We host an annual Harvest Fest in our home for our neighbors. Each year I am surprised by the lack of neighborhood get-together's and then I am thrust into the hysteria of planning our own event and I know why the socializing isn't happening. It's a lot of hard work! I guess I can equate it with natural child birth...the end results are so wonderful, you forget the time you had to spend in preparation.
I love this time of year, when the seasons begin to change. The chill in the air is refreshing and brisk and reminds me the holiday season is swiftly approaching. It is such a wonderful time to cozy up the house...adding layers of blankets, heavier curtains at the windows, indirect lighting in warm and inviting reading nooks.....it's all preparatory for those long winter months here in the Rocky Mountain valleys when we are surrounded by snow and icicles and beautifully frosted windows. This event gives me an excuse to start the settling in my house a few weeks early.
There is a feel I always try to achieve before I have company over. I want my friends to want to stay, put up their feet and have a nice long visit. I want people to linger and visit and renew friendships. I want the smells and flavors to soothe the senses and nourish the soul. I want my friends to say, "Can we do this again next week?". To me, that would be the ultimate compliment.
So, my home has been operating on a near frantic level with lists being written and rooms being cleared of clutter. Summer is removed and autumnal reds, oranges and browns are set out. Chocolate velvet curtains are hung, herbs are planted to sit in window sills, candles are clustered
together, blankets and throws are scattered on chairs and benches, the fire pit is lit and crackling outside with chairs ringing the flames. Vases of deep purple asters are scattered through rooms and the lights are turned down low. A little music, some cider simmering and we are ready.It's the feeling you get in your heart when you see your neighbors and friends walking down the street toward your home. They carry pots of soups, baskets of warm rolls, fresh pies from the oven. It feels so right, so nourishing in every way. It feels wonderful to know you are providing a place to relax and have a good meal. I truly believe I get more benefits from the experience than anyone else.
The fascinating moment is this.....and it always happens....no matter how many seating areas I create, no matter how many chairs and tables and inviting little spots I set up, people congregate in the kitchen. They line the perimeter. They hold their plates in one hand and gesture with their spoons. They are like the guardians of the soup pots, holding their treasures and leaning on counters while talking boisterously. Their laughter rolls through the house. What is the lure of being in the kitchen where all the activity and frenzy is happening? The aroma is hypnotizing and the food is all beautifully displayed for their perusal. What keeps the crowd from sitting in comfortable chairs and having a place to set their dishes? What, what, what? I guess it really comes down to this question.....does it really matter?I come away from those couple of hours refreshed and settled. My home is clean and has been full of chatter and laughter. My heart is lighter. My fridge is stocked with soups and pies for the rest of the weekend. I have reconnected with my friends and know they are well. Does it matter that I had to reach around and across them in my kitchen to get spoons from drawers and cups from cupboards? Not at all.
But it does make me want to make my kitchen bigger.
