80 is a number that needs to be celebrated, but when the birthday girl owns a country inn in Vermont and her birthday falls during the busy season in June it’s time to improvise. And it’s easier to surprise someone when you throw her a surprise party 6 weeks in advance of the actual date.

At some point she was totally worn out and disappeared into her room. But people kept knocking on the door to say goodnight to her, and eventually she reappeared in the taproom wearing her nightgown and bathrobe!

Joan, my mother-in-law, is our birthday girl. The setup? Our purpose at the inn last week was supposed to be to cater a weekend event for the Catamount Trail Association. And Joan was telling people that the CTA was spending the weekend, so we were hoping they didn’t get word of our ruse and start calling to ask questions or just show up for dinner. She did keep asking me about what we were serving and other details. Did they want a plated dinner? What about breakfast? Did they need meals for Friday and Saturday nights? Was there a meeting there during the day? Flying by the seat of my pants comes naturally for me. I was in sales. So she was satisfied by my responses and my reassurances that I had it all under control.

Her actual birthday bash wasn’t until Saturday night. So we had to tell her about it Friday morning, before her old friends and family started arriving as none of them, to my knowledge, belong to the Catamount Trail Association. So after she went to bed we left a stool in the middle of her path to the kitchen so she’d come upon it Friday morning. We placed flowers in a French flower bucket, a copy of the party invitation, and a note telling her about her party, with a handwritten PS stating that no one from the Catamount Trail Association was actually coming for the weekend. I’ve realized she’s not much of a morning person, as she walked right by it, made coffee and toast, and it wasn’t until her second cup of coffee that she looked at it and said, “What is that?” When we made our way down for coffee she was happy and excited, and wanted to know who was coming. We told her that had to be part of the surprise and wouldn’t tell her. It was worth it as her friends, some whom she hadn’t seen for several years, made their way in and surprised her with their presence. And her twin granddaughters Ashley and Alysha, and Alysha’s fiancé Rick attended as well. She couldn’t have been more pleased.

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Joan had dinner with her friends Friday night, and a continental breakfast that went on for hours on Saturday morning. She went sightseeing with friends in the afternoon, and came back to her party in the evening. The group swelled to 30 for her celebration. We feasted on mushroom and Gruyere strudel, smoked salmon with pumpernickel, fish pie, spice rubbed pork loin, Napa cabbage salad, roasted pears and grilled broccoli and cauliflower. And lots of Champagne. We topped off the meal with a birthday carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. At some point she was totally worn out and disappeared into her room. But people kept knocking on the door to say goodnight to her, and eventually she reappeared in the taproom wearing her nightgown and bathrobe! Hey, she could do what she wanted, it was her birthday.

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Happy 80th, Joan!

Deborah

And a big thanks to Ron Copeland for providing many of the photos of the event; the problem with catering a big party is I never have any time to run around and take pictures!