Summer Party

We had some friends and neighbors over last night for a summer backyard party. We were pretty laid back on the arrangements.

I told each couple to B.Y.O.M and a side dish. (We provided two grills.) Although we wouldn't make specific food assignments. It was interesting to see what we ended up having.

People brought two baked beans, two green salads with spinach, 3 pasta salads, rolls and chips & dip, and some cookies. Fortunately, Sparky had prepared a bowl of M &M's which rounded out the food, except for the Canuck, who doesn't like chocolate so I brought out some old Halloween candy just for him. He was happy!

Later Sparky commented how nice it was to have the guys to the cooking on the grills, which also proved a variety, from: beef filet, t-bones, to chicken to shrimp kabobs.

It was a easy party to through together: bring your meat and a side dish. Hopefully we'll do another later this summer.

But my most favorite part of the evening was stringing Christmas lights around the yard and turning them on as dusk hit. I was really surprised at how quickly they went up in less than an hour, the festive atmosphere they created, and how quickly they came down -- less than 30 minutes.