...but I doubt it.

All right, let's do this before I forget:


EMILY / JULIEANNE / LONDON / PAUL / SOPHIE / DANIEL / ROBERT / JACOB / BRIE / MARY BETH / MERRITT / MADELYNE / PEYSON / HAMPTON / MITCH / BRIEN / DAVE / JENNA / ALAINA / MGAN / ASH / ANNA / CONNOR / KYLE / MEREDITH / MARK / ELAINE / SAVANNAH / ASHLEY / BAILEY / SAM / CHRISTIAN / EBY / TYLER / LANE / LIZ / MORGZILLA / RYAN / CHARLES / CHUCK /JONATHAN / LAUREN / LINDSAY / KILLER / JOHANNA /....make a total of 45 people serving others last night without expecting anything in return.


Looking back, tonight was B_A_N_A_N_A_S !


46 people total and 37 of them were there in the kitchen by 6:30. Twig was still out of town so I was very glad Mitch, Dave, and Brien were there to help me when I was already in 3 places at one time and needed to be in a 4th and 5th. 
Tonight's meal was stovetop-centric. At the start, all 6 burners were being used with 2 more things still needing to be done when room opened up. Big pot of water for pasta (2 burners), sauce, green beans, water for corn on the cob, water for tea, and a burner for asparagus.


There's a word you're seeing for the first time on this blog.  Asparagus?"shudder"
I've never eaten it and for several reasons:
1. Mom didn't cook it. She was straight off the farm and they didn't grow asparagus on the one she grew up on. Beans, corn, tomatoes, squash, okra, potatoes,- That's what Cleo was all about. 
2. The smell
3. The texture. My theory: Feels like rubber before you cook it, probably gonna taste like it after you cook it. 
4. You steam it to cook it. The only thing I want to eat steamed? A hot dog bun.


BUT.......somebody gave us a large amount of Asparagus yesterday. Didn't want to waste it, so about 6:30 I stopped everything and asked if anyone knew how to cook asparagus. I got 4 or 5 muttered responses that didn't inspire confidence in me and then MARYBETH came to the rescue. She said I'll call my mom and see how she does it. A couple of minutes later she came back and said I got it. So I let her take it and run with it. She and a partner got the sauce pan and went to work! 30 minutes later we had a huge pan of asparagus. Good job!*


And then, as if the sheer number of people wasn't enough to deal with, we had door prizes!
I had several bags of gummy bears, 5 leather jackets (LEATHER JACKETS? Yep.) and 3 camp chairs. Not enough for everyone, but I needed to get them in the hands of someone, so we drew #'s out of a bowl and left it to God to put everything in the hands of the ones who could use it.


The coloring on the names tonight is easy. Kids from New Hanover are in black and orange, and college kids are written in white on a blue background. 


Regular readers know ELAINE is the our SWEET TEA maker. She nails it every week. The only thing I do is taste it when she's done. Tonight, she had to wait for space on the stove and we got to a point where a critical decision had to be made. Would the tea be made in time for the first stop or should we throw some instant cold water mix like lemonade in the cooler for the first stop and use the brewed tea for the second?
I showed ELAINE what we had and what we could do and let her make the call. She thought about it and said Let's just do what we're doing. I think it'll be done in time. I said OK. I went back to what was going on and eventually went up top to get things set up. We said grace and the tea still had not come out. I told the kids to tell everybody when they came by that we would bring them their drinks when they came out. As the first person in line got near, they brought the tea out and had cups ready to go before the first person got to them. Way to come through in the clutch, ELAINE!


Penne Pasta with Italian Sausage
Corn on the cob
Green Beans
Asparagus
Carrots and Cucumbers w/Ranch
Dessert
Sweet Tea / Water


MaryBeth was quick to remind me that when she won "Prettiest Christmas Sweater" at the FCA Christmas party, I failed to include it in the announcements at School the next day. So.....
" MaryBeth Sullivan won the "Prettiest Christmas sweater " contest last December at the FCA Christmas Party. Tyler Antonelli won the "Ugliest Christmas Sweater" contest."
Hope that makes up for it.......