The final evening of my Vermont visit, Marcia and Jay hosted a fabulous garden dinner party. Preparations began early on Saturday, with Jay working on the almost addictive salsa verde he served with the salmon (request the recipe from him at bingbrk@together.net), and Marcia getting ready to arrange table centerpieces of sunflowers and red peppers. When I say early I mean it. Notice the fresh bread stacked up on the table, already baked by Jay at the start of the day.
Grand plans included carrying the oak table from the dining room outside, and stringing lights and lanterns so the party could last into the evening. Once the party started , there was the usual pre-game warmup for a closely-contested match of boule . And serious boule it was, though all disputes were resolved in a friendly manner despite appearances. Not everyone got involved in the game, though towards the end of the match, the table area had been vacated, just waiting for dining to begin. And once we were sitting around the table, instead of feeling like it was outdoors, it felt almost like being in a private room, with light above but darkness all around. Good thing we strung up that second set of lights.
