Dinner at Martha's

This is Martha's china. I love it! She uses it often and puts it in the dishwasher.
I found the image at Replacements.com, a great place to get missing pieces of your
wedding china. Here is the LINK.

A few years back, H.'s brother Pat, the charming, divorced dad of our cherished adult nieces Mariah and Anna [flower girls in our wedding], got together with Martha, a lovely, intelligent blonde and warm hostess. She opens her door to the Hurley family a lot. We New Jerseyans have been at her table for Thanksgiving dinner, beautifully set by the wood stove and pretty mantel in her cheery yellow Belfast, Maine kitchen.

Two nights ago, Martha invited us for Sunday dinner. It was so nourishing and welcoming. I want to write about it because I want to remember it. What if the day comes that I cannot recall the beauty of my youth and middle years, the simple pleasure of gathering with a family around a table to share a meal?

Picture this. A rectangular table set with blue and white Royal Stafford china [Tulipa pattern] and cloth napkins. Martha has her mother's silver, dishes and cookbooks, and I once even helped her polish the silver. Two candles burning in slim candle holders were on the table.

A large, plump roast Sunday chicken was in the oven; Martha got it at nearby Toddy Pond Farm, known for sustainable, humane farming. The chicken was delicious; perfectly tender. And while I would not know how to properly slice it--mine might end up looking shredded on the platter--Martha did know how to. It was neatly divided and sliced. She had us bring over our plates and fill them from a bowl of sauteed green cauliflower; a huge pan of roasted potatoes and veggies; and the chicken platter. She thinly sliced a baguette from Chase's Daily and put it on the table with butter. She made a beautiful green salad, with beets tossed in, and placed the large bowl by the candles.

Around the table we sat: H., me, Punchy, Martha, Pat, John, Martha's son Stuart and his girlfriend, Alicia, both college freshmen home for the weekend. We talked and we laughed. Martha is also politically active; a sixth grade teacher; an avid traveler; and the mother of another son, high school senior James. She went to Bryn Mawr College. She reads a LOT of books. She loves The New Yorker. Best of all, she loves Pat. We are lucky Martha is in our midst.

I admire a lot about Martha--her hard work and dedication to her students, her love of family and her smarts. Not least of all, I admire how effortlessly she entertains--no stress. I marvel at it. I hope to emulate it. I can get pretty stressed out with company.

So grateful for the warmth and coziness of a Sunday family dinner in Maine, Martha-style. We capped off the meal with mugs of tiger chai tea. I can emulate that. I looked for that package but couldn't find it yet in Montclair.

Good night.

TCOY

1. Biked to and from my Private Benjamin appointment. H. had the car to take Punchy to a dr. checkup. Biking required planning; had to make sure the bike would be there at 4, since Figgy pedals to campus a lot. I enjoyed cycling past Halloween decorations--cobwebs, witches, ghosts, zombies and pots of pretty fall mums along Christopher Street. 
2. The appointment itself. It can be hard to show up for therapy. You'd rather live your life, it's going fine. But I am usually glad I went, as I am today.
3. Made an easy puttanesca sauce and thin spaghetti for dinner. Sauteed garlic, olives and capers in olive oil. Served topped with chunks of fresh red tomato from my friend/sitter Elaine's garden.