Ladies' Day

Arden and Camille accepted an invitation to come for lunch and be guinea pigs, taste testing the variety of focaccia I've been baking the last few days.  To "sweeten the pot," I threw in chilled and creamy cucumber soup and a freezer of homemade ice cream.  To make it a real ladies' day, Arden brought grapes, cheese, and a bottle of wine.  (We usually pop a can of beer and call it good.)  Cam had spent the morning dealing with tire problems.  Out here in the boonies, an air compressor can be a girl's best friend.  Sitting and talking, munching grapes and the olive oil-rich bread, was a most pleasant way to spend an afternoon.  I'd made plain, rosemary and garlic, and olive and onion focaccia; we agreed the olive and onion was the favorite.  I'll be making more of that for a sale on Sunday.

Bessie Anne is the official greeter for the household, walking guests from their car to the house.  She's neither a barker nor a jumper, but wags an unmistakeable hello.  She was especially happy to see Honey arrive.  Honey, sure she was included in the lunch invitation, promptly emptied Bessie's food dish, drank a bowl of water, and dug out her favorite squeaky toy from the basket.  Ralph is fearless and goes nose to nose with the big German shepherd.  Honey has kitties of her own and is no threat to Ralph.  Celeste did her magician's act, disappearing when a car arrives and coming out like a rabbit from a hat before the car hits the end of the drive when leaving.

It was a good day.