A Most Beautiful Farewell Dinner

I set a very special table for this dinner,

using various things for the very first time...

fruit bowl and small berry bowls from my Great Aunt P,

who got them from her mother, my Great Grandmother W. who 

had a real love of dishes...

and a white covered bowl that was my Great Grandmother's Mothers...

and Polish teacups with roses, that were my Great Aunt P's,

 and beautiful British teacups for the two men...

and beautiful dishes, many gotten at the VNA rummage sale...

***

The menu:

Fia Pasta Sauce and thin long noodles

Salad (one mistake here, I did not shake off

all the water after rinsing the lettuce and then added the croutons

and my guests were unavoidably late, due to problems with 

getting a cab, and then we had the salad as the second course

so it was sitting for at least on an hour and most of the croutons,

sadly, were soggy.  I was a bit aghast but my guests were 

very gracious about it.  Next time, I will put croutons in a bowl

and put on right before, etc.) 

Salmon (I think I over baked it but it was OK) and salad were the second course

Third course was fruit salad with dressing 

Forth was dessert - cupcakes and vegan ice cream with both raspberries and 

a wonderful raspberry chocolate sauce.

We had a lovely red wine (that out dear guests brought with them)

and water and decaf Paris tea with dessert. 

***

The fellowship, the easy conversation, the warmth,

the conversations about dreams, the future and the present;

it was all so lovely;

it was hard to believe that this was our farewell dinner to

our newly crowned Bridge and Groom who 

we sponsored in marriage;

but it was the farewell dinner and a really special time. 

***

I was very proud of preparing the vegan ice cream in the 

metal footed bowls and freezing them the night before.

Easy serving, no worries about having to wait for the carton to

get soft, etc. 

***

I have been thinking of this newly married couple as they do their final packing 

and final goodbyes.

***

And I have thought over the many meals I have hosted since I moved to NJ 

8 years ago and how various friends we had over have moved on

to other places... how many goodbyes we have had... 

***

It does not get easier...

but more familiar...

and I realize that I, myself, have left for new places various times,

it is easier to be the one leaving

than the one staying behind, in many ways;

though I must say it took a good while for me to settled into my life here in NJ;

it is much better than the first years, in terms of missing my life in Ottawa;

but life itself changes; I am older; my parents are older; my Grandma is now 90 years old;

so I am more likely to want to visit home in MI first, though I would love to

visit Canada, and also my family there...and my church...

***

I can say that I am very glad I married my Husband and that

I feel very blessed to have my life lived with him...

***

In about 2 weeks is Canadian Thanksgiving (Oct 12) and we are 

having a small (2 guests and us) dinner on the Sunday...

getting most of the food, I hope, from our grocery delivery service... 

whose a la cart menu options are quite good... 

this is helping me have something to not only look forward to,

but to plan.... 

***

Well, it is beyond time for me to go to bed.

May God have mercy on us and save us.