Visiting the Red Tent

The title is only going to be funny to those of us that 1) read the book The Red Tent or 2) were at Ceyda Yuce's home last night. Last night was the first get together of my Shanghai friends and our husbands. We decided that after 6 months, all of the hubbies of the group of great gals I run around with should meet. So Ceyda hosted a happy hour at her house. We had all some what held our breath before hand as we all felt it would be quite the bummer if the guys didn't hit it off and we were relegated to 'girls-only' events. Fortunately, that was not the case, and at least from Tom I heard good news that it was a good group of guys. Whew.

So, the red tent... Let me begin by sharing that that everyone brought a bottle of wine, and I am not sure if there were any bottles left unopened when we left. The women all filled our plates and sat in the dining room which had french doors on it that could be pulled (or pushed, ha ha) closed. The men chose the chairs and tables outside of the room. After we all started chatting, the men decided to close our doors as clearly they felt our noise was inhibiting their own conversations. So even though at times we opened them to let in some cool air, generally it was agreed that the conversations topics we were discussing, such as the different styles of bikini-waxes one can select from, mandated that the doors remain closed. Hence, the name the Red Tent. We had such a great time last night! I am very lucky to have hooked up with such a great bunch of ladies. I was laughing so hard that my sides ached. That is a sign of a good time.

Some evening highlights:

• Why do they use the term apex to describe those female body parts?
• What is a "landing strip"? What are it's benefits?
• Frommer's translates to Farmers in Swedish (sorry Susanne, this one had me in tears!)
• Susanne probably ought not take her wedding ring off if she has an affair
• Sushi is meant to be eaten whole so as to provide long gaps of quiet time to a table
• Salt can remove red wine stains from white linens
• We need to go out to clubs to feel young (so says Rebecca!)
• Can you really make a profit selling Chinese wine in Sweden?
• Kathy has to make cheesecake for all future gatherings!

Oh, and a special thanks to Haken Yuce and Brian Miller for the giant size glass of liqueur. Kahlua, Vodka, Bailey's, and milk. Wow. Brian thought he had called out a recipe to Haken to for B52's, but I looked it up online and B52's have Grand Marnier in them instead of vodka. It is actually called a mudslide. Now I know why my mom drinks these...