It Was a Three Dog Night, but the Band Did Not Show Up.

Yesterday evening at a party starting at 7:00 P.M., we celebrated my sister Maggie's 60th Birthday at our niece Mandy and her husband's house in New Franklin, OH (near Akron).  Besides the birthday girl and the hosts, the participants were Maggie's husband Mike, my sister Kathleen, my brother Tim, Joe, and Bob, Tim's companion, Lois, my niece and Mandy's sister Marnie, her husband Mike, and their daughters Kendal and Hayden, my nephew Dan, his wife Laura, and their daughters Amy and Emily, my cousin Shellie, and her husband Tony! 

This was only the second joint appearance of all my great-nieces!  The last one was at Mandy and Paul's wedding barbecue in August 2009 (They eloped on December 18, 2008.).  Photos were taken of all the four great-nieces, but other people were added to the picture.  I should have been directing this operation, but I do not have a camera.  The great-nieces really bonded with one another.

We ate from a meat and cheese tray featuring ham and salami.  Lasagna, pulled chicken in barbecue sauce, a Fondue system, raw vegetables for dipping that included broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and mushrooms were offered as well.  Garlic Breadsticks and Honey Buns (for the pulled chicken) were available for bread lovers.  Last but not least, Mandy's Cheesy Potatoes were the highlight of the meal for me.  Mandy, Marnie and their spouses did a great job with the cooking and the hosting.

Before dessert, Maggie opened up her presents.  Among the many presents, a homemade money tree (from Joe), a Kindle Fire HDX (from Mandy, Marnie, and their spouses, among others), a necklace (from her husband Mike), and a Ruby Tuesday Gift Card (from Bob and Me) were the standouts.

For dessert, we had a homemade carrot cake, a chocolate cake, homemade cookies, and ice cream were provided.  I had both cakes and some of the cookies.  They were pleasing to the palate.

We relaxed until we left.  Bob's GPS on his phone was a great help as Kathleen chauffeured us to the party.  After retrieving the leftovers, Kathleen went home. 

In closing, the post's title refers to two concepts. The first reference is that there were three dogs in residence at the party.  In addition to Lily and the unseen Doberman Pincher who normally live there, Mike and Marnie's dog Cheeto was also present.

The second reference is to the musical group Three Dog Night.  Maggie had many of their albums on LP.  She also owns one of their greatest hits albums on CD.  I have one on CD as well.  Spotify and Windows Media Player also house their music in one form or another.  Thankfully, Three Dog Night were not missed that much.

It was a Super Fun Night!  (Rebel Wilson and company were not invited.)

Christmas with the Family

Christmas "dinner" was at my sister Maggie and her husband Mike's house in Parma, OH!  The participants, in addition to the hosts, were my sister Kathleen, my brothers Bob and Joe, and my niece Mandy.  We had roast beef, "Loaded" scalloped potatoes, baby carrots, salad, baked beans with sausage, and rolls.  Dessert consisted of Homemade Cheesecake, Angel Food cake, Apple Pie (from Perkins), and Chocolate Cream Pie (Eat 'n' Park).  The transitional items were a "pistachio salad" and a snack made with Cheerios, M & Ms, and pretzels.  (I did not have any of the transitional items yet, but the rest of the food was delicious!)  After we ate, we talked a lot about our old neighbors before we moved into our current house (I was about fifteen months old when we moved.) and about other miscellaneous topics.  After Kathleen took Bob and me home, we relaxed some more!

Since we started our family meal at approximately 2:00 P.M., Bob and I ate some leftovers from Christmas Eve at approximately 9:00 P.M.  We both had Spaghetti and Meat Sauce left over from our lunch at Eat 'n' Park (In addition to our two dollar off coupons, we gambled on attaining a pie to go along with our other gamble for a pie at Perkins on Monday.)  I also had sugar snap peas, while Bob had garlic toast.  In addition, I had saved a side salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing from Steak 'n' Shake (Our dinner with Kathleen became a takeout meal because they closed on 5:00 on Christmas Eve.).  This food was appetizing.

In closing, I will reveal that we attended Mass at St. Leo Church near the Cleveland-Parma border.  It was a nice Mass.  The highlight was a Litany of Thanks.  As usual, Fr. Vesely, Priest in Residence, made it very amusing!  He is a priest who needs to be experienced in person!  Don't wait too long.  He has been a priest since 1954!

Until next time, enjoy the season!!