Saturday was a day of preparations for Sunday's prayer gathering I'll be hosting.
Usually, the person hosting the gathering will prepare a meal for all the participants. But, this time, due to my health condition, people asked if they can bring a dish and I gratefully accepted their offers. Such a blessing to have them help. Daughter and I will prepare a chicken curry and a salad and provide beverages, etc. I have also asked a friend of mine, who does catering, to provide a fish curry.
The menu, as it stands now,with person preparing it in parentheses (if other than me):
Appetizers: Spicy Indian snack mix
Lunch:
Rice (friend)
Chicken curry (daughter)
Fish curry (catering friend)
Pork curry (aunt)
Shredded greens cooked with coconut (friend)
Eggplant vegetable (friend)
Another unspecified vegetable (friend who is bringing the rice)
Salad of sliced cucumber, tomatoes, red onions, with halved hard boiled eggs
Dessert:
Yogurt (cousin) served with treacle (palm syrup)
Fresh fruits (grapes, strawberries, etc.)
Chocolate cake (friend)
Two other cousins will bring some wine, since I don't drink alcohol and have no idea what kind of wine to buy for those who do drink it.
I have invited 25 people, but, most probably there will be only 20 to lunch, as not everyone will be able to attend.
I dusted the family room while daughter and a friend of mine did the grocery shopping. My friend also swept the living room.
Later, in the evening, two of my cousins and an aunt came over to help, and it was almost a party, in and of itself! :D
One cousin and my friend replaced the sofa covers and swept the family room. The other cousin helped daughter in the kitchen while daughter cleaned and cut the chicken for the curry. Aunt kept me company, since I wasn't allowed to do too much other than tell daughter how much of spices to add to the chicken curry, as it was the first time she was cooking for a crowd.
Tomorrow morning (or rather, later this morning, since I am writing this at 1:30 a.m.), I will prepare the salad and daughter will help me clean the bathrooms. I also want to buy two bunches of roses - one for the altar and one to take to my mother's grave site, because it is the anniversary of her birthday. She would have been 95 had she lived.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Family and friends
- Helping hands
- Laughter
- Hugs
- A clean and tidy house
How was your Saturday?
Wow! That is an impressive feast for a gathering! Take care Sybil xxx
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
DeleteMy Saturday was uneventful. I can't complain. I love the boring.
ReplyDeleteI pray you had a wonderful gathering. So nice to have loved ones help out with such Grace.
Welcome, Jake's a Girl. Yes, a quiet, uneventful, ordinary day is very welcome, isn't it? Thank you for stopping by my blog and commenting.
DeleteBless, I always love how you end your posts with the things you are grateful for- you are truly wonderful! :)
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you and those coming together for your prayer gathering. I think it is so nice that everyone is chipping in and bringing dishes for all to enjoy. Your menu sounds yummy! :)
Dawn, thank you. I used to keep a gratitude journal for many years; started when I was at a particularly low point in my life, going through a divorce, etc. These days, I don't keep a hand-written journal, although I might start again when I start treatment. But the blog is a type of journal, for me; thus the gratitude lists. The prayer meeting went off very well. :)
DeleteWhat a wonderful meal, sounds fantastic, and how wonderful that all your family/friends came and helped you. Praying for you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Judy. It went off very well, with everyone helping.
DeleteHi Bless! I recall you doing all this prep yourself in the past and its so nice to see everyone helping you with this one. Not always easy to ask for help but you have wonderful family and friends to assist you. Makes the event even more special! :)
ReplyDeleteCarolyn, you are right. I used to do all this by myself, before (as recently as last year). But, as one of my cousins pointed out, we are all getting older (the youngest cousin is 50+, the rest of us are 60+, and the aunts are all in their 80s). We are getting to a point where help is welcome!
DeleteI too loved the idea of prayer gathering at your home. The menu is impressive and sounds so exotic to me. Wondered if some guests come mostly for the spread.
ReplyDeleteI'm so proud of you for accepting the help offered. Everyone wants to do something to help and kudos to you for understanding.
Hon, the menu is actually nothing unusual for one of our family gatherings. Had it been a dinner, instead of lunch, it would have been even more elaborate. :)
DeleteThis particular prayer group (all family and friends) have been getting together for monthly prayer meetings for the past 31 or 32 years. Over the years, some non-family members have left and others have joined, but the core group continues.