Cents and Sensibility, Day 27. Pick a holiday and celebrate. Have a good time.

After the crapfest that was yesterday, I needed a Peasants Feast. Tonight couldn't have come at a better time.

Because the incredulity and sadness of yesterday slid into lassitude today. I wanted to be surrounded by familiar, jovial distractions today, made manifest in the form of people I love, eating food, laughing and catching up.

My mood started perking up when I snipped the tags off my FBR (full-blown retail) clothing that I bought yesterday. It became more elevated when I slapped a new coat of paint on my face, and got things set for this week's Feast.

The theme this week? Holiday food. We're skipping next week's Feast because of the holiday (July 4), and we'll most likely skip the next one, because both kids will be at UNC.

So I thought it would be fun for folks to bring items from their favorite holiday. Any holiday.

I encouraged people to get as creative as they wanted with their holiday food selections. From the traditional Christmas celebration to National Talk Like a Pirate Day, anything was all good.

And it was all good. The food and the company.

As for the food, we Feasted on a Thanksgiving turkey Logan brined for a few days and cooked today. The house still smells like home.

Stefan's choice to honor a northern Colorado holiday of celebrating Nothing was the most nihilistic offering of the evening. He proudly brought nothing.

My dad and his groove thing Vel brought Boxing Day Australian treats. Aussie bites and Australian coffee . Lois brought a sweet potato casserole that was everyone's favorite, hands down. Sue and James brought pasta salad,

Gigi brought a tasty potato salad. Susan Brown and John brought New Year's champagne. Christmas cookies. Halloween candy. Fourth of July pies. It was all on the table.

And there was a spate of time tonight when a contingent of the group headed to the back yard for some frisbee action.

I didn't get enough face-time with everyone, but I can say that my favorite conversations tonight were with Christine and Sue. Everyone was a willing chatterbox, though.

It was a truly lovely evening; one we won't attempt to replicate for a few weeks.

I feel the need for socialization, so I made a few plans with some people. I have no particular affinity to the fourth of July as a holiday, per se, but I do somehow feel an obligation to do something.

That seems to have been taken care of.

My zany friends have no idea how much they're appreciated.

As for the earlier part of the day, I worked from home, then did some prep, then some relaxing.

I felt a bit of an emancipation celebration tonight, because I know I'm stronger than I sometimes think I am. More capable.

More willing to let things go.