Thursday, April 17, 2014

Holiday plans

Easter is this Sunday so that means church and a special meal.  It also means there will be a gathering of family members.  In this case, they are my family by marriage.  Each year it seems to grow and this year I am hosting 15, that's fifteen people.  Plus me.  Neal's sisters, his only niece and nephew, two of my stepdaughters, two grandkids and assorted significant others will be here for dinner.  The most recent addition is a charming lady in her 90's who lives in a nursing home in Enumclaw - her grandson is bringing her for the meal.
I am blessed to have a living-dining room combination so there is space to seat that many people and enjoy a family-style meal.  Also, I have two dining room tables.
The table at the far end is our regular dining room table.  It accommodates eight people quite easily when it is fully extended. The darker table in the foreground is one of my favorite pieces of furniture.  My parents bought it about the time I was born and it has been so practical.  My parents used it in their living room as a side table and I generally keep it in the office as a writing desk.  Doesn't look much like a writing desk, does it?  But when all three leaves are inserted it will accommodate four place settings on each side.  I can tell you that it is very heavy, and moving it from the office to the living room by myself would be impossible without little gliders under the legs.
If I were to move into a small apartment, this fold-up table would be at the top of the list of things to move with me.
Chairs?  I have twelve nice wooden chairs, six from the dining room set (seen at far end of the room). We also bought six other chairs that look okay with the second table.  That's twelve.  I have a piano bench we can use for the two little girls who will join us that day, and then I'll add a few folding chairs to the mix.
I have enough china and silverware for this group.  When we purchased our bone china I had been reading about the lives of the former general Relief Society presidents.  The author wrote that one of the women had table settings for 36!  Neal was intrigued by that - and campaigned hard for us to get that many place settings.  We did not, but I do have 20 dinner plates.  Because we used to host the bishopric Christmas parties we bought enough silverware to have table service for 16.  
As far as the menu is concerned, it will be very traditional - ham and some favorite side dishes (baked beans, potato salad, rolls, etc) with carrot cake for dessert.  My sister-in-law will bring another salad and a couple of pies, and other people are bringing appetizers and beverages.  I'm planning to prepare nearly everything on Saturday and just put the ham in the oven before church.
I hope your Easter is one of joyful gratitude for the Resurrection of the Savior.

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