08-22-2020 Atlanta

Tonight is the It’s-Not-a-Wedding-Dinner Dinner, so there are preparations to be made.  There are tables to be placed socially distant and outdoor chairs to be power washed and lots of food prep to be done.  (This may require some explanation.  Ben and Elizabeth are actually married.  They had a very simple ceremony at the beginning of the pandemic so that she would have health insurance.  Everyone assumed that they would be able to have the big “official” ceremony in August!)

                                       Ginger's inaugural cuppa from her brand new Delft teapot!

 Randy brings over his sous vide immersion cooker since there will be both filet mignon and rib-eyes and there needs to be two stations to accommodate all that meat!  He also brings over all the meat and cheese and candied pecans and olives for the charcuterie plates he ha planned.  There are potatoes to be washed for the mashed potatoes and Brussel sprouts to be washed and halved and scallops to be placed on cookie sheets.  And the hummingbird cake has to be picked up and the mosquito spray has to be dispensed in time for it to dissipate but still be effective.

 

And there’s all the other stuff…silverware and table clothes and salt and pepper shakers and napkins and plates of various sized for dinner and cake and Andy’s specialty, okonomiyaki , which he’ll prepare in the basement to be out of the way.

 

By four-thirty it’s time to shower and dress and be ready for the festivities to begin around five-thirty.  That just leaves time for Ginger and me to check into Happy Hour with the Kings and my guys!  We get to spend about fifteen minutes and then it’s on to the party!

 

We are being socially distant, so Amy and Randy are at one table, Ben Elizabeth, and her brother and sister, Matt and Jennifer, are at another, and Andy, Ginger, Nick, and I are at a third.  We’re far enough apart to be safe;  but close enough to be able to easily converse with everyone.

 

There is so much deliciousness!  Each table has its own charcuterie plates and Andy has plated his okonomiyaki and delivered them to each diner.  There is red wine and white wine and water and tea and presently we each receive our dinners already plated by Nick and Randy. 

 

After dinner Ben and Elizabeth exchange presents.  Ben receives a water-color portrait of Otto and Sage, their baby puss cats.  It’s all done in coffee!!  Elizabeth receives a photo of herself as a child on a see-saw and their wedding portrait!

 

Then it’s time for toasts, which kind of sneaked up on Andy, the best man!  But he did a fine job!  Then I read the speech that Stu had written for the wedding.  It’s a riot and everyone approves heartily!

 

There is hummingbird cake to be cut by the bride and groom, to round out the evening.  There is a bit more socializing before everyone has to head for bed with very full tummies and memories of the wedding that wasn’t.

 

Andy is invaluable during clean-up!  We get nearly everything done, leaving just a bit to be finished up tomorrow morning.  That’s important because Ginger has an Emerson Board retreat tomorrow!  There will be eight people that all need to be socially distant for six hours, from one to seven!  I’m really ready for bed!