9/2/07

Carefree Evening and CWO!

“Friendship is the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all out just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful, friendly hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of comfort, blow the rest away.”
George Eliot

A few weeks ago we had a Carefree Evening. I informed our friends before they arrived that I would not have the table set, the meal prepared, and that we’d not be on any schedule.

My girlfriend came early and we enjoyed a game of Scrabble, one of our favorite ways to relax. Then we worked in the kitchen together, taking our garden goodness and making tomato/basil salad, green beans for the grill, and slicing the bread. Then, back to our Scrabble game we went!

We snipped some flowers from the garden, put the table setting on a tray, grabbed a tablecloth, and set the table right before it was time to eat. The men took care of the meat and the grill. And No! We did not let them in on our Scrabble game:)

Planned dinners are very enjoyable and rewarding, especially when hard work is put into them. But I looked forward to this evening all week because, with our busy work schedules, I knew that our friends wouldn’t mind being a part of this “Carefree Evening."

The greatest friends in life are worth working side-by-side with.

We pitch in together and help out, and the payoff is always momentous. Perfection goes out the door; the clock is ignored, and we focus on one-another and inviting conversation.

We are middle-aged couples, hard working, raising kids, and sharing the common life together.

This is small group living.

Have you had a “Carefree Evening” as of late?

Invite some friends over who can “go with the flow” and you’ll be surprised how it turns out!
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On a rather exciting note my blog has been featured this month over at Christian Women Online (CWO Magazine), under Bonnie’s Kitchen! If you have time, take a quick peek here. Thank you, Bonnie, for finding me and believing in my message and my Ten Commandments!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Sandy!!

~Jennifer said...

Found you through CWO, and I'm looking forward to reading more!

Erin said...

You've inspired me. I found your blog through someone else's and when I read your profile I thought to myself, "That's what I'm trying to do, bring down my expectations of what others expect of me when I entertain and do it more often!" So I will definitely be back and I'm linking you on my blog so I don't forget where you are. Happy weekend to you!

Laura said...

Hi Sandy,
Ah yes we had a night like this just this past Friday. It's my favorite form of entertaining. I didn't do anything to prepare. Our friends brought over half the meal and we prepared it together when they got here. We all set the table together as well. It was perfect! Now these are our best friends and so it is naturally relaxing, I'm not sure I could do it with just anyone though.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend,
Laura

tammi said...

Congratulations! And yes, the other night (when we had people over even though my house wasn't immaculate) was 'carefree evening!' What a liberating feeling!!

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Hi, Sandy, I haven't had time to stop by for awhile! You've been busy entertaining & with life. Your carefree dinner sounds wonderful (the pic of the tomatoe salad...yummy!). I think it's so great that you & your friends take time to do these things often. We are struggling to make new friends in our city & it hasn't been easy. We'll keep plugging along though & hopefully it will happen. We just started attending a large church with many small groups & hope to get involved with folks that way. It's not easy starting over trying to make new friends sometimes. I have some girlfriends, but we don't have couple friends yet & that's what I'm hoping will happen.

Thanks for the encouragement of your blog! You always have great ideas. Congrats too to your hubby for the 700 Club spot. I missed it, but hope it all went well.

Rhoda

southerninspiration said...

Now WHY does this seem like such a brilliant idea to me?? What does this say about me? I don't know why I don't do things like this more often....and I DO LOVE scrabble!!! Wish I lived down the street and we could have a carefree Scrabble evening!!! Sounds fun!
Oh, and have you ever heard of Quiddler? If you like Scrabble, you'd probably like it. It's a word game played with a special deck of cards. IT's fun, too!

Nadine said...

That is such fun to do. I've done it in the past. Now here is a brave idea. I've had friends over for leftovers from another dinner party. Of course I overcooked and they had such fun because it was a last minute type of thing and they felt like family. They said we can have them over for leftovers anytime.

Nadine said...

Congratulations on CWO.

Sara at Miller Moments: said...

When we used to live in the Willamette Valley, we had friends with a family of 8! Oftentimes, we'd get together several times a week to play cards, hang out, etc... What was so fun was the lack of planning - just like you said, knowing that we could just BE with one another and not worry about the perfect menu. Back then, our family only had 3, so it was sometimes a challenge to come up with a meal to feed that many, but GOD ALWAYS PROVIDED. We experienced our very own loaves and fishes feedings all the time.

I pray for great friendships like that again soon!!!

Donnetta said...

We just did my daughter's BDay party this last weekend in that style.

I invited daughters and mom's over for an informal time of playing and being together.

There was no planned agenda of games, presents, cake and ice cream, etc. It was just a do it as it happens party... and it was wonderfully fun and relaxing for everyone!

Congrats on the CWO spotlight! ;-)

Anonymous said...

How refreshing, Sandy....that's what I call the perfect way to be hospitable!!

Kerry said...

I LOVE Scrabble! :)