Day 4 and Hospitality

Day 4 and I can't believe I still don't feel like Wonder Woman!  Seriously, what gives?  I know.  Rome wasn't built in a day.  I realize that this is just as much a mental thing as it is a physical one which brings me to today's dilemma.

We received a call from some Egyptian friends of ours that they would like to come visit us while they were on vacation.  We were thrilled that they were coming…that is until I realized that my Southern hospitality roots were now in serious dissonance with the "Give me broccoli or give me death" lifestyle that we had committed to.

My mother's side of the family is from Arkansas.  There if you fried a brick in butter, they could make it taste good.  If a "dollop of Daisy" will do ya, then in the South a carton of it must be better.  In other words, you are never allowed to say that something is "too rich", "too sweet" or "too much."  It simply isn't done.  

Cooking "just enough" may appear clever in the North, but it is short of cataclysmic in the South.  No one ever cooks "just enough."  You must have bowls and bowls of things in excess so that anyone could get seconds or thirds at anytime.  

With these formative ideas floating around in my mind, I began to ponder how I could still make our friends feel special and present meals that they would enjoy.

I like flowers.  I bet they do too.  I walked outside and found a couple interesting bushes near us that had purplish blooms on them and smelled really nice.  I clipped them along with some yellow blossomed somethings nearby.  I put them in a small soda bottle (from those horrible, wicked poor eating days) and placed them on the table in their guest room.

Next I found some books with pictures from our area and placed them next to their bed so they could look through the local activities.

Finally, I placed a welcome sign next to a scented candle.  Ah, yes.  This might work.

They arrived (Husband, wife, two small children) and the fun began.  We laughed and talked into the afternoon.  I excused myself to prepare dinner.  Well, here goes…

Our wonderful friends and one photobomb guy...

I prepared baked chicken with Italian herbs, sweet potatoes, a relish tray of raw vegetables and a bowl of strawberries with bananas.  (My grandmother just might be rolling over in her grave.  Nary a mention of gravy, biscuits or creamed anything.)

I served the dinner family style.  I explained to our guests what had transpired in the last few days and how that affected their lives.  They laughed when I pointed to my water glass and said, "Do you see how serious this is?  There is NO Diet Coke in my cup OR in the house!"  Only stupid orange soda which can stay in the fridge through the next millennia because it has no hold on me.

Now they really laughed.  They were very gracious and proceeded to eat while complimenting now and again (very proper Egyptian thing to do).  I was trying to gauge if they were really enjoying it or being polite.  When they asked for more, I dared hope that maybe…just maybe this was going to be successful.

We finished our dinner and made our way to the couch to visit while sipping tea.  (An absolute MUST here…)  Our friends had been very understanding about everything right up until we said, "Now we drink tea with no sugar."

Our friend said, "What?!  You mean a little sugar."

"No.  No sugar."

"Oh…" he shook his head in disbelief not knowing what else to say.  Everyone here has at least 3 teaspoons of sugar in their cup and sometimes more, but never less.

The subject changed and we spent time together the rest of the evening.  Another day done.  A friendship strengthened, more vegetables eaten and another (batter-free) brick laid to build Rome. 

I guess it was a miracle that I was hospitable on Day 4 according to the chart!