Maria calls this “Lamb In A Sweater,” we bought some lamb sausage at the town Farmer’s Market (the last one for the season), cooked it up in the oven, and sliced it this afternoon. In an hour or so, we baked the croissant dough and make what  Maria calls “Lamb In A Sweater.”

We expect between 12 and 14 people, between 2 and 5.

The shrimp cocktail are cooked and will sit on some fresh lettuce, Maria is making her Guacamole dip with corn chips, there’s a bowl of fresh cashews. We have four bottles of wine, Godiva chocolates, grapes, cheese, crackers and olives, and cookies.

We’ve never done this before, so it’s a learning experience and feels exotic. We realized this year that we know some very nice and good people and we wanted to celebrate our community as part of our Christmas observation.

I see that Maria brings her artistry to everything she does. The house  is radiant in lights and colors, and I’m eager to see how this all works. I am not good at cocktail party small talk, I just like talk. And there is a difference.

I’ll be busy washing dishes and taking coats and ferrying food around, but I hope there is a chance to sit and talk. Time to put out the glasses, I think we are almost set.