Setting the night on FIRE!

Well, it was a night to remember at the Maltese Club last night. Most all the women were in red including yours truly in red pants and matching red jewelry from my Grandma's jewelry box. Dinner was prime rib (which I didn't eat), pasta and a twice baked potato and what is a Maltese dinner without bread and wine?

I sat with Rose, here on the left, looking fabulous as always. She is the sweetest lady ever and what a fire cracker! She is totally fun and can eat anyone at the club under the table. She clears her plate all the time and asks for more - a woman after my own heart.

After dinner, we had the gift exchange. I was feeling like I didn't have quite enough so I went our before arriving at the club and bought some note cards to add to my french snowflake soaps that were in a really nice box. I put them together in a gift bag and added them to the pile of gifts. There were 40 of us, I was number 39 and Rose was 40, how funny! When I approached to get my gift there was only 2 things left a gift and an envelope (gift card). I let the little girl, Gracie, help me pick so I took the gift. It was a handbag, nice, I like handbags. Rose goes up and takes the last thing and it is a Trader Joe's gift card, CRAP, I should have taken that one! Anyway, it was fun, but the excitement was just about to ignite.

Rose came over to check out the purse that I got and when we unwrapped it from the tissue paper the paper landed on one of the votive candles that were set on the table. The corner of the paper started to flame and the next thing I knew, the entire piece of tissue was a blaze! As the ladies tried to slap the flames out with their hands, I realized I was just sitting there watching it burn wondering if the plastic table cloth was going to catch. I literally was staring at it like Cindy Brady in the episode where she is on TV and cant stop staring at the red light on the television camera. It was so weird. As the women were starting to get concerned about the blaze, Marlene, who was behind me grabbed a cup of water and threw it on the tissue and with the hiss of a steam engine, it was out, but the excitement was not over. Once the flames were extinguished, large pieces of tissue that had turned into ash, the size of quarters but as delicate as butterfly wings came raining down on us as we looked at the sad burned tissue paper on the table as it rested in a pool of water. All dressed in red and jewels the ladies who were trying to snuff out the flames looked at their black soot covered hands and tried to gather themselves. I have never seen a fire put out with such panache and grace in my life. It was amazing! There is nothing like being the new person and lighting the table on fire let me tell you. EVERYONE there knows who I am now! One of the younger members claimed I did it just for attention and the others said maybe I was too hot for the club. We laughed and the incident was forgotten.

The rest of the night was nice. We sat and talked about next year and who the chairperson was going to be for the Women's Committee. No one volunteered so the President, John Stellini appointed a woman named Nimfa (spelling) and guess who is her second in command? ME! Yeah, it will be fun. I love the ladies of the club and they all told me that they are happy to have me as one of the people in charge, they are looking for a change and think someone like me could help out with that. I am looking forward to it.

Anyway, that was my night.

Today I am only at work until about 1:15 PM as I have to go and get a filling replaced. Ugh, do you all know that I am totally scared of the dentist? Well, I am, and I don't want to go, but need to get it over with.

Stay Tuned.