what he needs.  Happened again at our table last night.  Finally the meal came and perked me up a bit.  After plates were being taken away and little packages returned to be brought home, I motioned to Matt please let's go home and get the chores done.  He shook his head no as the Boss had not yet delivered his holiday presentation of a long poem about the workers and their accomplishments.  I confess it was pretty entertaining.   Secret Santa gifts were exchanged - the worker who was to bring Matt's forgot his, but I brought his wife a big bag of soap and creme as she just had another baby and I like her a lot.  I wanted to bring soap to the secretary but Matt told me not to as she complained to him that her boyfriend got my soap in his eyes and it stung so badly he wouldn't touch it again.  Excuse me, doesn't all soap sting when you get it in your eyes?  Whatever....I apologized to her about the soap, thinking there has to be more about it than what Matt reported, and she said "it must have been the lye."  I thought I might explain to her that ALL soap is made with lye, as the chemical change from oils to soap cannot happen without lye, and that the lye is gone after a period of three days, etc., but then I thought why bother?   She seemed happy with the hand creme.  Home to the farm, cool fresh air, and my own sofa and dogs.  What a relief.  Still woozy today with much ankle pain.  I wonder if that ER doctor in Hamilton read the ex-ray correctly.  Sure feels broken, or maybe I'm doing too much on a sprained ankle.  Tell that to the sheep.