spontaneity

Yesterday morning when the temperature was rising much higher than I prefer I said "let's have paella in the backyard tonight". I love to eat outside, and our backyard only has a couple of days a year when this is possible without wearing down jackets. Well, at least sweaters and windbreakers. And these events just can not be planned in advance.

Ok, this photo is not our backyard, but in fact it is one of Mike's paellas. Paella is generally not something you want to do for only two people, so it was well, who can we invite? On a whim, I called our friends Mark and Liza and left a message on their answering machine. We went off to grocery shop with some confidence that someone would be available. It is unusual for me to actually use a phone and call someone, and it is equally unusual for them to get phone messages so it was not until the afternoon that they called back. But they were free. So the evening began with gin and tonics on the back porch, and then moved to the yard with our red wine to watch the master chef prepare his master meal. Paella is wonderfully simple (she says never actually cooking it herself), but it is a meal to enjoy company and conversation while adding the ingredients. You add a simple green salad, a good loaf of bread, and you've got your dinner.
The sun set, we finished the meal and returned inside for a dessert of Liza's fantastic chocolate cookies, Mark's fruit salad, and a little port and we were all happy and full. And we divided up the remaining cookies to have with our tea this morning while reading the Sunday paper in bed.