My exercise class is incredibly gregarious. They chatter away through class, meet before class to see what’s been happening over the past two days, go out for coffee on Monday morning after class and go to breakfast once a month to celebrate with those who have had birthdays.
\nFor a long time it was our tradition to invite the class to have a breakfast potluck at our house in May. It was scheduled so that I could show off our iris, and maybe sneak in the chance to show off a new quilt or two.
\nLast year, my mother left our home to be cared for by a round-the-clock caregiver, and I was still busy helping them to get settled in May, and didn’t extend the offer to host the brunch. I’m pretty sure that everyone in class understood that I was otherwise occupied, and they were very kind about it. This year, I thought it might be time to resume the tradition. We have about forty-five people signed up for class and I believe that thirty-five of them, possibly a few more, will be here after class tomorrow.
\nLuckily, this is a pot luck meal. I set out a sign-up sheet, more to get a head count than to manage the meal. The people who sign up can see what is already listed in terms of what others are bringing, so it pays to be among the first to sign up. This year we have an interesting cross between breakfast and lunch. I plan to do breakfast items, while our exercise dragon lady is bringing a hot pasta dish. There will be fruit and muffins and ham and a range of other items.
\nMy youngest sister is quite the cook, and I’ve borrowed her baked french toast casserole recipe, and one for an egg and sausage casserole. Another friend does a variation on the french toast casserole that has thinly sliced Granny Smith apples and dried cranberries mixed in with the brown sugar\/cinnamon\/butter mixture on the bottom of the pan, so I thought I’d do that, too. And, I decided to do the praline pull-apart bread. All but the egg casserole was assembled this evening, and Dear Husband cooked the sausage and onion for the eggs while I put together the french toast.
\nI plan to hop out of bed early tomorrow, dead-head the iris, and bake the bread. Then I’ll work on getting the tables set and beverages set up. One of my nieces has offered to help me serve, and she will be here early to help me finish setting the tables.
\nThe only thing I forgot to do was to buy some flowers for the tables. I may cut some of the overwhelming population of daisies and put them in simple vases. That will give the iris a chance to stand out a bit more, and save me the trip to the store. I love it when a plan comes together.
\nI’m going to set the table with china. Why have it if you don’t use it? China, silverware and glasses will be most of the cleanup. I’ll have help putting tables back where they need to go, and our visitors are bringing folding chairs, so we won’t have to return chairs.
\nI’m really looking forward to tomorrow, but I better get to bed so that I have enough sleep to carry me through the day. With luck, I’ll have some pictures of the iris to share with you. I hope you’re enjoying spring as much as I am!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My exercise class is incredibly gregarious. They chatter away through class, meet before class to see what’s been happening over the past two days, go out for coffee on Monday morning after class and go to breakfast once a month … Continue reading