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Yesterday was our fourth annual House of Felagund Halloween party! We had to have it a week early because next weekend is our barony's TnT event.
I think it went well, if I do say so myself. It was certainly the least stressful dinner and party that we've done yet. I told Bobby that this is probably because we cook large meals from scratch five days a week; we're getting good at it! We had 16 guests, which--given our smallish house and facilities--was quite a turnout.
But I have to gripe a moment. Bobby and I invited four groups of friends close in age to ourselves. Some of these people have been good friends of ours for many years now. Of four groups, one bothered to respond to the invite. The rest? *crickets*
Okay, twenty- and thirty-something flisters--is it just us? Are we just cursed with friends who lack in any sense of organization or courtesy? Or is it a generational thing and most people our age don't bother to respond to invitations or ever want to do anything that requires them to travel ten minutes beyond their home? And, if they do, they either 1) might not show up at all (and may or may not call to let you know this) or 2) will show up so late that they might as well have not shown up at all. This pretty much sums up our same-aged friend groups. I'm very, very, very tired of it. They all wax sentimental whenever we see each other about how we need to get together more. That sentiment never actually provokes anyone but Bobby and me to make an attempt to try to get together. And when we do, we are either ignored or blown off, or they stagger in so late that I wonder why they bother at all. We once met a couple of friends for dinner about an hour from our home and about fifteen minutes from theirs. We arrived on time. They were almost an hour late. Is it just me? Am I old-fashioned to think that this is rude and incompetent behavior?
(Although perhaps I put too much blame on my age group. My extended family, too, we have invited annually to our party. Every time we'd get together, again, everyone would sigh and wring their hands about how the whole family needs to get together more. So Bobby and I invited them every year. We had two couples show up the first year. The next two years, no one from our extended family came. We've stopped inviting them. I can get the hint that "we need to get together more" doesn't include getting together at our house. I once said something about this to my parents, and they said, "But you live so far away!" [With the exception of two families, we live less than an hour away from everyone we were inviting.] Hmm. So that distance magically diminishes when they invite us to stuff, and we manage to show up?)
I can get the hint from certain friends too. Bobby and I have agreed that if they want to get together, they can set something up. We're tired of doing it only to be ignored or blown off or told the day before, "We're going to be three hours late!" or stood up because something better comes up or because it's raining and they don't want to come out in the rain. (All of which has happened among the particular groups of whom I am ranting.)
/rant
But among those who did show up, we had a great time. There was much food involved, of course. The Family Felagund loves to feed people. (We used to all work on the restaurant business, for Pete's sake!) For starters, we had pumpkin dip and homemade herbed chevre cheese, as well as apples and caramel, and a fruit salad contributed by Tristan and Don. We had the traditional potato and leek soup with fresh-baked egg bread. The main course was pulled pork, roast beef and gravy (kindly brought by Dad), and a vegetable medley that we call New World stew, as well as apple-carrot muffins with maple butter. Dessert was green apple sorbet; my dad brought cupcakes, and my mother-in-law brought a pumpkin pie. Our Wulfshaven friends also brought plenty of German beer to go around. I think the New World stew probably won the favorite food award. Lots of people took some to be polite, I suspect, because a big ol' pot of veggies isn't itself appealing to most people. Then they went back for seconds. And thirds. At least one fourths, from what I've heard. But New World stew is good. Bobby and I have been eating it about every two weeks lately for supper.
The families arrived first and so left first. We then built up a bonfire in the backyard and sat around with our SCAdian friends. They ended up staying till past midnight. The house was a wreck! (It's clean again now.) When you're up so late with your guests that you have to leave the mess till the next morning--that's a party!
We also had enough soup and stew left over to freeze for later in the winter, so our freezer is officially busting at the seams. Our goal for this year was to continue eating local even through the winter, and I think between our canned and frozen foods that we might make it.
I was feeling energized before from cleaning up from last night, then making a big breakfast with Bobby. But now ... dang. I'm pooped again! This has been an exhausting week! Thank goodness TnT is in Carroll County next Saturday and not north Harford like it usually is. With double classroom observations this week, someone still may find me curled up in a corner of the Ag Center, sleeping off the last two weeks.
I think it went well, if I do say so myself. It was certainly the least stressful dinner and party that we've done yet. I told Bobby that this is probably because we cook large meals from scratch five days a week; we're getting good at it! We had 16 guests, which--given our smallish house and facilities--was quite a turnout.
But I have to gripe a moment. Bobby and I invited four groups of friends close in age to ourselves. Some of these people have been good friends of ours for many years now. Of four groups, one bothered to respond to the invite. The rest? *crickets*
Okay, twenty- and thirty-something flisters--is it just us? Are we just cursed with friends who lack in any sense of organization or courtesy? Or is it a generational thing and most people our age don't bother to respond to invitations or ever want to do anything that requires them to travel ten minutes beyond their home? And, if they do, they either 1) might not show up at all (and may or may not call to let you know this) or 2) will show up so late that they might as well have not shown up at all. This pretty much sums up our same-aged friend groups. I'm very, very, very tired of it. They all wax sentimental whenever we see each other about how we need to get together more. That sentiment never actually provokes anyone but Bobby and me to make an attempt to try to get together. And when we do, we are either ignored or blown off, or they stagger in so late that I wonder why they bother at all. We once met a couple of friends for dinner about an hour from our home and about fifteen minutes from theirs. We arrived on time. They were almost an hour late. Is it just me? Am I old-fashioned to think that this is rude and incompetent behavior?
(Although perhaps I put too much blame on my age group. My extended family, too, we have invited annually to our party. Every time we'd get together, again, everyone would sigh and wring their hands about how the whole family needs to get together more. So Bobby and I invited them every year. We had two couples show up the first year. The next two years, no one from our extended family came. We've stopped inviting them. I can get the hint that "we need to get together more" doesn't include getting together at our house. I once said something about this to my parents, and they said, "But you live so far away!" [With the exception of two families, we live less than an hour away from everyone we were inviting.] Hmm. So that distance magically diminishes when they invite us to stuff, and we manage to show up?)
I can get the hint from certain friends too. Bobby and I have agreed that if they want to get together, they can set something up. We're tired of doing it only to be ignored or blown off or told the day before, "We're going to be three hours late!" or stood up because something better comes up or because it's raining and they don't want to come out in the rain. (All of which has happened among the particular groups of whom I am ranting.)
/rant
But among those who did show up, we had a great time. There was much food involved, of course. The Family Felagund loves to feed people. (We used to all work on the restaurant business, for Pete's sake!) For starters, we had pumpkin dip and homemade herbed chevre cheese, as well as apples and caramel, and a fruit salad contributed by Tristan and Don. We had the traditional potato and leek soup with fresh-baked egg bread. The main course was pulled pork, roast beef and gravy (kindly brought by Dad), and a vegetable medley that we call New World stew, as well as apple-carrot muffins with maple butter. Dessert was green apple sorbet; my dad brought cupcakes, and my mother-in-law brought a pumpkin pie. Our Wulfshaven friends also brought plenty of German beer to go around. I think the New World stew probably won the favorite food award. Lots of people took some to be polite, I suspect, because a big ol' pot of veggies isn't itself appealing to most people. Then they went back for seconds. And thirds. At least one fourths, from what I've heard. But New World stew is good. Bobby and I have been eating it about every two weeks lately for supper.
The families arrived first and so left first. We then built up a bonfire in the backyard and sat around with our SCAdian friends. They ended up staying till past midnight. The house was a wreck! (It's clean again now.) When you're up so late with your guests that you have to leave the mess till the next morning--that's a party!
We also had enough soup and stew left over to freeze for later in the winter, so our freezer is officially busting at the seams. Our goal for this year was to continue eating local even through the winter, and I think between our canned and frozen foods that we might make it.
I was feeling energized before from cleaning up from last night, then making a big breakfast with Bobby. But now ... dang. I'm pooped again! This has been an exhausting week! Thank goodness TnT is in Carroll County next Saturday and not north Harford like it usually is. With double classroom observations this week, someone still may find me curled up in a corner of the Ag Center, sleeping off the last two weeks.
