Inbetween guests...

Our friends from downtown Houston and upstate NY have come and gone.... they got here on Monday afternoon (within three minutes of one another) and left on Wednesday morning. By now, they're at their respective families' dinner table, all turkey-ed out, since we had our Thanksgiving dinner with them on Tuesday afternoon.

For the past couple of days, we felt like we were running a Bed & Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner.... and it made us realize that we wouldn't want to run a B&B, unless I had help with the cleaning and the laundry. Lots of sheets and towels went into the washing machine on Wednesday afternoon when everyone had left. I didn't want to just let it all wait.... that's not my style anyway.... so I just got it all done, and now both guest houses are ready for more company. The six of us had such a great time..... every minute was filled with talking and laughing and just good fun.

Tomorrow afternoon, my old boss and his wife will be here, so the Cottage is all set for them. We're not having turkey left-overs, since they had their turkey dinner today up in Dallas, and we've been eating turkey and the trimmings since Tuesday. Enough. I've already put together an eggplant parmesan casserole, and I'll make spaghetti with mussels and clams for tomorrow night's dinner. We still have more than half a pecan pie left from Tuesday's dinner, so that will be dessert. Doesn't exactly go with an Italian dinner, but I doubt very much that anyone will care.

Tuesday's dinner was very informal, even though I tried to make it as nice as the holiday dinners were in Clear Lake. I had the table set with place cards and the best tablecloth, pretty napkins and stemware. I didn't use the Christmas dishes, since I was trying to make the table look very Thanksgiving-ish, plus the rest of the house was all Christmas-ed up. We didn't have separate courses, since I set up everything on the long counter in the kitchen-- buffet style...... everyone just brought their plates in and helped themselves to the food. Everyone was wearing jeans........ we all used to get dressed up back in Clear Lake. Out here in the hills, that just didn't seem to matter much.

Plus, I quickly realized that the focus of this dinner wasn't the food at all-- it was the people. We were all so busy catching up with everyone and everything (particularly with R and C, who had moved to upstate NY a while back) that I could have carved up a goat and put it on the table and maybe no one would have noticed that it wasn't turkey. That's not to say that we all didn't enjoy the foods, but I think this time, we just enjoyed the company even more.

It was great to see everyone.... the two guest houses worked out perfectly because everyone had lots of privacy when they wanted it, and lots of room to avoid getting in anyone else's way. R made her special zucchini pie for Thanksgiving dinner, and with the size of the kitchen here, we both had enough room to work, with plenty of counter-space to spare.

Our outside cat wasn't feeling well at the beginning of the week.... but he seems to be better now. K gave him some Pepto Bismol while I held him-- we figured Gatsby must have eaten a lizard or a frog outside that didn't agree with his Friskies-fed tummy. Gatsby is back to sitting by the front door, looking in the glass, and wanting so much to be part of the inside cat family. When he wasn't feeling well, I did let him come into the kitchen so he could eat-- and he was eating precious little when his stomach was so upset.

The chickens let us know that they didn't like brussels sprouts...... they would take a piece of the tiny cabbages and then drop them on the ground. The chickens also didn't like the lack of attention while we had company here. When I closed the screen door to keep out the too-cool breeze, Dolly and Henny Penny and Jaye-Bird just flew up on the porch railing, which made them high enough to see though the glass part of the kitchen door. I just cannot believe how smart and how personable these birds have been. The Guinea hens, on the other hand-- they continue to be noisy at times, and not smart at all. Except when they're up on the porch and I don't want them to be, the two Guinea hens are the first to run down the porch steps.

It's been a quiet day here....... we're resting up between guests, and just picking at left-overs when we're hungry. Another Thanksgiving come and nearly gone..... and next week, we'll be putting decorations on the big (real) Christmas tree. This year has just flown by, and I've lost count as to how many days left before Christmas.