coming out of my shell

coming out of my shell

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Company coming!

I'm a terrible housekeeper, so there's a lot of advance cleaning when visitors come to stay. That's not a bad thing. This house needs attention and the anticipation of visitors is an excellent incentive. 

The days of the white tornado speed cleaning three rooms at once ended when I busted my kneecap. That's actually HOW I busted it. My days of getting down on my hands and knees to scrub are also over. There exist long, adjustable brushes to make these things easier for the kneecap challenged.  

Planning meals for the duration of the visit is a must. In doing so we have to find out if the guests have any allergies, preferences, aversions. We can't be surprised one of them has gluten issues after they've arrived and our freezer is full of wheat based treats. We need to know what they drink, if they prefer red or white, beer, or spirits. If we are aware they are cutting back on salt and/or sugar, we can adjust. 

Dinners are important, as are breakfasts. We are often out and about for lunch, or skip it because of a late breakfast. Interestingly, there's only so much one can eat in a day. Who knew?

We try to limit visits to 3 nights/4 days. After that, I start hallucinating. It has occurred to me there will come a time when having visitors stay with us will be nearly impossible to manage. I hope that's a long way off.  




21 comments:

  1. Oh this is all too familiar. The baking, the breakfast, dinner, snacks, cocktails. Being celiac I so appreciate the fact that you ask about allergies. I do that as well so no one is dying on my watch. :-) I have a french toast casserole to die for. I have never had it. It looks divine, it smells divine. I made it for a brunch along with eggs, bacon, you know. But this is done in advance and boy the love for this is great. It must be good. It's made with challah bread, nice soft, eggy bread that makes me so wish I wasn't celiac. Enjoy your company!!

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    1. Gluten is a real issue for my daughter and step-daughter. Most of all, I just want to make people happy. So any information they can give me is helpful. I wish I had your French toast casserole. Sounds great.

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  2. For now enjoy those who are coming. Company can be a joy and a drain of energy. Don't make it too much work for you.

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  3. I get it. When we have company, I obsess over the food and how to keep everyone entertained. I don't have enough conversation in me to sustain evening after evening staring at each other in the living room.

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    1. I could carry a conversation for a long time, but it takes a toll.

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  4. You sound like an amazing host! in this years to come it sounds like you have lots of room to step back a bit. My brother is coming next week, he knows he has to chip in, a lot, he is visiting for a week. 3 days used to be my max with relatives, but i have learned to step back . Yet this time he stays in our house ( open concept) sleeps in my bed. omg i count on lots laughter to help us through. You all the best, i trust it will be great! let us know after.

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  5. You are a thoughtful host, Colette, and I am sure your guests appreciate that.
    I will be the guest this week as my son, my daughter and I head to Houston to visit my middle son and his family!

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    1. Sounds wonderful - have a great time with your kids.

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  6. There's certainly a lot of work involved in having visitors. If they're polite and considerate and do what they can to help you out, that's okay. If they don't, it's exhausting.

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    1. It's exhausting even when they are good visitors. It's the nature of the thing. I enjoy it more than I dread it, though. Soon enough they will be gone, and Tom and I can sleep for a couple of days, ha.

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  7. You are organised! And I hope you will all have a great time together. My daughter and family (incl. preschool grandchild) come every 12-18 months and then stay for several weeks. I just hand everything over to them and pretend to be the visitor - who washes the kitchen floor when all are asleep

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  8. I never understood cleaning *before* company came when they are only going to mess it all up. Clean bedding, clean bathroom. Take out menus. Done. Then I relax and enjoy my company. Lazy but happy me.

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    1. I suspect you aren't as terrible a housekeeper as I am. But your way sounds reasonable.

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  9. Old age, especially when combined with ill-health, can have unexpected benefits. Anyone who calls in on us - by appointment or casually - cannot expect to be fed. Not only will they have to cook for themselves but (it would seem odd if they didn't) they must cook for us too. Nor can it be some culinary lash-up like spag. bol. or a warm-up pizza. Sympathy for our miserable state has to be recognised with something elaborate, even celebratory.

    Hey!

    A selfish thought has just elbowed its way through what I optimistically refer to as my brain. If I bought a veal cutlet, one of Holland's two cheeses, and some prime cooked ham, our next guest/host would be unable to refuse to prepare Escalope de veau à la Zagreb, a dish we first encountered during a 1965 visit to what was then called Yugoslavia and which we have treasured ever since. Do you know? - there's nothing like writing as an encouragement to writing some more.

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    1. Good thoughts, all of which will make for a couple of good meals, and even a few laughs. No, I do not know about Escalope de veau à la Zagreb. (I can't figure out how to use italics in the comments section). Now I am going to go google it. I love almost all food that is Eastern European. But I would be happy with someone else's spaghetti bolognese and warmed up pizza, too.

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  10. You're not grown-up until you can do itals; Here's how

    < lower case i > What you want to italicise < /lower case i>

    Invalids are not satisfied with being happy when ecstasy's a possibility.

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  11. Colette, I posted that cabbage treatment for knees on my blog but called you Mary. Oops.
    My friend who shared that recipe with me was here overnight and says it has worked wonders for her sister-in-law.
    I still find it hard to believe, but if ever I have knee issues I'll sure as hell give it a shot.
    I spent the day housecleaning before she got here. Not because I was afraid of being judged if things were dirty, as they were, but because I wanted my home to be pleasant for her to be in. It took many years before I figured out there is a difference!
    There is a saying that house guests are like fish: after 3 days they start to stink.
    I love to see 'em come and am relieved to see 'em go, no matter how much I love 'em.
    -Kate

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  12. I used to have company often but since Covid, things have changed. I also have gotten older since Covid and have lost my desire/joy to entertain. However, with the help of my daughters, I was able to have 22 people over for my last Super Bowl party. It was my last hurrah!

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So, whadayathink?