Dinner party

Who treats a guest this strangely? 

Three weeks ago we invited a friend to come to dinner on the 17th of February.  That's tonight.  The house is clean and the meal prep has been done.  But, well ... But two things:

• I was away for several days and it's winter so Tal couldn't be outside as much as he would have liked.  To keep himself occupied he set up a big jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table.  It's still unfinished.  With a perfectly good -- and very pretty -- dining room we are going to eat at the kitchen table tonight.
• I am serving a shrimp and spinach dish with roasted carrots and feta as a side.  Although all the prep is done, both dishes will need to be prepared once our guest arrives, the shrimp on the stovetop and the carrots in the oven.  Since it's just going to be the three of us, I'm going to invite our guest to sit at the counter and visit while I cook.  No living room by the fire pre-dinner for him!

None of this seems too well planned.  I know better than to have lots of last minute tasks; I could have insisted on moving the puzzle.  But, the point is friendship.  Dining rooms, proper cocktail hours are secondary. 

Now, I hope he feels the same! 

The day wasn't all work.  In addition to a trip to the grocery store, I walked to the head of the pond with Tal to leave corn for the wood ducks.  The reflections in the water and the about-to-bloom maple branches were so serene.