Ballgames, venison, friends and fun

Saturday night was the first Auburn football game. We invited friends over for dinner. Mark and I both love to entertain. Entertaining is one thing that we do well together. Now what does this tree stand have to do with entertaining? (no - we didn't make everyone climb up into the treestand) Before everyone arrived, I was walking around in the backyard with my new camera and thought it would make an interesting picture!! Yes, this is in our backyard in the middle of suburbia. Mark used to practice shooting his bow from this perch. Back to the evening. This is the game that was on our tv. Mark, Glenn and Laura all graduated from Auburn University so Auburn is our team. (we won!)
Here are the lovely ladies - Rhonda, Lynn (who moved to Texas yesterday- we are going to miss you- come home soon!!), Phella, Butch and another Lynn. Husbands were glued to the game - they were all sitting in the other room! If they weren't watching the game, they were talking aboug guy stuff!!

This bucket was on the porch with Mark . . .a few cold drinks on ice.

One of my top two allergies is oak. Look what I found in the grocery store. Oak free wine!! It tasted ok - as I told someone, it tasted like house wine at a medium price restaurant!! My all time favorite wine is on the left. Our friends, Melinda and Jeff, taught me about this wine. They gave a bottle to me last year for a gift . . .and I've been hooked ever since. They order it by the case and were kind enough to let me purchase half a case. We are down to our last bottle.

Mark had two grills going in the backyard. He was cooking venison steaks wrapped in bacon on the gas grill and he was cooking London Broil and a pork tenderloin on the charcoal grill. It was all delicious.

Here is the cook!! This was why I walked out into the yard in the first place. Mark brought this chiminea home several years ago. We tried putting it on the deck and various other places and didn't like the way it looked so it has been "living" in the basement for years. We had this giant tree cut back in January and we placed pots of flowers on the stump all summer (which kept dying because we didn't water them enough and we didn't have any rain). Mark decided that the chiminea would look great on the stump and I think he is right. It looks great! He put some charcoal in it so there were wisps of smoke billowing out. We enjoyed good food, good fellowship, good conversation (and a football win!). Mark and I are as different as night and day - he chooses an outside activity/I choose an indoor activity (partly because of allergies). He chooses to never ever ever sit still/I love to read a good book every once in a while. He loves to watch survivor type shows (which I often watch with him/I prefer Glee or the Sound of Music or NCIS. The list of differences is actually quite long BUT one of the things that we do really well together is entertain. Our house is not fancy but comfortable. Our dining room is large - 12 folks can sit fairly easily around our table (14 is a real squeeze). Mark and I both have the gift of hospitality (a gift from God!!) and we enjoy using that gift.

Someone asked me about entertaining recently and as I was talking I realized something - almost every single one of our friends goes to church with us. Mark has a couple of friends from work that he enjoys eating lunch with and talking to and spending time with and we've been out to dinner with them once or twice over all these years. I have friends at work (but remember I work at our church - I do love all of you and LOVE eating lunch with you every day and having great conversations!!). There are a few of my high school friends that I keep in touch with and I have had dinner with some of them recently (but we are talking once or twice a year-which we should do more often - and usually I go by myself with them - we don't go out with them as a couple). I am thankful for those friends from high school - pretty much my only connection with the past. We have friends through the Emmaus community (but once again - they are sort of "church related" friends-we are so thankful for each one of you and how you have blessed our lives-we should hang out with you more often - come on over for dinner soon!!). The people that we hang out with on a weekly basis - the people that we would invite over for dinner (or send out an email and say - "hey- want to meeet us at Dale's?") - are our church - mostly our Sunday School friends. I am thankful for our friends!! I am thankful to be part of such an incredible Sunday School class. Each one of you enriches our lives. Thanks be to God for each one of you!!
(yes, I know that this post started out as one thing and ended up as something else - but I guess since it is my blog that is ok :-)