Dinner Party? What Dinner Party?
The dishes are done, glasses have been put away, and a quick shove and push with the vacuum cleaner has made short work of the crumbs. The party was mildly amusing, not the sort where I need to sparkle and impress with my wonderful hostessy skills. Here's a tip you probably won't need: always invite a chatty person/couple to offset the quieter one. They'll do most of your work for you. All you need to do is provide decent food and a lavish pouring hand, and you're home and dry. (For those of you who asked: I gave them lemon and garlic chicken as a main course and stayed with a bought tart for dessert.)
The tablecloth is my pride and joy. It is genuine handmade lace, which I bought for the price of an apple and an egg - metaphorically speaking - in an old lady's down-sizing garage sale. It had been in her family for many years and she was glad to see it go to an appreciative home. She said that very few people want to bother with table cloths and even fewer covet lace.
Although it rained yesterday morning, Gardener turned up and he tidied and mulched a couple of flower beds while I got last year's dahlias out of hibernation. I put them into damp potting compost in a sheltered spot in the shed, where, I hope, they will soon sprout. I actually left some in the ground last winter and these too are showing signs of life. The tender green shoots need protecting during cold nights, I simply put an upside down plastic flower pot over them.
No rain yet today,
if you had this view from your upstairs window on an April afternoon,
would you feel joy?
Yes, me too.
Tomorrow is the last day of this week long experiment in finding some occasion for joy every day. I can recommend it, all this self-absorption may be boring for the reader but for me it's been quite salutary. Even a misery-guts can force herself to see the glass half-full.
the view is so spectacular i get a bit of joy looking at it myself on my computer screen. and you scored with the tablecloth. that's a gem for the price of a song, as they say. the previous owner was a genuine guardian, looking for a good home and not thinking of making a buck first and foremost. i used to love dinner parties, but have shied away from such social scenes over the past few years. the seasons in our life sometimes are surprising. but i also have been giving thanks daily, and making a point of it. salutary and satisfying is how it has been finding the joy in my everyday life.
ReplyDeleteYou can bask in the glow of something achieved , and achieved with distinction . Very satisfying !
ReplyDeleteAnd that's a lovely view to look out on , while you're basking .
I'm glad you're sharing these moments of joy as they remind me to be more aware of my own. The view of the rolling pastureland with sheep grazing might well be one of the finest views on this planet. It's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI've renewed my own interest in tablecloths and find joy in using them even for myself, although they are more 1950's American country than fine lace. Yours is beautiful and to have one handmade would be such a good thing. I once purchased embroidered kitchen towels from an estate sale and kept them for some time before giving them to my sister. She had long admired them and I was moving, lightening my load. It's good to carry on the appreciation of these handmade items by actually using them.
yeah i would certainly feel joy...what a beautiful view...and it is great to see all the new life...nice score on the table cloth too...
ReplyDeleteEach time I visit here , I want to move !
ReplyDeleteThe lace tablecloth is exquisite. I would be nervous to use it , which is silly I know.
( and these posts are a gift , so thank you . )
One of my joys is visiting my blogging friends and enjoying our full lives with one another. What pictures! Yes, I would feel joy and indeed I do. Thank you. :-)
ReplyDeleteHello:
ReplyDeleteThese joyful moments are indeed a pleasure to share with you. They make one reflect upon one's own good fortune and do indeed serve to make one feel that all is well in the world.
The dinner party sounds to have been a perfect solution in terms of enjoyment and stress free entertaining. When the combination of guests works well, it is surprisingly easy to manage with the simplest of food. We are sure that your culinary skills are absolutely streets ahead of ours, and we often have to rely on sparkling conversation when we are in charge of the kitchen since more often than not our food is totally inedible!!!
I do love the table cloth, but don't care much for dinner parties. That view, though, is hard to beat. I've enjoyed partaking in your joy, Friko.
ReplyDeletevery joyful view.
ReplyDeleteThat tip about chatty couples, a good pouring hand etc., I think that was a great tip, and one of these days if I can muster the courage to even ask anyone to dinner, I shall endeavour to find that person or persons, even if I have to hang around the post office to find them.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful view, glorious sentiments.
Wow!! Such a magnificent view from your windows. How lucky are you? Indeed a joy. Like others I thought the table-cloth to be exquisite. Its 'backstory' is interesting too. So much wealth to be found in small and humane events.
ReplyDeleteWonderful views, Friko. Shropshire is so beautiful at all seasons.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your dinner party went well and I for one would seriously covet your glorious lace tablecloth.
i don't know who misery guts is...you cannot pass. But you and I are far more favored than perhaps we deserve. OK...at least me!
ReplyDeleteWhat joy !
ReplyDeleteSpend Friday and Saturday hours with the kid on the playground - thank you for this exercise of thought.
Please have you all a good Sunday ahead.
Just catching up on your Joyful posts; what brings you joy delights others - including that lovely tablecloth. I imagine looking out at such lovely countryside you would breath in the serenity and I find that leads to a joyful heart.
ReplyDeleteOMG! This is awesome! The entire post...the simplicity...and the pics are wonderful..Which is this place in UK...?? U live in UK..ur bio says...its looks lovely!
ReplyDeleteI've loved these joy posts!! The tablecloth is magnificent! And your views--what can I say. I would be so thrilled and delighted--yes, and joyful--to look upon such stunning landscapes. Well, nothing else to say. ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, my gosh. Those landscapes are gorgeous! Love 'em!
ReplyDeleteLove your attitude, too ~
Oh I love it and love the view the table cloth and everything. You brought me joy too. Dianne
ReplyDeleteWell-done on your exercise in recognizing the half-full glass and sharing your observations. And about that photo, not only would I experience joy at seeing that view from my window, I experienced joy from seeing your photo.
ReplyDeleteOh, that view! I feel the joy all the way across the sea!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed them - you'll have to do this again when gloom threatens to descend.
ReplyDeleteHow I wish I had a Gardener! Today was the first real day in the garden for me. I gave it 6 hours and that was way too much time. My back hurts and my hands ache. It's hard to see where I've made any difference. Tomorrow, if I have a spare hour I'm going to fill wheelbarrows full of compost so that I can spread it when time makes itself available.
I have always used a table cloth -- as does my mother -- still. I discovered when we lived in Bavaria the most beautiful table cloths and table settings and acquired some beautiful decorative runners and things to set off the table cloths beautifully. I've often thought that perhaps the love of 'dressing' the table is part of my German/Swiss heritage... Your lace confection is a wonderful gem.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed your week of joy was an excellent exercise and would no doubt be of benefit to most of us! Having views like you have would also benefit most of us! Shropshire is indeed gorgeous...
Hello Friko
ReplyDeleteSome may "count their blessings" but I think I prefer your "things that brought joy" reflections. It's something I usually do between turning-off the light and falling asleep: a re-run of the pleasures of the day.
Anna
That view is enchanting. Thank you so much for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteMy mother taught herself how to make bobbin lace and I have a number of the pieces she made. I would never attempt it, but I can and do admire the skill (and perseverance) required.
These landscapes from your window are great! How happy must you be watching them every day.
ReplyDeleteFriko, it takes self-discipline and courage to look for joy, and it re-orientates your outlook. Your post isn't boring, by the way.
ReplyDeleteJoy can be fickle and must be consciously sought! Kudos to you for your search for it. Hold on tight.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful view by the way.
Hugs
SueAnn
That table cloth is very beautiful indeed! I love things with a bit of history to them.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I'd feel you, too, if I had that view from my windows. I think I'd instantly grab my coat and go out for a loooong walk or hike.
There are several very chatty people in my circle of friends, so whenever I have a party, they always manage to draw the (few) quieter ones in, and I enjoy those occasions very much.
The answer to your question is: definitely! Fab' pics and sounds to have been a tasty dinner party.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your joy here, Friko. A good exercise isn't it? The joy is often in the little things. Such a view (which is not a little thing) as I sit here coveting that lace tablecloth. What a find! I love using tablecloths and we use cloth napkins most days here.
ReplyDeleteInteresting this, Friko. Your post had me searching for that wonderful old hymn "all in the April evening" and that is what I am playing as i respond to you. Joy. Yes.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
I say yes to that beautiful view--though I know that a sunny view is not the norm where you are. (I will always remember one of your first comments over at Raining Acorns, about how it rains often, and copiously, where you are.) I've enjoyed this series, and that beautiful lace tablecloth, bought for a pittance, is a wonderful way to close.
ReplyDeleteI don't need to invite a chatty person, I myself am very chatty, according to Mr. G ! We have a very wet period and farmers start to complain about too much rain, a months ago they complained because it didn't rain !
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your writing and photos so much, Friko. I bought a Quaker lace tablecloth in 1991 for $200. I thought that was an astronomical price, but look how long it has lasted and stain-free at that.
ReplyDeleteThe view from your window is one most of us only dream of seeing at some point in our lives.
ReplyDeleteYour table cloth is lovely. A few years ago, I searched and searched for a lace table cloth to replace one my husband had ruined with a leaky ink pen. I had no idea how hard they are to find. When we were in Germany two years ago, I bought one in Bamberg. I love it.
I've enjoyed reading about the things that have brought you joy this week. The posts have brought your readers joy also.
What a beautiful table cloth! and indeed,when I scrolled down to the pic of your view, I didn't need to read your comment- I felt the same myself! Wonderful. I think your positive thinking is very inspiring, not self absorbed at all.
ReplyDeleteI'm working my way backward on this Sunday afternoon, and now I see that I have much joy to look forward to as I do! My current joy is to have a little time to read everyone's writing - and to be able to do so with open windows and cool breezes!
ReplyDeleteThe tablecloth is wonderful. I have one I'm trying to figure out what to do with. I may end up keeping it and put the leaves in the table to use it a time or two more. It's redwork - wonderful handworked doves and scrolling on a muslin-like cloth, with crocheted edging. If I had a farmhouse and a big table, I'd keep it for sure. But that kind of entertaining isn't part of my life now - and that can be a joy, too!
your posts are so good
ReplyDeletethat they embolden me
to write more about
daily me
and feel less pressure
to find an interesting
topic.
thanks again!
I like to invite the uninformed & antagonistic who impose their answers on others. It really keeps the party hopping. And every lively party should have at least one brooding self-proclaimed genius. ~Mary
ReplyDeleteHi Friko - what a lovely find - the lace table cloth .. brilliant to have such lovely work - and which you continue to use.
ReplyDeleteThe meal sounds delicious, while the guests obviously sorted themselves out ..
Love, love your views .. cheers Hilary
The bottom two photos make my heart soar! Such beauty... out your window! And the lace tablecloth... I LOVE it. I would display it on my dining room table... but I would be afraid to have people eat on it!
ReplyDeleteI share you joy about getting that lovely lace tablecloth:)
ReplyDelete