A winter gathering this past weekend with friends is a wrap. This visit brought us friends not too far from us from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They were able to snag only one night away. So we had to pack a lot laughs and conversation in a short time-frame. Mission accomplished.
Having a guest cottage makes it easy to have friends visit (it's a vacation rental in peak summer) especially when they have their own dog. Our friends have a dog that is super cute and friendly to humans, but doesn't really love other dogs. And we can totally relate because we have that stubborn bulldog. So Whispy had her own cozy spot at the cottage (dog-friendly vacation rental).
Here is the cottage ready for friends to arrive.
We hosted friends at our house for a turkey dinner. Turkey is a good choice when having a large gathering for dinner; we had eight in total including us.
I (Wine) enjoying cooking and hosting. Being obsessive means I have to iron napkins and tablecloths. For me, it is fun to fuss over the planning and set-up for dinners with friends.
While turkey dinner is "easy" it does require planning. I prefer to have as much food prep done before guests arrive so that I can somewhat relax. I have the sides ready to go and the turkey in the oven hours ahead of arrival. On the stove I have potatoes boiling, green beans steaming, and turkey neck simmering. I have a local friend assigned to a side of dressing / stuffing, because it's not a turkey dinner without it!
Once dinner is ready, it's time to get food plated and ready to bring to the table.
A collection of photos from our turkey dinner with friends.
Friends made breakfast at the cottage so we hopped on the sled to join them. JC was a the helm in the kitchen. Plastic plates were on hand making clean-up (for JC and DS) easier and faster. Except for the scramble egg skillet, that is a soaker!
Now for a video.
Off to the cottage for breakfast.
Great weekend with friends, it went by way too fast. Now that winter is winding down this bring an end the winter gatherings with our out of state friends. The sled has been put away for the season, snow melt will be happening, and we will be preparing for our April RV trip. Stay tuned for that.
Life is what you make of it. We have created a life we don't need a vacation from by making our own fun.