It's been a crazy month folks, but today, to end the month of May Madness, I was so happy to have my niece, her boyfriend, my brother and sister-in-law, my dad, and his friend all here to gather for a meal.
My dining room table, my grandmother's, is damaged and cannot host a table of people at the moment, and I wondered HOW AM I GOING TO FIT 10 people in my house for dinner?
Well, with some creative thinking, a collection of table cloths, one table from the kitchen, and one collapsible one I save for yard sales, mixed china, and some flowers, well, I was able to squeeze everyone between the kitchen and the livingroom in this space.
The meal: grilled flank steak (my brother's specialty); mixed greens with my tomato, lemon slices, and goat cheese mixture from my ONS "food" photo idea (sans prosciutto as one in the bunch is a vegetarian, but you can see inspiration for salad here:
http://365project.org/darylo/didn-t-make-cut/2014-04-21); orzo pesto; baguette slices; and dessert as ice cream, watermelon, and raspberries. OMG, it was delicious and cozy. I so miss entertaining this way.
Things to celebrate tonight: my niece's graduation from college; my daughter's departure to Japan; both girls' birthdays in the next week and a half; my brother and sisterinlaw moving back to Atlanta. It was a lovely night.
Tomorrow is the final "dash to get anything we forgot off the list of packing items for Japan" and then I'll have to admit defeat and realize I cannot be there for my child when I most want to be. It's hard to send someone away from you to experience things you know will be life changing, and you can only HOPE she will "report back" in the form of photography and journaling, even if just for herself.
What a night. June? It's gonna be all about being Joyful and not Mad (as in crazy). Thanks for hanging in with me. If you are at this point, well, HOTDOG. ;)
