MHSeattle, Masha Shtern, 12-01-07

We've had a crazy amount of events this week, every day Wednesday through Sunday. I'd be feeling a little crazy with the preparations before people came, but every time they did, it worked out really well. They turned out to be such cool groups of people and it all just made sense after the effort. I think part of the reason is that we're starting to build up a base of people who come over (vs. wondering if anyone was going to show up last month), and it's starting to feel comfortable. The guests are more comfortable with each other and our house, so I don't feel like I need to keep an eye on the new people. That, and it helps a lot when people just hang out in the kitchen, because things are rarely ready when guests come. And speaking of the kitchen, I'm very happy with the amount of experimentation I can now do. I've got a couple of new recipes that worked out really well, and I'm always looking for new ones to try. And next week is sushi-making, whee-ha!