The Mystery Party

One day a mysterious black envelope appeared on my pillow, emblazoned with a golden pawn.

From within I took an elegantly arrayed invitation . . .

You are cordially invited to a party of mystery!

Join me on the twenty-eighth of January, two thousand twelve 

at five o'clock in the evening to find out who killed Mr. Halding.

Please wear formal, but comfortable attire

and bring your wit and intelligence, that is, if you have any,

for you will most assuredly need it!

Let the game begin!

Now who could resist such a mysterious surprise!

Of course I went! Gowned and all!

Can you guess who gave this party for our family?

My ever intelligent, brilliant, special sister, Hannah.

I was delighted! Most of all intrigued! 

 Our own Mr. Halding with whom we were invited to dine, but who mysteriously avoided us the entire evening.

One of the most beautiful table settings I have ever had the experience to photograph! So striking! Stark and contrasting! And the gorgeous light made the crystal sparkle, the silver shine!

 Hannah made the napkins.

Bought everything for the table except the cloth, silverware and plates. I . . . I am quite speechless! I couldn't describe it if I wanted!

We all received a little box by our plate and were delighted to discover Russel Stover chocolates after dinner!

The candlesticks, I have to say, were my favorite part! They definitely set the atmosphere of gray, old England, far away, long ago . . .

Or maybe the Chess pieces were my favorite! Absolutely amazing!

Or maybe it was the delicious scrolls of the candle holders. I'm not exactly sure! But whatever it was, it was wonderful!

The silverware glittered and I just knew I had slipped, unconsciously, into a world I could not find enough of . . .

 Hannah is wonderful! I was so fascinated with her artistic abilities. A whole new side of Hannah appeared that day.

 This struck me! Lovely, yet harsh like the beauty of a winter wind, the icy glass of a pond.

Everyone loved this floating candle. Everyone! We watched it the whole evening to see if the middle would melt down into the water!

 After dark . . . the wine is poured . . .(grape juice)

 The candles lit . . .

We gathered in the dining hall, awaiting the guest of honor, the first course, the murder . . .

 A
hh! Fruit! Grapes, kiwi, blackberries, blueberries.

Mushroom soup, and the best mushroom soup I've ever had! Mr. Halding's cook really out did herself!

William enjoying the candlelit party, and his family . . .

Once, while waiting for our next course, I looked across and saw Mama and Daddy holding hands . . .

Salad. William waiting patiently for our hostess, Hannah, to begin.

Sherbet. "Served between courses to cleanse the palette."~Princess Diaries That always makes me smile.

Daddy smiling at his daughters . . .

Dawna, after hearing of the murder . . . Poor Mr. Halding! Though no one was very sorry to see him go . . .

I expected a mystery, but I never expected to be a suspect. We each had our own story, our own name, our own reason for disliking Mr. Halding, our own reason to . . .  but I needn't go into detail.

After a final serving of wild rice, green beans and almonds, mashed potatoes and chicken, tea was served, and the game began.

One of us had murdered, but no one knew who . . . with a technique similar to Mafia we sipped our tea, ate our chocolates and brought our wits, our intelligence, searching for the murderer of our dear Mr. Halding . . .

Oh, what a thrilling evening it was! Delicious, mysterious, fun, shocking, lovely! Beautiful! I love Hannah. She's brilliant! She's my sister! And I'm so glad to be hers! Thank you, Hannah! It was a very good evening!

After all the festivities, the evening still did not end! We had yet another mystery to solve! "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie. Oh, that movie gave me shivers! I loved it! No one really guessed, though I know I should have guessed after finding out who it was! It was plain, right before your nose. It was good! And in the end Hannah gave us an old Disney movie, The Sword and the Rose . Very fun! Hannah treated us that night! I felt like a rich girl! But I felt like a queen more! I didn't deserve such consideration!

I love you, Hannah!

Click play to hear some of the background music to our party.