Allons, enfants

My dear niece Eleanor turned 17 today. For her birthday, I had proposed a luncheon party for her & her friends. I had envisioned white linen, proper china, and polished silver (silver what, I don't know), but as was entirely predictable, and to quote Aunt Virginia, we cut the gracious living & just ate (ham & cheddar crepes, tomato salad, & three-berry fool).
It also turned out that only Eva, Eleanor's 14-year-old friend, came. Although I'm pretty sure Eva's been 14 for about 2 1/2 years, she says no. It's hard to believe she's as young as that. (According to her, she's governed by her inner 55-year-old crotchety biddy, which I guess could explain some of it.) After lunch, the two girls, Jamie, Mom and I all hung out on the bed while Henry napped in the other room. We talked about lots of stupid things, like high-heeled shoes, and nice things, like I Capture the Castle and The Breakfast Club, and James scooched around as best he could on such a crowded bed and got kissed and tickled a lot.

It was so amazingly restorative! I should do more of my socializing in bed; it totally made me feel 17 again (the good bits).