But that is a big milestone and worthy to be celebrated. So we had a small and intimate dinner party this year on his birthday. We put all five leaves in the table for the first time in a long time. It fit!
Phil pulled the shoe bench over, and we even had seating sufficient for twelve, without resorting to plastic buckets or anything.
We cooked up all the filet mignon from Clover. The nine small packages were enough to feed us all, along with five pounds of mashed potatoes (with half a pound of butter), Greek salad, a couple homemade pizzas, a gallon or so of rich chocolate milk, and a chocolate sheet cake. We didn't quite eat all of that, but we came pretty close.
I will say: filet mignon is outstanding. I hadn't ever cooked it before, but I smeared the pieces with olive oil, then sprinkled good salt, ground pepper, and powdered garlic on all sides. Broiled for about two minutes on the first side and three minutes on the second, we were all in beef paradise. I will be excited to process another cow. Yum!
To continue the celebration, we had a big blow-out open house on Saturday. We had almost 50 people make the drive down that day! What an honor!
(And, because I am so pleased with how it turned out, we had good eats that day, too: three types of good chips, two platters of roasted vegetables from Whole Foods, the bread that came with those platters and butter on top, carrot cake, and the amazing chocolate sheet cake again. And for those who stayed for dinner, steak and leftover potatoes, along with sparkling wine to celebrate.)
I have mentioned before my friend's observation that American parties last three hours. That's not the end of the world, just a cultural expectation, but I was so gratified that our guests stayed five hours for dinner and a stellar nine hours on Saturday! Score!
We had prayed for fine weather, because while I can grit my teeth and handle mud for six (Caleb doesn't get in the mud much yet), the idea of mud for sixty was more overwhelming. It rained briefly in the middle of the night this week, and no more. And it was sunny, warm, and gorgeous. The boys who hiked down to the creek had a good time and didn't fall in. No one fell off the trampoline.
When we got married, I took the Myers-Briggs and I scored as a mild introvert (1%). Phil scored as a mild extrovert (10%), so since we were both near the middle, needing neither to be alone much nor to be with people much, we were good.
I think our long sojourn in the country has made us both crave fellowship on the times we can lure people out here, as that was so energizing for me I had a hard time sleeping before 1am either night. How have I survived without much hospitality for the last five years? What a dry season of life for me!
Now the only challenge will be to figure out how to lure people down again. And how soon can we manage it.
In other news, we had a heifer due on Sunday. She birthed a bit early, so we welcomed Felicia the heifer calf on Friday. Four years to the day after we first brought Milking Devons here, we have 21 living. Phil and I had a tricky time bringing the calf and mama up to the postpartum pen that Phil built, but Phil carried the baby and the mom was directed, eventually. The first day that baby was covered in flies, but the next day she was clean.
We suspect that maybe she just needed more of the birthing fluids licked off her coat. That seemed like a crummy way to enter the world, though. Happily for her, biting flies haven't made their appearance yet.
Phil put the haybale for the milking cows up into the feeder again.
Phil made two trips to the hardware store on Saturday morning. The vanity sink still wasn't quite functioning perfectly (the first water line he bought was not the right size, and the second was not the right length). He managed to make it all work, cobbled together. But he did get to shave for the first time at a bathroom sink. The mirror belongs in the bedroom, but for now, we can move it while we wait to find a good mirror for the space.
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