EveningBat

I'm so tired my head is spinning! We had a lovely visit with Deb and the Prussian, who came Thursday and stayed over until this morning. Yesterday, we went for a long, beautiful walk around the Japanese gardens and the boardwalk through the marsh. The sky had cleared, and the fall colors were beginning to show. They're fun to walk around with because they know a lot about plants and take a keen interest in the names and characteristics of everything, in addition to the aesthetic value. Deb and I have a long tradition of sitting companionably together and reading at each others' houses, and there are plenty of topics for lively discussion as well. Deb brought me a gorgeous gift! She made a quilt--which she says is technically a coverlet, but it's pieced fabric art, so I'd call it a quilt--for the top of our bed. It's a patchwork trellis of Asian-themed prints within a vivid purple framework. There are flowers, leaves, and flying cranes. It goes really well with the watercolor triptych on the wall. I'll always cherish it, not just because it's beautiful, but because it's a memento of many years of loving friendship. I gave her a drawing my mother made of her father, fifty years ago.

Tonight was our dinner with the DBs, long-awaited because it had to be rescheduled when I was sick. Again there was much lively discussion. One friend shared her recent trip to Ireland. We also talked about creativity, books, history, and all kinds of things. I did have a good time, but I was also glad when one member of the party admitted he was tired and needed to go home! I needed to BE home. Although I regretfully closed the door on the departing guests, I was glad to sit down and enjoy the silence.

The amount of cooking that has taken place around here lately has been phenomenal. I made a curry with tomato and mango for Deb and the Prussian, plus green beans and rice, and a fancy salad with maple balsamic dressing, as well as a breakfast frittata accompanied by Italian sausage, and various incidental meals composed of various combinations of rye bread, my own oatmeal bread, sausages, cheese, and fruit. The Sparrowhawk made a delicious mushroom soup for them, too. Tonight was a delayed hobbit party that was supposed to happen in September for Bilbo and Frodo's birthday. I roasted a chicken with herbs and lemon and cut it up into manageable fragments, and made currant scones. The Sparrowhawk made a vegetarian pea soup and fried mushrooms with bacon and mushrooms without bacon. We also provided cheeses, honeycomb, jam, pickles, and bread. Guests contributed wedge salad and apple salad with fennel and grated carrots. And there was pie that we bought from a local school fundraiser. It was a real feast, which I participated in both vicariously and directly, albeit in small fragments. I would have liked to drink more than a sip of mead, but restrained myself. As a result my stomach is still feeling pretty good--fingers crossed.