My friends come to our house for an Oscar party every year. I usually make lots of finger foods, but this year, there’s only going to be five of us. My daughter’s starting a new job so can’t get off to be with us. And another one of us moved away, so we’re going to be a small group. Small enough that I thought we’d just have a nice supper before the red carpet gets serious, and then we’ll have a few snacks while we watch the show.

Since it’s the Oscars, I try to get a little fancy. I’m making the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe for seafood chowder, then I’m making two pork tenderloins with sauces along with chicken, spinach, and gruyere turnovers and grilled caesar asparagus. Mary Lou’s bringing lemon bars for dessert, and I’m going to make some popcorn with a peanut butter/honey glaze to munch on in the living room.

My friends are serious movie buffs, so they’ll debate which movie, actor, and actress should win, and I’ll listen and learn. C.S. Boyack uses movies a lot to explain writing techniques on his blogs. https://storyempire.com/2022/11/25/lets-learn-from-a-case-study/ There’s lots of carry-over. So, I really do learn when my friends discuss what made one movie great while another one disappointed. We always have a good time.

Three of us at the party are writers, so that might explain where our focus goes. Mary Lou has gotten obsessed with Kdrama on TV lately, and she told me she’s learned a lot about hooks by watching it. I’m not the best at end of chapter hooks, and she’s critiquing my latest Jazzi and Ansel right now. She promised to give me some ideas she’s learned from the Korean series she’s watching. Awesome! Ideas to keep readers turning pages are always welcome.

Whether you’re watching the Oscars or not, here’s wishing you a wonderful Sunday! Enjoy.