A couple weeks ago I found myself shopping for witch hats. One can’t attend a witches Halloween party without a proper witchy hat, can one? And what better day to blog about witches than on Halloween?

Now that Sharon and Jim are back in California (after a way-too-long stint in Texas and Australia), she decided to throw a First Annual Witches and Wine Party. And if anyone knows how to throw a party it’s Sharon. She’s a mix between Martha Stewart and Joanna Gaines…an excellent cook and a talented decorator.

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Friday night, 19 of us gathered at Sharon’s Santa Rosa home to be bewitched, so to speak. Some of us met in high school, so have been friends for 46 years. We still have a strong connection, which I think is a rare thing. How lucky are we?

Sharon’s home was decked out in everything Halloween. Her hubby Jim was the official photographer, assigned the unfortunate duty of capturing old friends eating, drinking and gabbing — lots of gabbing — into the night. You can imagine the decibel level in the house with nineteen women all talking simultaneously.

Some of the witch costumes were so clever I didn’t recognize who was wearing them under their face makeup. I stared at Sharon’s sister Suzie and her sister-in-law Maureen for the longest time, being spared the embarrassment of asking who they were only because they spoke.

We each brought something to share, an appetizer, wine or dessert. Naturally, I chose dessert — spiderweb pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

Although we didn’t know what each was bringing, no two appetizers were alike. And nearly every inch of the enormous dining table held something delectable. Naturally, I tried most that didn’t contain meat. And there were many. In fact, I didn’t eat again until 1:00 p.m on Saturday.

There’s something to be said about friendships that stand the test of time. You know the kind…you might go months, if not years, without seeing certain friends but it feels like you never parted once you reunite. That’s priceless.

Nearly half our softball team attended the party. Forming in 1975, we played for 10 years. We were actually quite good, winning 33 straight games (over 3 full seasons) until becoming a tad overconfident (cocky even) and finally deservedly losing. But we had a blast. Oh, the joys of sweet youth…

Toward the end of the evening a drawing was held to determine the best appetizer. So many tasty offerings made it tough to choose. Personally, I enjoyed Sue’s jalapeno cornbread. So did she win?

I took some joy in teasing Sue about that. Now don’t get me wrong; it’s sorta what we do. But in her defense and with the abundance of food, I’m sure Sue’s cornbread was overlooked because it was next to the chili on the kitchen island. Yeah, let’s go with that.

Maureen’s huge platter of scrumptious stuffed mushrooms took the prize. Then we voted on best costume. That was difficult as well but in the end Mary Jo won for her imaginative choice of the good witch from Wizard of Oz (while the rest of us were wicked).

When the last of us left, my guess is Jim needed a stiff drink after hours of snapping photos of endlessly talking ladies in witch costumes. He’s a trooper, that one.

Anyway, I’d say Sharon’s First Annual Witches and Wine Party was a resounding success. Now all that’s left to say is…

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