Saturday was a dull overcast day. I was up early to light the fire and feed the pets, and I’d make the laksa by 8:30. That meant that I had all day until 16:00 to myself to read and putter, and then I’d get into a bit of a frenzy making everything at the last minute so that it is freshly cooked before being served.
I looked forward to hosting Eoin and François, and even more because Regina is coming. I really wanted a fourth person because E&F have someone to talk with while I am busy in the kitchen. Plus, I feel more aware of Regina being there than I do Jay not being there.
But the best part is this: I’ve recently hosted Kris, Nancy and Steve here for one meal, Dave and Ursula for another, Dianne and Beverly for two nights, and now E&F and Regina. All this in the past few weeks after well over a year of doing no entertaining. I feel good all I’ve done since deciding that seizures were not going to interfere with my life. But what really excites me is having no guests for a long time, and next week is completely empty on my calendar.
Prepping the condiments and all the ingredients gave me pleasure during the rest of the morning because I was not hurried. I had all the time in the world, and while I worked, a gentle rain fell. This Malaysian dinner I’ve put together is a total hit with me. It’s delicious, and so much of it can be prepared in advance.
I’ve not made any dessert, but I have ice cream. I also have the dry ingredients for the batter prepared so that I can make fried bananas. It is a favourite Malaysian dessert, but with plantains or beta carrots. However, with the appies that Eoin and François are bringing, plus the laksa, roti and salad, that’s a lot of eating. I’ll play it by ear about dessert.
I did a final vacuuming, and then I took Her Highness for our afternoon walk. It was super wet out there, but it wasn’t raining while we walked, and rain brings out wonderful forest fragrances. When we came home, I did some reading until it was time to set the table and start gently heating things up.
The laksa is perfect. I love it, and I also love the mango salad. The dressing is perfect too! How the roti works, I’ll soon discover.
Everyone arrived at once, and Eoin and François brought the most delicious appetizers. Oh my God they were good. One was a mushroom concoction made from chanterelles that Eoin foraged on the island. I don’t know what the other one was, but it was spectacular as well.
Regina lasted just over an hour. She left very early and hardly ate anything. It was odd. She wrote to explain what was happening with her. Eoin and François stayed until around 20:30. I was exhausted and so I was grateful to be able to get into bed early. This morning, I got an email inviting me to their house for dinner on Thursday. I felt wonderful being asked to their house. After losing Jay, I’m so happy that these two wonderful gentlemen make me feel welcome and appreciated.
It's raining heavily this morning, and as we ate last night, we could hear the rain pounding down on the roof. I’m looking forward to a very relaxing day today. I was up at 5:00 and I got immediately to work doing all the dishes. Now, the house is lovely and clean, and I have a very warm fire going. I’m getting back to controlled eating today. I’m glad of that, and I’m glad I can just do nothing all day long. It’s My Day! And that's the last of entertaining at Pinecone Park for quite a while.
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