Party Post Mortem

The preparation wasn’t so bad, after all. I had spent some time on a conference call packing party favour bags, which was actually quite fun. And I  rather enjoyed a quiet night in making fairy cakes and meatballs. TLOML picked up some booze and 50 red balloons, and we strung up a few paper chains. Boom, just like that, ready to party.

Cakes

Balloons

The party itself was pretty fun too. Kids played, adults drank and chatted, it was all suitably relaxed and fun and we felt vindicated in our decision to opt out of the big hired venue party. ‘This is easy,’ I thought, ‘Who needs to outsource?’

Then there was the moment I realized there was kinetic sand all over every surface in the house (what kind of idiot rookie mum allows her 3 year old to open a toy like that at her party in her own goddamn home – with 7 toddler partners in crime ready to help spread it out?!).

A low point. My mistake.

Just for a second or two I thought ‘So that’s why people outsource’. I briefly considered the beach, or a park, for next year’s party. But February is a tricky time of year for that, due to the 10% chance of rain. Yes. I know, that’s about the same as London in June, and you'd still throw a party under a cloudy sky, but here a grey day would be considered disastrous.

Anyway, the clean up operation didn’t take long at all, and afterwards TLOML and I congratulated ourselves on a successful party. We’ll do it again next year, we decided. The same thing – a handful of kids, a little home cooking, some balloons and a lot of toys. What could be better?

And then… Lady P passed judgement.  ‘Did you like your party? Wasn’t it fun?’ I asked. ‘No.’ she said. ‘There were too many people. I like playing on my own’.

Well, I guess that’s next year’s birthday party planned already then. She can play on her own while TLOML and I sip champagne in her honour. Even easier!

Independence Day, Hermosa style

As a Brit in America, I should be ambivalent, at best, about Independence Day. Or, as a friend on Twitter called it, 'The day we gave you ungrateful colonials your freedom'. But it's hard not to swept up in the fun of the holiday. It's just a big, star spangled, red cup bearing 'Murica-fest of a party.

This was our first Fourth of July in the US for a few years, and our first in our adopted home town of Hermosa. So I wanted to get it right.

Based on my limited Fourth of July experience, I thought the day was mainly about pool parties and fireworks. Imagine my confusion when I saw this sign stretched across Pier Plaza:

Well, if there are no fireworks, what do we do? Not only are fireworks banned for individuals, there also is no city-sponsored display. And we don't have a pool. Nor do our buddies, with whom we planned to spend the day.

I was worried for a short while but TLOML reassured me. The important thing, apparently, is to be outside. It doesn't need to be poolside: lakes, beaches, and parks work just as well. The other important thing is to spend the day with friends. And to drink, steadily, from fairly early on.

Phew. So it turns out we nailed it. We headed to the beach early, which was packed with volleyball playing, daytime drinking, fun-seeking crowds. (We were a little late to catch the tail end of the Hermosa Iron Man, which involves a 1 mile run, a 1 mile paddleboard, and the chugging of a 6 pack of beers). There some amongst our number drank beer disguised as energy drinks and consumed jello shots, before noon. Then back to the Sugar Cube for an afternoon of burgers, something called a turtle pie (nicer than it sounds), and yes, more booze.

As an added bonus, it turns out the reason little old Hermosa doesn't have fireworks is because we get a great, free, view of the ones in Redondo. TLOML and I headed down to the beach after dark and sat in the sand, with hundreds of others, to watch the display.

All in all it was a perfect holiday. And the next day we dispatched Lady P (who enjoyed neither jello shots nor fireworks) to the beach to help with the Surfrider Clean up.

She may, as a result, have a slightly warped view of what the Fourth of July is all about. But living in Hermosa, I think she'll get the right idea soon enough.

Lady P chose.... drumroll...

I don't want to leave you in suspense for a moment longer about Lady P's destiny. The good news is, she chose well. She also chose quite greedily. That is to say, she basically chose everything.

The table is set with plates of fruit and rice cakes, symbolising plenty and purity and other good things. But the most important objects are those which symbolise her path in life: yarn, and noodles, for long life; books representing academic achievement and learning; brushes for a life of creativity and writing; and money, symbolising, well, money.

We took a few photos before our guests arrived and Lady P showed a marked interest in her bunny - which I would say represented 'play'. She also grabbed at the noodles, but we told her to wait and take her time to think about it till our guests arrived.

'I choose bunny! Bunny for ever!'

Half an hour later when we did the ceremony for real, she was so delighted to see our nanny on her day off, that she was more interested in walking over to her than at making life choices. So I'd say she was choosing 'love', at that point. Once drawn back to the table she went for the brushes, much to TLOML's disappointment, for who wants to have to support their daughter while she spends her life being a starving artist or writing her thesis? To her credit, once he thrust the dollar bills into her hands, she kept a tight grip on them. So we take that to mean that while she may not pursue wealth, she'll carefully retain what money she does have. Finally, the object which she went to last, but held onto the longest, was a book.

On reflection, you can't beat sitting down with a good book

As I said, she chose a bit of everything. Based on this exercise, I predict a long life, during which she will place friendship above everything, have a creative, learned life, and save her pennies. Let's hope so.

Coming soon: Lady P's destiny

There's a buzz in the air at the Sugar Cube house. We're about to find out what Lady P will become! This weekend we're going to celebrate her first birthday in the Korean tradition.

I know, her first birthday was a couple of months ago, but we were kinda busy moving house that day. And I know, too, that she is only 25% Korean, but it just might be the 25% that makes the difference between a life of dazzling success and fabulous prosperity and something, well, more humdrum.

Allow me to explain about the Korean tradition. We'll put a number of items in front of Lady P for her to choose from. Whatever she chooses determines her fate. So, if she goes for the calculator, she'll become an accountant. If she chooses the fishing net, it's a life on the open seas for her. Only I think you don't put calculators and fishing nets out. Fortunately for Lady P, and for TLOML and I, his mother and aunt, repositories of all Korean traditions and knowledge, are in charge of what's on the plates.

I will keep you posted on what she chooses and therefore her path in life. So far she is showing a marked interest in paintbrushes (even when she is dressed for tennis), so I predict a creative choice.

This tradition also involves dressing Lady P up in an outrageously cute outfit, and eating a tonne of Korean food. What's not to like?