But. Then. In the midst of all of this, Brendan and Diana came to stay, as they have done every summer since...a while back. We've tried to figure it out, and have decided that it's been about a decade since their first visit here. The first two years, they brought their lovely daughters, who were high school and college-aged. Then they began coming a deux.
Since shortly after Diana and I became friends, after meeting on a cruise ship where we had been assigned as dining tablemates along with our moms and my errant sibling, I labeled Diana and her family as family, but in a good way. And I feel that the most when they are sharing our home. They remind me of some of the best times I have had with family.
From the time when Billy and I bought our first home, my parents would often join us for dinner. We lived about ten minutes away from each other, and often those dinners were last minute throw-togethers. We had a nice patio at our first, small house, and bought our dining room table a few years after we purchased the house. Up until that time we were using a table made from an industrial spool, which my boyfriend (*see ex-fiance--I'm kidding there is no reference to this, so far...) had finished for my use. It was popular to use these as coffee tables, but I had a marble coffee table which had been my grandparents', so what I really needed was a dining table, since I was already cooking up a storm. But I digress, once again, to the past...
The best part of having family over is that you are already in a familiar pattern. You know what everyone drinks and what they will or won't eat. We were a family who set a good table with cloth napkins and decent glassware. During this time, my eclectic period, my glassware, silverware, napkins, and even plates were carefully mismatched, by design. I was already collecting table linens, and napkin rings (which I have ceased to use). And I was cooking from The Silver Palate, Gourmet, and Bon Appetit, as we all were at that time.
When we moved to our current home, which was about twenty to twenty-five minutes from my parents home, the parties continued. We now had a large courtyard in the shade of a gigantic old oak tree. Billy and one of our male guests (often my brother-in-law), would move our dining room table out onto the courtyard, and we would dine under the oak tree. Our homage to Tuscany. And it was a magically fun time.
When the oak tree went down, we pondered what to do. That oak tree was about a century old, and we could not replace it with a tree even a quarter of that size, plus there was a root fungus in the ground which would make it risky to plant any tree in that location. Our house is U-shaped and lined with french doors which all looked out to the tree as a focal point. I missed the tree desperately, but I saw water there. We talked about a pool, but Billy was hesitant. I persevered. I told him if he didn't want a swimming pool, we should install some kind of a shallow water feature. I had it in my mind's eye. We consulted a pool contractor who designed a small, narrow pool for us--only 10x28, and edged in the same terra cotta tile as had around the courtyard. We built and finished it in 2001, and our friends arrived with their daughters a year or two after.
What I love about having Brendan and Diana as house guests is that, like with family, we fall into an easy routine. This year, they arrived on July 4th, coordinating with our plan to have all of the pre-visit prep done by the evening before. Of course that didn't happen, but we were close. By the time they arrived, we were in our swimsuits and ready to hold down the teak lounge chairs at the far end of the pool--an extension of the pool area supported by a retaining wall on our hill. OK, too much information, I'm thinking...
We laugh a lot with Brendan and Diana. And we talk, and share, and eat, and drink. And for the past two years, we pay pool basketball. They brought the hoop and balls last year. Not that we're competitive with all this card playing and basketball lobbing. We're as happy when someone else wins as when we do. Well, almost...
So now, July has passed, and it will be another year before B&D come to visit us again. Then, once again we'll toast, and talk; laugh, and light candles. What with all of the sadness and upheaval in my life, it is sustaining to have these events to count upon and eagerly await. One thing I know for sure is that a year goes so fast these days, and soon it will be July again--the same time, next year. Thank you for reading my blog, and thanks for the memories, D&B!
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