And you thought it was over...
Why...it's full of poppies!:
Beautiful flowers that I received at the Fixe the week before. Mark felt guilty that I had received such lovely roses and lilies from others (that sweetheart Matt from V3 and dear Greg have never forgotten me on my birthday in years!). I told Mark to not worry: "I have great friends who give flowers...You...*looking at the rain in disgust* I need a tarp city from you." *chuckles*
The most stunning bouquet I received from Reive and Scott, another duo who has not missed a bday celebration since I've known them. The flowers came in a gorgeous crystal vase with one single solitary red rose from Reive. *s*. They also had the silliest card that played "Wang Chung" when you opened it *groan*. Scott was like a little kid dragging me through the party trying to find a quiet place for me to listen to it. They also supplied the party with a HUGE (like 2 feet high-huge) brandy snifter full of Sangria and freshly cut fruit. Very much appreciated.
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Set up:
So here is our backyard on Friday afternoon. You can see they are just dropping off the hot tub (which we still have as we've decided to keep it for another week.)
Notice the big brown patches where there would normally be a)a big white truck (sold) b)a large white cube trailer (for sale; hiding around the corner) and c) a boat (conveniently stored at the neighbours for the mere cost of 24 Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale...score!)
Let the tarping begin!! We covered the backyard and the back deck with tarps. I really shouldn't say "we" as it was all down to Mark, Shawn, Brian, Yvonne, Kara, Lisa and Jo. I sat on my princess chair and drank Bacardi Breezers.
It took them several hours while the heavens opened up with mocking buckets of rain. But "the little crew that could" refused to give up and successfully tarped off the entire backyard, covering the deck, the pool, the hottub and a lounge tent. We left the firepit in the open air and just waited to light it when the rain stopped -which it eventually did.
Actually one of the funniest sounds throughout the night of the party was when you would hear a high pitched screech come from outside -now those kinds of sounds I'm quite used to hearing from our dungeon -not the backyard, but it would occur when the water which had been pooling on the tarps had found an escape route and sneakily unloaded over an unsuspecting victim. It was rather humourous to hear. Though not quite so amusing when it happened to you...twice for myself. Personally, I found it refreshing! *laffs*
The cleaning carried on inside too! I was surprised when I got home from work on Friday by a cleaning crew of four fabulous friends who scrubbed...and I mean scrubbed...my kitchen, my bathroom and any other area that needed some attention. They actually WASHED my walls. Can you freakin' believe it? THAT, my friends, is the ULTIMATE gift for any person...anyone.
At first I was rather horrified...they were cleaning MY filth, my mess...I felt like such a slob when they discovered grotty places I hadn't even realized existed. But they were uber cool and just shut me up with more Bacardi Breezers. Did I mention that I love my friends?
Kitty scrubbing my bathtub. It's rather appropriate that she's on all fours, n'est-ce pas?
After the big clean up, we had dinner together and gave the hot tub a trial run. We deemed it ready for the masses the following day. And yes...the masses they did arrive in numbers.
Cheers!
A great night was put together by a handful of wonderful people who I am so thrilled to call my friends. I hope I can return the favour to each and every one of them. I'm only sad that others who I care so much about were unable to attend due to being out of town or having other commitments...next time, m'friends.
There...I promise to wipe the silly grin off my face and to stop talking about it now. But hey...it's my party and I'll gloat if I want to. hehehe