1) A sunny day began with a very poor, tense night's sleep. I know I got at least two hours of very heavy sleep between 3 and 5:30, 'cause when I woke up a felt like I'd been spit out by a tombstone.
2) Truly a SUNNY day, but quite crisp and cool. Walking to Centre Street to D***** D***** ("Time to make the doughnuts!" I made the doughnuts.") there were times I felt like the only person out and about at 7ish AM.
3) The counter staff were just great. Made me remember that difficult three months when I worked for D***** D***** in 1984 . . .
4) Back at home I could alternate bouts of housekeeping and setup with coffee and being horizontal, since most everything had been set up the day before.
5) True to form, first guests, who were running the road race, showed up about 15 minutes early. And yay for that, 'cause it dispelled that "OMG, will anyone come?!" feeling. :-)
6) "The passing show" of runners walking (or running) from check-in at Doyle's to the starting line in Franklin Park started a bit after 10:30 AM.
7) A couple years ago my sister's family gave me a a red Solo cup goblet with a stem, which quickly became this year's must-have accessory for the road race. From the "reviewing stand" I'd hoist mine in a salute to passing runners, and it sparked some fun dialogue.
8) We decided that "mimosa" is a French verb: "Je mimose, vous mimosez, nous mimosons," etc.
9) Activity on the reviewing stand included runners pinning on their numbers, guests drinking coffee or mimosas and chatting, photographers adjusting their lenses, and more guests arriving for the fun.
10) Biggest surprise of the day: meeting my new second-floor neighbor, who was born six days ago! This is the very first baby I've met who could be described as a peanut. Teeny-tiny. I had not even been aware that they were expecting another child.
11) This is the first time I've had a party in - oh mercy, almost a year, it seems. The last entry in the guest book was January, and that was a bereavement call. You can imagine my happiness at welcoming people back into my home after so long, and on such a beautiful day, too.
12) One of my guests spotted a backpack hung on a fence across the street and formed the equation "abandoned backpack + finish line of a road race + Boston = contact law enforcement." So the police handled it all beautifully, posting an officer or two nearby, and as it happens, it had been left there by one of the runners. We're all grateful it wasn't something more serious.
13) I know my photographic limitations, so after many years of attempts I just decided I would not try to photograph the runners. Such a relief; I could enjoy the passing show all the more.
14) Was it just me, or were there fewer runners this year? I feel like it ended a lot sooner.
15) Re: running gear: if you're going to wear tights to run, there's no need to wear shorts over them. Some of the color combinations were interesting. One guy ran by in bright red and green, prompting me to ask a guest, "Wasn't Christmas four months ago?"
16) While the runners petered out about 12:30ish or so, guests kept arriving until about 1:30, and the last guest took his leave just before 3:30. When we weren't watching the race, there was interesting conversation going on on a wide range of topics I couldn't begin to remember.
17) Next big surprise of the day: being introduced to a friend of friends who ran the race - and lives two houses down from me!
18) The day concluded with a big NAP (blessed, blessed sleep), dishwashing, tidying, and dinner at Doyle's with *Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt* to pass the time.