A Dinner Party With The Robert's

Keep your Christmas-heart open all year round.  ~Jessica Archmint

A Delightful Evening Of Fun With Our Friends 12/10/2011

We were invited to a get together at the home of Ed and Kathy Roberts and it was a FANTASTIC evening of laughs, giggles, and sharing.

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Friendship is special

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Thank you Ed and Kathy for the invite and chance to visit with friends

A Party Collage Reveals What Happened....

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Click for the full sized collage (3200px by 2400px)

Let The Cavorting Begin

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Ed got a new "toy" from Costco.... A vertical flame thrower and jerky maker!

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Santa's little Elf showed up and wanted wine

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
The head bartender was emptying wine bottles all night... He showed us his Plumaria in the background

Did You Know? - Plumeria is related to the Oleander, Nerium oleander, and both possess a irritating, milky sap, rather similar to that of Euphorbia. Contact with the sap may irritate eyes and skin. Each of the separate species of Plumeria bears differently shaped alternate leaves, with distinct form and growth habits.

Plumeria flowers are most fragrant at night in order to lure sphinx moths to pollinate them. The flowers have no nectar, and simply dupe their pollinators. The moths inadvertently pollinate them by transferring pollen from flower to flower in their fruitless search for nectar.

We Head Inside For Soup And Sandwiches... And A Lot Of Giggling

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
A table fit for a king...

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Jan, Vicky, Del, Donna and Bob grace the right hand side

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Lee and Marcia

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Ed is in the corner still pouring wine....

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Brian let us know that they are applying for citizenship in the US! Yeah!!

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
The toasting begins

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Oops... Not that kind!

Did You Know? - A toast is a ritual in which a drink is taken as an expression of honor or goodwill. The term may be applied to the person or thing so honored, the drink taken, or the verbal expression accompanying the drink. Thus, a person could be "the toast of the evening," for whom someone "proposes a toast" to congratulate and for whom a third person "toasts" in agreement. The ritual forms the basis of the literary and performance genre, of which Mark Twain's "To the Babies" is a well-known example.

The toast as described here is rooted in Western culture, but certain cultures outside that sphere have their own traditions in which consuming a drink is connected with ideas of celebration and honor. While the physical and verbal ritual of the toast may be elaborate and formal, merely raising one's glass towards someone or something and then drinking is essentially a toast as well, the message being one of goodwill towards the person or thing indicated.

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Hip, hip, hurrah! Kunstnerfest på Skagen by Peder Severin Krøyer (1851–1909)

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
The klinks continue

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Herbie is a Candy Cane Assistant at the local hospital

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Who? Me?

Did You Know? - Hospital volunteers work without regular pay in a variety of health care settings, usually under the supervision of a nurse. Most hospitals train and supervise volunteers through a specialized non-profit organization called an auxiliary. The director of the auxiliary is usually a paid employee of the hospital.

A hospital volunteer is sometimes nicknamed a candy striper. This name is derived from the red-and-white striped jumpers that female volunteers traditionally wore in the United States, which resembled stick candy. The name and uniform are used less frequently now.

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
CAUGHT... We all knew Lee was a closet wino!

Sobriety Sobriety Sobriety

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
We are taking up a collection for Herb so be can buy a razor

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
In a few months we won't be able to recognize Herb

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
....and at the kids table we have....

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Paul has the giggles

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
The Zaitz look to the "kids table" see what all the commotion is about...

Cool-Aid Cool-Aid Cool-Aid
Devious minds at work A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
The face is beginning to form....

Did You Know? - Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins in Hastings, Nebraska, United States. All of his experiments took place in his mother's kitchen. Its predecessor was a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack. To reduce shipping costs, in 1927, Perkins discovered a way to remove the liquid from Fruit Smack, leaving only a powder.

This powder was named Kool-Aid. Perkins moved his production to Chicago in 1931 and Kool-Aid was sold to General Foods in 1953.

Hastings still celebrates a yearly summer festival called Kool-Aid Days on the second weekend in August, in honor of their city's claim to fame. Kool-Aid is known as Nebraska's official soft drink.

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Cockeyed smile....

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Thank you Mr. Candle

Did You Know? - Kool-Aid Man, an anthropomorphic frosty pitcher filled with Kool-Aid, is the mascot of Kool-Aid. The character was introduced shortly after General Foods acquired the brand in the 1960s. In TV and print ads, Kool-Aid Man was known for randomly bursting through walls of children's homes and proceeding to make a batch of Kool-Aid for them. His catch phrase is "Oh, yeah!"

Starting in 2011, Kraft began allocating the majority of the Kool-Aid marketing budget towards Latinos. According to the brand, almost 20 percent of Kool-Aid drinkers are Hispanic, and slightly more than 20 percent are African-American.

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Perfect... Mr. Cool-Aid Man has arrived

Enjoying This Wonderful Evening Are.....

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Herbie and Irene! Ah.... Love is in bloom

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Love birds....

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Softies

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Donna and Bob

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Romance definitely in the air

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Vicky: "Pssssst.... Del.... Psssst...."
Del: "Do you have a leak???"

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Vicky and Del

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
This one goes in the album

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Brian and Jan

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Magnificent work of art....

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Smoooooooooch

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Romance definitely absolutely be in the air... maybe in the wine also?

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Leon and Marcia

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Sue and Paul

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Paul is so old the picture came out in Technicolor

Teasing Must Continue

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Paul gets a fashion tip from Brian about how to properly wear a scarf

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
So Brian, how do you tie it like that???

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
"Paul... It's called the hanger!"

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
How am I doing??? Don't say "A little tighter please!"

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011

OK, We Have To Pay For Dinner (We Thought It Was Free!)

Did You Know? - LCR, or Left Center Right is a dice game for three or more players, published by George & Company LLC in 1992. It is entirely a game of chance. The players make no decisions of any kind, even as to wagering.

Each player receives three chips. Players take it in turn to roll the six-sided dice, each of which is marked with "L", "C", "R" on one side, and a single dot on the three remaining sides. For each "L" or "R" thrown, the player must pass one chip to the player to his left or right, respectively. A "C" indicates a chip to the center (pot). A dot has no effect.

If a player has fewer than three chips left (including zero) he is still in the game but his number of chips is the number of dice he rolls on his turn, rather than rolling all three. The winner is the last player with chips left. He does not roll the dice, and wins the center pot.

LCR can also be played as a gambling game by substituting money for chips.

When it's down to two players and an "L" and "R" is rolled you still pass one coin or chip to the left and the right, meaning the other player would get both coins or chips.

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011 A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
So... We all start out with $3.00

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Kathy explains the game

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Confusion sets in

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Herbie tries to open the dice container... With a butter knife

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
No Brian gives it a go

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
It's getting worse... It takes two to open a little plastic container?

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Paul asked where the kitty was

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Ah... Success

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
The dice kit is now opened

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
"See Kathy... We got it opened"

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Kathy splains the secret and magical codes on the dice

Did You Know? (Irene is excepted) - A die (plural dice, from Old French dé, from Latin datum "something which is given or played")[1] is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers. This makes dice suitable as gambling devices for games like craps, or for use in non-gambling tabletop games.

A traditional die is an often rounded cube, with each of its six faces showing a different number from 1-6. The design as a whole is aimed at the die providing a randomly determined integer from one to six, each of those values being equally likely.

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
More splaining underway

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
"I got it!"

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
"Now let me get this straight"

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Herbie remembers when dice were invented

Did You Know? - Dice have been used throughout Asia since before recorded history; the oldest known dice were excavated as part of a 5000-year-old backgammon set at the Burnt City, an archeological site in south-eastern Iran. Other excavations from ancient tombs in the Indus Valley civilization indicate a South Asian origin.

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Everyone jumps up to see how the die landed

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Donna is eyeing Bob's stash....

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
There is a lot of eyeing going on here

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Paul's professional dice rolling position

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Leon is deeply saddened by the loss of his friend George to Irene

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Brian is attempting to count in metric

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
"Snake Eyes"

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Donna rolls... Everyone is holding their breath....

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Herbie is down to two dollars

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Irene is busted... flat broke... destitute....

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Paul counts all his winnings....

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Oh oh... One dollar left... no, right... no center... no, keep

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
All eyes are on Ed

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Ed cleans up.... Dinner is now paid for.... Life is good

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Leon is doing his favorite move.... Dollar confetti

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Now Lee is tickled

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
We laughed so hard we hurt

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
"All gone... the money and the wine...."

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Friendships are special

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
The smiles tell all...

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Brain says "I am still on UK time"... After three weeks???

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Hoodie is up means we are leaving... What a wonderful evening!!

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Ah... Brian is vertical... This is a good thing

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011
Wrapping up a super evening

To Our Wonderful Hosts....

A magnificent dinner and cocktail parts with the Roberts Christmas 2011