Ruth hosts a "Divine Nine" party

May 15, 2011

Ruth hosts a "Divine Nine" party=

Naturally any party that Ruth hosts starts days in advance. I usually put on my maids outfit and help dust, vacuum, and do the floors. After that I let the guys know there's no kiting for a few days. This is the table all set up; I think you can tell it's an Asian theme tonight.
This closer shot reveals Ruth's collection of Chinese wine covers and Asian dishes. Double click for a closer look.
Seven of the Divine Nine made it to Long Beach for a "Me Soo Hungry" evening of great food and drink. Ruth usually cooks for the occasion, but since we are also having a big family gathering on Sunday, she decided to let our newest Second Street restaurant do the job. My assignment was to take a few pictures to capture the feel of the evening.
An evening at the Corbetts always includes our two dogs, Bebe and Harley. It's like having two active children; getting them to pose can be tough.
While Bebe and Harley loved sitting in front of the warm fire, next to Ruth, I got her to leave them for a moment to get a shot of the dogs alone. Bebe is on the left and Harley is on the right.
I worked the room taking close-ups of the ladies as they enjoyed the appetizers that they had brought. Travel Agent Lenni is on the left and Lillian, who owns and operates L & L Shutters with her husband, Larry, is on the right. We have all traveled and skied in France and Italy. Lil and I have the same item in our "Bucket List"..... seeing the Great Wall of China.
Ruth's long time girlfriend Pat Tracy of CRM Construction, and Judy Gilmer, a retired teacher, joined Ruth in the champagne and wine tasting. So did I. It was Pat who talked up Belmont Shore and encouraged us to move here from Santa Monica in 2002. Seems to have worked out!
JJ and Patty had obviously consulted on what color to wear! They brought their photo albums--in print and on the Ipad-- of their recent trip to Africa-----whittled down from thousands of beautiful shots of the animals and Capetown, South Africa. We loved sharing that and hearing all the stories.

The dinner bell rang when the "Chef" from Me Soo Hungry delivered dinner. It was the best of all worlds---the ladies got to catch up over cocktails, no waiters or other diners were bothered by their laughter and chit-chat, and someone else did the bulk of the cooking!! Ok girls, I'm going to put my camera down - - -it's time to eat. The chocolate chiffon cake that Ruth made for dessert was yummy! I had leftovers today. Great food!!! And we were motivated to really clean the house!