4.21.2008

Old Story, New Cast

It's a storyline that has been played out numerous times in the pages of books and reels of film. Husband calls wife from the office to see how her day is going then says, "By the way honey, my boss is coming for dinner tonight. See you at 5:30."

dinner with friends

It's the part of the story which makes me queasy, wondering how on earth the wife will ever clean house, cook dinner and make herself presentable on such short notice. Such a scene flashed through my mind Saturday morning when the phone rang and I heard George decline an invitation to go out and have a beer with an old friend, instead inviting him over for dinner, because, "Hey, we have to eat dinner anyways, you might as well join us."

I could have panicked. Instead, I poured myself another cup of coffee, gathered my thoughts on what I could make for dinner, and hopped on my bike to get supplies from the farmers market.

cooking

While I cooked,

now that's sexy

he cleaned.

dinner with friends

We really had a lovely evening. Good food, hoppy beer, clean house, old friends. Who could ask for anything more?

boggle

Except for maybe a few more rounds of Boggle.

24 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great night! I likes your pictures :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds wonderful! I invite people over on purpose just so I have reason to clean the house. I love your kitchen! It's fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your kitchen is awesome and kudos to the hub for helping out! What kind of beer is that? I don't recognize the label.

    And, I have to say, the idea of a business exec coming for dinner always makes me think of "Bewitched." Yes, yes, I am old. Too too old.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You know the old adage how grandparents say they love their grandkids so much, but are glad to hand them back to their parents at the end of the day? That's how I feel about friends coming over. I enjoy the time while they are there, but am glad at the end of the night that they have their own home to go back to. =)

    p.s. I am totally jealous of your kitchen. I think the floor space of my kitchen is equal to size of your island. * Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love your kitchen! Oh, I know that story so very well.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Boggle! Yay! I love that picture of him cleaning... excellent!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. way to take that in stride! like sarah, i love having people over - it makes me clean the house!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh fun! Looks like a fantastic time. And I'm so jealous that you can hop on your bike and hit the farmers market! It's a clean 25 minute DRIVE to our nearest one!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm glad it worked out with minimal stress. We had the in-laws over for dinner on Friday. All week I had been wishing they would have picked Saturday, which would have been easier. But it turned out fine, too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. whoa! yeah, I would have panicked. good for you!

    ReplyDelete
  11. On a good day, it would take me at least a half hour to quickly clean the main living areas and shove the toys down the stairs into the basement. On a messier day, it'd take at least an hour with the kitchen to clean on top of it all. Living up here, though, we hardly get drop-ins or last minute invitees and if anyone calls and wants to come by, that's at least a 2 hour drive for them and 2 hours for me to clean!

    Love the kitchen! My cabinet fell down Thursday night!!! How I wish we could take all the other ones out and replace 'em!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Impromptu meals are often the best! I like your kitchen and wonder about the 'face' on the side of the cupboard!
    I made the No Knead Rosemary and Lemon bread and invited a neighbour in for bread, cheese and wine! All on the spur of the moment, and it was fun and delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am always terrified someone will pop in. Unannounced Visit! Unannounced Visit!! It could be the Gestapo for the way it makes me feel.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good for you. I'm glad it went off so well.

    And GROAN. Did you get that? I can't help myself with boggle. That's a perfect night. xo

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi...found your beautiful blog through Down to Earth.
    As I started to read I immediately thought of Bewitched too (in good company then).
    Always love to see a man with a vacuum in hand...however awkward they look. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Really, this day sounds like a fairy tale, with the jumping on the bike to the farmers market, the helpful husband and the warm home filled with good food and good friends. All simple pleasures, combining to create one fantastic day.

    P.S. Our kitchens DO look remarkably similar, even down to the butcher block island- my what good taste you have :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm impressed...that you managed to stay calm, that you rode your bike to get your things from the farmers' market, and with your cute kitchen!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. The night looks perfect...your kitchen is so nice. I want to come over and cook!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hey Molly! I wrote a post about your "Remains of the Day" post. Come see! :o)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Good for you! I wish I could accept things with such grace. I'd have probably freaked out for most of the day :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. i like that HE cleaned. good man!

    ReplyDelete
  22. AnonymousMay 02, 2008

    A game of Boogle equals a rockin' good time in my book.

    ReplyDelete
  23. BIG Boggle, I hope! LOVE that game. Fun to see that others enjoy it as well.

    ReplyDelete
  24. LOVE your kitchen!
    really love it!

    and i also love boggle. i could play it alllll day long.

    and i could also learn a thing or two from you. i can't believe that you actually stayed calm thoughout all of that. i woulda broke out into a major sweat, prolly wanted to cry, and then cuss the hubby out after everyone left for doing that to me :)

    ps...i see "pond" and "sod".... :)

    ReplyDelete