Last night we had friends over for dinner and I was just going along with cooking, setting the table to make it look festive. I wanted it to be just the perfect December entertaining evening with great food, all the while our guests would be listening to beautiful Christmas music in the background. I envisioned that they would get in their car on the way home saying, “how does she do it? How does she create such a beautiful meal with beautiful decorations and just make the evening so special?”
That dream came crashing down on me this morning as I was over on the side of the table putting away a few of the “special” Christmas dishes that I had brought out to use last night, when I glanced down and saw something that any “perfect hostess” would not want to see.
There in the chair that my friend, Janet, was sitting was a stack of about 6 placemats that I had forgot to take out of the chair and put away. So the entire evening, as we sat around the table, refilling tea glasses and taking in all the compliments of, “you really did make these delish individual peach streusel pies”? my precious friend was spending her entire evening trying to balance herself atop the placemats…quilted placemats, no less.
If we still lived in California and I was still having to find innovative hiding places for all our things, because no closets, I could maybe use that excuse, but being back in the land of Big Closets Texas…the only excuse I had now was….oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m going to say this…”I’m old and forgetful.” There I admit it…I thought she was a little ADHD last night when she kept fidgeting, but thought maybe she is just ansy to get to the living room couch where we could just stretch out and talk about how lovely the dinner was and how great it was to be around all the Christmas décor that my oldest son, Jason, says, “looks like it is a craft store in here mom where you should have price tags on everything.”
Well, maybe I’m no Martha Stewart, but maybe I have invented a way of getting rid of guests that you hope won’t stay to long after dinner…….
I just texted Janet (yes I texted my apology, I told you I am not Martha) and she texted back that she wondered what it was but thought it might just be more decorations….I guess she looked around and figured that that was about the only space left that needed filling with Christmas décor…Jason, I think you might be more right than I care to admit.
Chocolate Castles as wel 