Paris

My husband and I jetted to Paris for three days this last week. What a treat!

Three days isn’t long enough for much, not for visiting museums or long boat rides on the Seine, but it’s plenty long enough for several wonderful meals celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary, a stroll or two across the Pont Neuf, at least one chaussons aux pommes in the morning, and a dinner with a niece. Plus,

The Wedding!

Family friends have a beautiful daughter who has been living in Paris for several years now. She found Gabriel, and now they’re married! They celebrated their vows at a church I’ve longed to see for many years, the Saint Serge Orthodox Institute.

I was delighted at the sight of the Chateau Champlatreux–the setting for the reception. What a lovely venue… and as we walked through the front door, there was the traditional Slavic custom of bread and salt offered on an embroidered cloth, signifying the gift of hospitality and friendship and the blessing of a new home.

Three days. Three days of Paris! Three days to celebrate our own 25-year journey and the blessing of a brand new union…

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Thursdays: Round the Dinner Table

Two loaves of no-knead bread–one mixed with herbes de Provence. Yum

Mixed: 10 pm

Molded: 12:15 pm next day

Baked: 2:15 pm

Ate one at table, gave the other to Glenn to take home

I seem to enjoy weekly appointments. For a long while I’ve been heading to the beach every week with my now five year-old. We walk, splashing our feet in the water, or I sit and crochet while he digs or throws rocks, or we crawl around in the tide pools, marveling at the sea creatures. We’ve been going every week for almost 2 1/2 years and it has made my life so much richer. A good dose of nature once a week cures many ills.

And I garden most Saturdays, along with scrubbing some part of the house. Please stop on by, I can always use another hand. I’ll make you lemonade if it’s hot, or hot tea if it’s cold, and you can chop at my ever-growing hedge. 🙂

And Tuesdays are my free-ish days. I leave a big block of time open for the library, hiking, meeting friends, apple picking, or playing at a new park…

Of course, Sunday is church.

So, it makes sense that Thursday nights are becoming a regular evening for sharing meals with a friend or three. My husband loves to cook, and I jump in the kitchen and bake, and both of us enjoy having as many folks around the table as we can squeeze. We’re open to inviting all sorts: old friends, new friends, the guy who serves my husband coffee at his favorite morning haunt. And next week we’ll be having our house blessed on Thursday, so that will be an especially festive evening.

I’m an introvert. But I’ve come to realize that people–really getting to know people, listening to them, appreciating their many talents and gifts, inspiring them, encouraging them–that people make life rich and full of adventure. I’m enjoying our Thursday nights and ask you to think about opening your home, too, even if what you offer seems meagre.

Over twenty years ago, when my husband and I were newly married, we invited a family of seven into our small apartment for dinner. We tossed the cotton mattress off the futon, spread a cloth on the low wooden frame, sat on the floor, drank from mismatched china… But what fun! Just being together.

So, I’m off to bake yet another batch of something. The herbes de Provence in the no-knead recipe is worth repeating. The pumpkin bread recipe is almost perfected, and that hedge just won’t stop growing!

What sorts of things do you do every week? I’d love to hear…

Cheers!