Entertaining Guests

We had guests for dinner on Sunday.

Hubby's boss and his lovely wife.

I would love to show you the table set with delicious food, pretty dishes, candle light, the ice cream sundae, complete with whipped cream and a cherry, for dessert.

I would love to show these things to you.

But the truth is, I forgot to take pictures! I was so busy and so focused on making my wonderful guests happy that I forgot the one thing a good blogger always does - take pictures!

But that's o.k. Because stopping to take pictures would have been impolite.

So let me just say, it was a lovely dinner with wonderful company. The best kind of entertaining.

But what I can show you is the very clean house.

That is another nice thing about entertaining.

You get to enjoy the aftermath. The lingering fragrance of fresh flowers, scented candles, delicious food, freshly washed floors, and guest's cologne.

The cleaning up ritual is a contemplative experience for me. While gently washing special serving pieces and delicate glassware, snippets of friendly conversation and happy laughter come to mind and are pondered and savored once again, forming new memories.

 

And, of course there are always the last minute forgotten details. These colorful striped taffy sticks, wrapped in old fashioned waxed paper, were supposed to decorate the ice cream sundaes! Oh, well.....now they are a special treat for the next impromptu visitor. I have a feeling that is going to be one of my daughters, as I am pup-sitting this weekend for my daughter J's mini-dachshunds.
Peanut and Weenie Baby.
 They've been coming here since they were little puppies.
Whitey will enjoy the company.

My cats....not so much!

But for now peace reigns.

Whenever I entertain, not only do I love the process of attending to all of the little details that make things cozy and memorable, but I also enjoy the time afterwards when you get to sit back and relax. The house is clean, there are usually some tasty leftovers, and there seems to be a happy glow about the place.

You get to enjoy all of your hard work once more. With happy memories to make it all worthwhile.

Of course I had to buy just one little keepsake for all of my efforts. Something that I knew would give me a little joy when all was said and done; a little bobble to catch the light while I sit here in my favorite place contemplating the joys of entertaining.

While my pansies peer at me from around the corner!

They say Hello!

These little Johnny Jump Ups wanted to add their cheery voice to the greetings!

Soon the hot weather will force these little beauties to retreat and we will have to wait until the cool weather of fall to see their bright and happy faces once more.

So it was a special treat to share them with our guests.

Both temporary visitors that bring smiles.

Do you like to entertain?

What is your favorite way to entertain?

Or do you like to be entertained?

xoxo