2003 Solstice Party

DateDecember 7, 2003
HostsPam and Alan Bergstrom
WhereBergstrom house, Frenchtown
Who (else) Judy Allison and Malcolm Boyd, Marji Brandriss and Dave Kristol, Christina Chan and Rich LeGrand, Debbie and Alan Cudworth, Claire Hamanaka and Walt Willard, Brenda and Larry Isherwood, Ann and Mike Kruimer, Susan Nicolich and Dave Snope, Cheryl Prudhomme and Mark Cook, Ann Smith and Gisela Witz, Linda and George Wells
[Team Wells's Report]

This year's Solstice Party gets the award for the event with the most dramatic weather-induced need to reschedule. A pair of late autumn storms converged to dump seasonally record-breaking amounts of snow and forced the party to move from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon. The upside was the opportunity to frolic in the snow at the Bergstroms'.

Marji and I spent substantial time on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday shoveling snow around our house. (Our DPW thoughtfully plows in the entrance to our driveway after each snowstorm, usually after we've already created an opening. The icy slush freezes like rock, which adds to the fun.) Heading out to Frenchtown, however, we were treated to a (Warning: cliché coming) "winter wonderland." Following the Bergstroms' excellent directions, we got close to their house, but we were afraid we would miss the directions to the "dirt road", dirt being hard to see under the snow. A roadside "DOGS" sign saved us, and we turned into their long driveway and drove down to their new, huge house. We dragged in enough gear to cause fears we might be moving in, but it was just food, cameras, and computer gear for a slide show.

We were second to arrive after Team Wells, but others soon started rolling in, and before long the spacious kitchen grew crowded with DOGS milling around and chattering, as usual, as well as assembling the usual impressive array of foods. Pam led a tour of the premises, for which some of us thought we might need GPSes.

After the tour, Malcolm Boyd and I set up an LCD projector in the living room that he brought, and we set up a slideshow of scenes from this season's DOGS events. However, no one paid much attention, as the living room was too bright, and there was food to be had in the kitchen.

Before the serious eating began, however, those assembled so far held a lightning business meeting. Linda reported that the club has a healthy bank balance. George handed out awards. (See the 2003 DOGS Awards page.) We adjourned the meeting and commenced to eat.

After we all ate to satiety -- and beyond -- the intrepid among us, or at least the prepared, headed outside for some winter fun and games. Brenda and Larry had brought three plastic saucers and a mini-toboggan for sliding, along with snow shoes. The Bergstroms provided the hill. A bunch of us (Brenda, Larry, Susan, Dave S., Dave K., Christina, Rich, Malcolm) provided entertainment for the others, sliding, screaming, and tumbling our way down the hill while they stayed warm and dry indoors. Fortunately, there were no kids around to roll their eyes and tell us we were too old for that sort of thing!

As the sun started to set (spectacular!), the wind started to pick up, and the wet clothes started to chill us, we gradually took ourselves inside. Besides, we could claim to have worked up an appetite for more food (not that we've ever required such an excuse), plenty of which remained.

The warm and dry folks had tired of watching the cavorting in favor of watching the slideshow that the darkening living room now enabled. As the snow-folk returned, we all sat around savoring the pictures, laughing and reminiscing about the great times we had this season and looking forward, already, to more great eating riding next year.


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Copyright © 2003, David M. Kristol (text, photos), Marjorie Brandriss (photos)