Another Day, Another Party

5/29/2018

"Equal and Opposite Reactions"
By Patti Liszkay
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"Equal and Opposite Reactions is a rollicking good yarn about complex relationships and emotions in middle-class American culture. The author has created an incredibly funny romantic comedy, which transcends the ubiquitous romantic triangle and expands it into a quadrangle, complicated by the interweaving of relationships between the children of the principal characters. Cleverly plotted, twists and turns, and exceptionally well written, this part drama and part slapstick comedy is a tour-de-force. Bravo Patti."
- R. Bruce Logan, "The Narrative Arc"

Another Day, Another Party

...Continued from yesterday:

Early Sunday morning, the morning following the Quinceañera (see previous post), Maria and Justin dropped off the girls at Tom's and my room at the Best Western (see post from 5/23/2018) so that we could babysit while they, Theresa and Callie went for a hike in the desert, it being prudent to leave very early in the morning if one wishes to hike in the Arizona desert at this time of year (see post from 5/22/2018).

I took the girls down to the hotel dining area for breakfast,

...then allowed a bit of educational video before their parents returned.

Most of us were leaving Wickenburg for Phoenix that day, except for Claire and Miguel, who would be staying a few more days to visit with Miguel's family.
However after those of us who were leaving checked out of the Best Western Rancho Grande,

...before heading out to Phoenix we first headed over to Miguel's family's house.

Behind the house is a courtyard,

...on the other side of which is an outdoor kitchen,

...that Miguel's mother Lolita uses to prepare food for big events,

...such as was this day's event, a birthday party for her two grandchildren, .Quino, who'll be turning five,

...and Memo - here with his cousin Brisa - who'll soon be three.

The yard was set up and decked out for the guests,

...some of whom had already arrived by the time we got there around 11:30 am,

...and some of whom were were dipping into Lolita's famous Menudo - also known as "Hangover Soup" - made from beef tripe (which is cow stomach) and hominy. (Mayhaps for some the soup was needed as a curative for the previous evening's revels).

We joined the guests,

...and though I bypassed the Menudo - all the more beef tripe for the hangover sufferers - I did have one of Lolita's delicious chiles rellenos,

...a poblano pepper stuffed with queso fresco - a creamy white cheese used in Mexican dishes - then dipped in egg yolks and pan fried.

The beans were muy tasty, too.

Miguel's brother Juan Carlos and his wife Dulce.

Claire, Miguel, and Dulce.

There showed up among the guests a king snake, which set me to shrieking (like Indiana Jones, I, too, hate snakes) until it was explained to me that the king snakes keep the rattle snakes away. "Make him stay!" I cried, but, alas, I guess all my squawking sent him slithering off in search of a quieter place.

Maria's family, Tommy, Emily, Callie, Theresa, Tom and I left the party around 1:30 pm, before which Dulce gave the girls their party favor bags, which they opted to break into immediately.