The Aftermath

I love the aftermath of a dinner party.  I love the bread wiped plates, the last of the candle flicker and the dregs of the hot chocolate in fancy tea cups. We celebrated the Winter Solstice by feasting on sausages, roasted root vegetables and crusty country herb bread. There was rosemary infused olive oil for bread dunking, fresh butter for spreading and boughs of rosemary from the garden adorning the table.

The meal began with a reading of the importance of this particular Winter Solstice and them a moment where all present joined hands and envisioned one quality we want to see manifest in our new year. There was lots of laughter and a morbid conversation around murder ballads and inappropriate folk songs. We finished with a reading of The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes, zombie haiku and the lyrics of an old Nick Cave song, Sad Waters. Everyone at the table agreed that Jack should have jumped on the door with Rose at the end of the Titanic, for there was clearly room for him if Rose had just shifted over a wee bit!

We ended our feasting with lemon cake, violet hot chocolate with fresh Chantilly cream and peppermint bark. We did not even cut into the homemade apple pie! After dinner we sat around the tree while my dear friend insisted on straightening the wool Nativity scene under the tree. It actually looks very sweet now. We sipped the best egg nog in the world and giggled until way past our bedtime.

If this is any sign of how the new year will begin, I have high hopes surrounded by flickering candles, full bellies and warm hearts.