Surprise!

... it's a pig, a cake, and a house-full of your friends and family! Our daughter planned a surprise Pig Pickin' birthday party for her husband, we hosted the festivities at our home on Saturday. He learned a little bit ahead of time what was going on, our daughter gift wrapped an invitation for him so that he'd know about, and could fully participate in, the entire day's activities; and a full day it was! Scroll down and enjoy photos of all the merriment, from the early-morning set up to the last happy hurrah!

Awww...
The birthday boy and his wife celebrate the joyful occasion~
Life is Good!

Pig Pickin'

"Any month of the year is good for a pig pickin' in North Carolina. The barbecue style will vary according to what area you're in: In the eastern part of the state, the entire pig (split down the middle) is cooked, and the sauce is made with vinegar and pepper. In the western part, only pig shoulders are cooked, and a tomato-based finishing sauce is used. Unlike other food preparation in the South, which is usually dominated by women, barbecue is a male domain."

That's the official definition of a pig pickin'. We're hosting one in honor of our son-in-law's 30th birthday tomorrow. The pig and the cooker are arriving this evening. The guests are arriving tomorrow, somewere between 50 and 60 people. This is our daughter's gift to her husband, he went to school in the Eastern part of the state where these affairs are commonplace and the vinegar-pepper sauce is the preference. My only job is to have the house ready! Naturally, it's raining today(!), after an incredibly beautiful stretch of spring-like weather. It's supposed to clear by tomorrow though; but it will be cooler, much cooler than it has been. I should have figured this would happen... why does anyone ever plan anything to take place outdoors? It's such a challenge to tempt fate; and after all, there's only so much we can control. I imagine, as always, the women will stay in the house and the men will congregate around the cooker... (or the NCAA playoffs on TV)! I'll post photos after the party, in the meantime I need to vacuum, dust, clean and work on the centerpieces for the tables. Oink.

Life is Good!

(Maybe not for the pig.)