2003-03-09 - 12:28 p.m.

Now playing: the end of "From Martha's Kitchen" on Food Network.

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This weekend I hosted my big annual Words-L party called SnowBash. This was the sixth one since 1996 - I didn't throw one in 2000.

It was a great smashing success. I had 12 guests, if you can believe it - we all just barely fit in the living room. I cooked the traditional dinner of garlic shrimp with pasta, pecorino romano, and Parmesan, as well as steamed broccoli with tarragon butter, and tiramisu from La Fiorentina for dessert. Everyone had a great time, including me.

This morning, the guests who stayed the night at local hotels gathered here at 10, and we went to Fran's in Feeding Hills for breakfast. It was excellent. Their waffle maker had broken, and then they ran out of regular pancake mix, so they switched to making pancakes from malted waffle batter. They were delicious! I splurged and had blueberry pancakes topped with two teaspoons of Uncle Bill's maple syrup. SO good. I haven't had maple syrup since last summer or so.

So, this afternoon will be ultra low-key - some TV watching, maybe a nap, and then Paul and Andrea are coming over and we're going for sushi. :D