After years of taking a few classes at a time, my lovely daughter-in-law Annie decided, two years ago, to just put her nose to the grindstone, knuckle down and get her college degree. She charted a course that would mean four semesters of really hard work, and she was determined to stay within that time frame. Meanwhile, she found time to work part-time, to take a few vacations (one to Laos, Thailand, Southeast Asia) and to have fun.
Last Saturday, May 19, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design. She wore the gown, went to the graduation ceremony and then, on Sunday, it was time to party. My daughter Jenn flew out from Texas and with her as the chef and myself as the prep cook, we cranked out an amazing cocktail party for more than fifty people. We did it in about 8 hours of solid work and we had pulled pork sliders, an amazing tuna tartar with fried wontons, mini crab cakes with remoulade sauce, pate, several cheese boards, chicken skewers with peanut sauce, hot artichoke and cheese dip, four different dips, crudites, lots of crackers and cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids, three kinds of cookies, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and tiny little tarts. And lots of beer and wine. Needless to say, it was a very fun day.
However, with a boss like Jenn, I worked really hard, slicing, dicing, baking, cleaning up, plating, fetching, carrying, more cleaning up, whipping, whisking and even more cleaning up. I was exhausted by the end of Sunday. But it was totally worth it.
As an added bonus, there were probably a dozen little kids at the party. And I mean little: the oldest was five years old, most were under three. They were hysterically funny, as only small kids can be, and were rather well behaved. It was fun to see a new generation springing up but it made me happy I have kids who are adults, not toddlers.
Annie is an amazing designer. She can pretty much draw up plans that you can build from, her room designs are modern and practical but original and sometimes almost whimsical. Her eye for color, form, texture and light is astounding. I can barely figure out how to make books on the bookshelf look good and Annie can not only design the perfect room for that bookshelf to live in, but she can build the bookshelf as well. She has a bright and successful future in store for her.
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