I don’t know about you, but I have pulled some real hostess bloopers over the years. (And, yes, I’ve had a few guests pull them as well, which makes us even.) I am pretty certain that I don’t know about all my bloopers, because I’m always busy at the moment, and I fail to see what I failed to do.
One of my common blunders that I have tried to overcome is this one: I sweetly offer a guest something to drink, and then I forget all about it and never come through with the goods. Said guest is too polite to mention it, and unless it occurs to me later, they usually go drink-less. Just yesterday, in fact, a friend stopped by and I made a pot of coffee. But we got talking, and it wasn’t until she left that I realized the coffee never got poured! Nice! And to top it off, I had made scones which I never served her with the coffee. Now that’s a record for me. When I called her later to say oops, she had a jolly laugh and confessed that she didn’t even notice! Now that’s a thoughtful guest. And she pointed out that I had two granddaughters on site who were modeling hats for us while we visited. (They were waiting for a tea party with scones which I did not forget.) So she said I was justifiably distracted.
Sometimes I find one of the side dishes in the fridge after the meal. I’ve left things in the oven too, and the results are not as kind. I’ve made a topping or garnish that never made it onto the dish, and it isn’t until cleanup when I see the little dish of chopped fresh parsley sitting ready for action.
Guest bloopers seem fewer than my hostess bloopers. The worst was a no-show when I had dinner all ready and hot. That was a let down. And a couple of times we have had guests who simply would not speak. I felt so sorry for them, and did all I could to make them feel at ease, but I finally had to resign myself to silent guests. That’s when I was grateful for chatty children.
The lovely thing about hospitality is that it is not a show. It is real life. And in real life things happen. Like when I pulled a lovely big pan full of lasagna out of the oven, the dish split, and half the lasagna went with it to the floor. Oops.
My friend Lindsey has started what looks to be a very fun online business called L. Tolly Floral and Home Design.
Back when Rachel had her little downtown store, La Bella Vita, Lindsey was one of her mainstays, doing flower arranging and most everything else.
Just to tempt you to go on over and see, she is offering a drawing for a cute oilcloth tote bag in this print:
We are happily spilling the beans that Nate has been given the job of writing the screenplay for The Great Divorce.
From time to time I have counseled some sweet young woman who loves her parents dearly, but is having a hard time staying on the same page with them. For example, once I visited with a young lady whose parents were requiring her to wear dresses exclusively. She had been honoring them in this for some time, but was chafing under the restriction. She asked me what she should do, and I told her it was very simple: just continue to wear a dress cheerfully and pray that God will change their hearts. Most daughters flinch at this. “Are you kidding me? But that’s what I don’t want to do.” I know. That’s what obey your parents means. The command is not followed with when you agree. Obedience is simple when you agree. No one needs help with that. But when you disagree, when you think they are being unreasonable, then it is difficult to be obedient.
This is particularly trying when it comes to courtship. Sometimes a young woman becomes emotionally attached to a young man, but her parents are saying no way, not him. When the young woman obeys her parents and Continue reading ‘Close Calls’
Back when my daughters were in school, they had what Doug and I would have described as healthy relationships with all their male teachers. We were glad and grateful for these godly male teachers, and very appreciative of their expertise and teaching skills. We were delighted to have such a well qualified batch of men (and women, too) to instruct them in many subjects over the course of their Logos career.
But if we had heard that our daughters were taking their lunch in to their (male) teacher’s room to visit over the lunch hour, or seeking out the male teachers after school hours, or writing them notes expressing their great respect, or sending them chatty emails, we would have sounded the alarm. This would have been read by us as a father failure of the first order. As it was, I can very gratefully acknowledge the teachers’ work as first rate, and thank God that our daughters always maintained a friendly Continue reading ‘Too Close for Comfort’
Doug and I got up today at 3:30 a.m. to catch a flight to Raleigh, and we made it here to our lovely hotel and a welcome basket of goodies from the ACCS crew. Very nice destination! Thanks to those of you who have been so patient waiting for your comments to clear. (My, but I had a boat load of spam to clear out.)
We had a wonderful time with our friends in Boise last week. We got to visit the Ambrose School (just wonderful), where the conference was held, and we enjoyed worshiping at King’s Congregation. We got home Sunday night, and Monday was devoted to regrouping and repacking. My roses are all getting ready to pop, and they should be in full swing when we get home Saturday. I couldn’t resist throwing (I mean planting) a few more flowers in the flower bed before we left.
So here we are now, settling in. I have urged the other Femina girls to do their duty and post up some encouraging and entertaining posts. But, just like the rest of you, they all have lives which keep them busy. We’ll see if they get a moment!
When I wasn’t sleeping on the plane, I was having a lot of fun reading Summer Moonshine by Wodehouse, of course. We must force ourselves to stay awake until at least 9 p.m. Meanwhile, hope you are all enjoying summer! It is in the 90′s here in North Carolina!
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