Dessert in the desert

In an earlier post I mentioned we're living on a street where the families are very social with each other. Today we went to a party at a neighbouring home, which I understood to be a farewell-to-snowbirds party. I was surprised by the reason, given that most on this street are full-time residents. However, I later found out it was a surprise celebration of a lady's upcoming 90th birthday.

Part of our street's progressive Christmas dinner party

You may remember three photos I shared in an earlier post, where there was an amazing range of desserts displayed, including the photo above. These were taken at a Christmas progressive dinner party on this street. The desserts were made by Randy, the homeowner, who is a retired pastry chef from a Four Seasons hotel. Well, tonight's party was put on by Randy and his wife Judy. 

About 30 people gathered outdoors and enjoyed a hot and cold buffet, followed by desserts. It was a time of great conversation and mingling and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Everyone here certainly makes us feel welcome.

 

This is Randy, standing near the centerpiece of desserts. I tried one of these desserts from the tiered stand and it was delicious. I also tried a few others, and brought home a doggy bag ... but not for the dogs.

The flowerpot on the top tier was only temporary. As people gathered, it was replaced by a decorative piece made by Randy.

 

This decoration is made totally out of blown sugar; everything except for the writing ... the ribbons, the swan on top ... you name it, are all blown sugar. It certainly was a work of art, and had to be done secretly while his mother-in-law Claire was out one evening. It was beautiful.

We'll soon be moving on from here, heading back to Canada. However, before we go we've been invited to return to Randy and Judy's home for dinner tomorrow, hopefully to help with leftovers! Then a group of us are going for "Burger Monday" to say farewell to us. We've certainly been welcomed by the neighbours here, beyond anything we've experienced elsewhere.

Walking one of the many nearby trails

We'd better take the dogs for an extra-long walk tomorrow, to burn off some calories!

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Location: Green Valley, Arizona, USA
Weather: High 73ºF (23ºC) Low 48ºF (9ºC)
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