That Time of Year
Our friend Karen loves to cook and entertain. And BOY, can she cook!
We were the lucky recipients of one of her meals this past week.
Karen and her husband, Bill, used to live in our neighbourhood but in her words, they got “bored with staying home and looking at the same walls during Covid”…so they moved!
With all of us being fully vaxxed we felt safe to head on over to their new 3 story home (plus basement) for a delightful evening of soft music, wonderful conversation, and the most yummy food.
Karen was actually the one who suggested I send in my resumé in to the Festival of Trees group and she used to be the Coordinator of the whole thing a few years back! That’s how I ended up being chosen as the artist for the year and donating my two ,original paintings to the festival.
Anyway, for our ‘starter’ she actually made her own ricotta cheese! She had 3 different oil based sauces that we could pour over our fresh, french bread slices once the cheese was spread upon them. A side of red grapes and wine to match and we were off and…..enjoying!
I should mention that I couldn’t actually do the initial house tour because there were too many stairs for this old gal but Terry said their home is lovely upstairs too. (He took photos for me).
The main floor is expansive and a mix of modern and classic as witnessed in their love of art and antiques. Each upper floor also has crazy great views of the downtown just beyond our river valley.
Our salad was comprised of vegetables that Karen grew from her gardens this summer. The main course was ‘falling off the bone’ short ribs with Greek potatoes. And the simple dessert was her homemade coffee ice cream that she made up the recipe for just that day.
Several years ago we travelled to France to stay with Karen and Bill in a villa apartment that they rented for a month or so. We barely knew them but when ,at a neighbourhood party, we were offered a chance to visit them for a week , Terry jumped at the chance and I’m so happy he said, ‘yes’! They are great folks and we all got along wonderfully well.
I have two funny stories from that visit :
First of all , Terry was just finishing the last chapter of a great book that he’d been reading on the plane and although we just arrived and we didn’t really know our hosts too well he said, “ I just have to read these last few pages, I can’t put it down.” Karen and Bill were fine with that as we chatted but I knew something no one else did. That book was a major tear jerker! When he got to the end of The Book Thief he was trying super hard not to actually sob. I couldn’t help laughing but Bill’s face as he looked at Terry was like, “Um, AWKWARD!” “ How ‘bout them Oilers? “ ha ha ha.
Another funny thing that happened was at Carcassonne Castle where we all had a lovely dinner after walking around there for the day. Again, we were still getting to know these folks . So, for dessert, Bill ordered a piece of apple pie. He very kindly offered for me to have a bite as ‘it was delicious’ he said, but he didn’t know that I have a problem with things like this. Not with sharing but with trying to neatly cut off a piece of pie with my fork!
Well, by the time Bill had looked over to see what was taking me so long, his poor piece of pie was mangled to smithereens. He looked up with a big pout and spoke in a quiet voice as if to himself, “What did you do to my pie?” .
Suddenly , Bill realized he actually DID say that out loud and he started laughing so hard that we all caught the giggles until we were crying and wiping our eyes. Karen said she’d never seen him laugh that hard!
View from Bill and Karen’s third floor.
It’s that time of year. Meeting up with dear friends for Christmas cheer in between all the hustle and bustle of preparations …in my home and in my heart.
May you have the same good fortune to meet up with those you love as we near the blessed day.
Peace.