Bernd, I suppose it is the untipping party for spring, second verse of the fall party. You are right though, about needing something hot and warm up your way. I can see a hot buttered rum, heated by a red hot poker. I think that is the drink of choice for the Bon Homme celebration in Quebec, right? Speaking of Canada, I am ordering H. Tall Boy which was registered by the Montreal Botanic Gardens in the 80s. There was mention of it last year on the forum. This whole week, we've had warm humid foggy weather, with several days of warm rain. It rained 2 inches overnight, slow and steady. I brought in my Meyer lemon tree to keep all the blossoms from falling off. The new plantaginea hosta (3 which I still do not recollect ordering) and the newly arrived H. Tattoo from PDN are all sitting on my back deck so I can watch them turning green. With the temperatures ranging between 50 and 70, it won't take the hosta long to emerge.

What a great question! I've been pondering this for a couple of years. I'm a teacher, retiring in June '09. Typically, at our school, good friends of the retiree plan a party, send out flyers and those who choose to come pay $25 a head for dinner. The entertainment is either testimonials or comedy skits. I LOATHE this and certainly want nothing of it when I retire. I am thinking of having the staff and a few other friends in education come to my house after school one day for an open house/happy hour kind of thing. I've been there too long to just sneak away without notice (my first choice), so I think I'll set it up myself and thus do what I want. I think those retiring in business have a myriad of possibilities. Someone "important" to the firm may get a big bash. In a small company, often the retiree is just taken out for dinner by close associates. I think it's all over the map. This sounds like a good topic for discussion.

I love these, so tender and delici and you can double the recipe. They are pretty with a garnish of fresh thyme. HOT MUSHROOM TURNOVERS Dough: 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened Filling: 3 tbs. butter or margarine 1/2 lb. mushrooms, minced 1 large onion, minced 1/4 cup sour cream 2 tbs. flour 1 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. thyme leaves 1 egg, beaten To make dough: In large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese, flour and butter or margarine until smooth; shape into ball; wrap; refrigerate 1 hour. Meanwhile, make filling: In 10-inch skillet over medium heat, in 3 tbs. butter or margarine, cook mushrooms and onion until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in sour cream, salt, thyme, and 2 tablespoons flour; set aside. On floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll half of dough 1/8" thick. With floured 2 3/4" round cookie cutter, cut out as many circles as possible. Repeat. Preheat oven to 450°F. Onto one half of each dough circle, place a teaspoon of mushroom mixture. Brush edges of circles with some egg, fold dough over filling. With fork, firmly press edges together to seal; prick tops. Place turnovers on ungreased cookie sheet; brush with remaining egg. Bake 12 to 14 minutes until golden. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen, 65 calories each.

Wow - thanks again for all of your great suggestions. The party was last night and it was a huge success. "The best holiday party in years" according to quite a few Facebook posts!!! Since I am here on GW, I want to mention that everyone loved my kitchen. I'm sure some people might have just been trying to be polite, but really, I got so many wonderful comments, people mentioning specific things that they loved and people asking me for recommendations and advice! It was great. And the kitchen was absolutely the most popular room to be in. The bar area was hopping!! But eventually, things sort of spread out. I'm not the type of gal who has ever really had a "catered event" in my house, and certainly not anything of this size. I was really appreciating having a server/helper there - especially to keep things cleaned up over the course of the evening. It was weird though, 'cause I kept wanting to offer her drinks and food and I was definitely treating her like a guest! Everything fell in to place perfectly. Coat closet and coat tree fit the bill. The chimnea was blazing away. The crowds were spread out all though the house. People were saying all night how much more fun a house party is than something in a restaurant. I think I've already offered my house up again for the party next year! Thanks again for the advice. SQ