Potlucks and Baby Showers

Those two activities sound downright domestic, don't they? Well, the way my friends do it, I'd say domesticity has become quite sassy.

First, Denise invited me to join Gourmet Group, which she was hosting on Thursday evening. I can't really say what an "ordinary" potluck is because I so rarely attend such events, but I can say Gourmet Group is anything but ordinary. For one thing, the women in Gourmet Group are all fabulous and extraordinarily nice. For another, they are amazing cooks. This month's gathering featured Mexican treats like homemade tamales, empanadas and enchiladas much tastier than the lowly enchiladas I brought. Since I don't have the greatest interest in becoming a better cook myself, I wonder how long it will take the group to notice the dishes I bring are not quite the same caliber as everything else. Maybe I'll just offer to bring the cocktails every month. In keeping with the theme, we also had a pinata, and boy did we beat the crap out of that poor thing in an effort to free the candy inside. And somewhere there is photographic evidence of our comically violent behavior.

As an added bonus, Denise and Paul have a hot tub on their roofdeck. I told Denise that if I had a roofdeck with a hot tub I'd probably never go out.

Then on Saturday, Sebastian and his wife, Mary, threw a shower for their new baby, Giuseppe, who was born a little premature a couple of months ago. If you're thinking this was an afternoon affair featuring quiche and annoying baby games, think again. After a workday that found me hanging out with ham radio operators (a.k.a. the nerdiest people on earth) in the Oakland Hills and asking passersby in downtown San Francisco what they thought about a U-C Chancellor's apparent suicide, I strolled along the Embarcadero to the Hi Dive, which Mary and Sebastian had rented out to accommodate the 100 guests. Giuseppe did leave his own party about half an hour after I arrived, but Jack, Helen, Erin, Doug, Liz and the Fabulous Patti were all there. At 10:30 or so the celebration moved to Favorite Bar and continued for as long as we could take it. I made it to about 12:30, I believe.

Giuseppe may be only two months old, but he hosts a mean bash. I almost shudder to think what this kid's 21st birthday will be like.