There is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a cup of tea.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am so blessed.  Not only do I have a family that I love dearly but I have wonderful friends.  Yesterday good friends of ours came to town, and while the guys went golfing, my friend Sandy and I took in a beautiful exhibit of paintings and tapestries on loan from the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy.  There were over 45 works by Renaissance masters, including a Titian, a Botticelli and a Tintoretto.  While it would be hard to choose a favorite, I love the look of love between Mary and Jesus in this beautiful Botticelli.

After the exhibit we sat by the lake on a beautiful September afternoon and watched the sailboats go by, catching up on news about the comings and goings of our families, and planning future get-togethers.  Then home we went, where we played in the kitchen and had marvelous fun preparing dinner.  I'll try to get the recipes posted tomorrow--we had Boston lettuce salad with roasted sliced pears and spicy honey glazed walnuts; bleu cheese/cranberry/pistachio stuffed chicken breasts; tomato/bleu cheese pasta; fresh Italian rosemary bread; and for dessert, plum cake cockaigne from Irma Rombauer's classic Joy of Cooking.

The best part of the day, though, was sitting around my dinner table, candles lit, wine poured, my lovely dishes from my beloved Aunt Stella adorning the table, and talking for hours with our good friends.  Our friendship goes back over twenty years and spans eight children, two moves, four weddings, and six dogs.  Celebrations, heartbreaks, disappointments and medical scares--we've weathered them all together.  It was a lovely night.  Robert Frost understood--there is always time to talk.

A Time to Talk

Robert Frost

When a friend calls to me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don't stand still and look around
On all the hills I haven't hoed,
And shout from where I am, 'What is it?'
No, not as there is a time to talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and five feet tall,
And plod: I go up to the stone wall
For a friendly visit.

Plum cake cockaigne!

May you have a lovely Sunday, filled with good food, good friends, and a time to talk with your loved ones!