Exactly three years ago, I wrote the following in my journal: "After we bought this house, with the great view and the fabulous porches, I started picturing long tables out on the upper porch, surrounded by an eclectic group of interesting people. Maybe we'd get together about once a month, to have one of those Tuscan-style feasts - the kind where everyone arrives mid-afternoon, each bringing a special dish based on what's in season or made or grown locally. We would sit down to eat late-afternoon, and we'd stay there eating, visiting, laughing and sipping wine, until after the sun goes down. Then perhaps we would adjourn to the outdoor fire-pit for coffee and more laughter."
I tried hosting a few of these "feasts" in the early days, but things just didn't pan out as I'd hoped. For one thing, we really didn't know more than one or two people in Wimberley, so our guests had to be brought in from out of town. Since we only had one guest room, that meant part of the guests were just making day-trips in, and if you're facing a two-hour drive home after dinner, you are not prone to linger. Also, I felt bad about asking someone who has traveled some distance just to join us, to also transport a bunch of food. Then too, there was the fact that we only got to come here a couple of times a month ourselves, and had lots of projects that needed working on, and lots of places that needed to be explored. After several occasions when one or another of our guests of honor had to cancel at the last minute, we finally realized it just wasn't worth giving up a whole weekend each month for cleaning and preparation, and so the dream just fizzled away.
Recently, however, it began to bubble again. It started with The Muses. I finally realized they were just the sort of people I'd dreamed of meeting when we first came to Wimberley: intelligent, open-minded, creative, diverse, passionate. I had a feeling their husbands were all those things too, and was anxious for John to meet them, so the idea for a front porch feast began to percolate once more. Because we are all so involved, it was difficult to agree on a date. Finally we settled on June 21st and, like the very first one I held three years ago, this was to be a Mexican Pot Luck.
I'd dreamed of "an eclectic group of interesting people", and that "We would sit down to eat late-afternoon, and we'd stay there eating, visiting, laughing and sipping wine, until after the sun goes down," and that's exactly what I got. We started off with appetizers out back on our little stone terrace under the trees, then moved to the dining porch for Rick's wonderful guacamole, Deb's beans with tomatillo salsa (from her garden, of course) and sour cream, Debi's Spanish rice dish (and since she actually lived in Spain, you know how good that was), and my Black Bean Tortilla casserole. Finally we adjourned to the balcony porch for my Mexican Chocolate Brownies and ice cream with "special" praline crumble topping, and some very passionate conversation - almost too passionate at one point, but just as I'd hoped, the opposing parties were each respectful of the other's right to their own opinion, and eventually reined the conversation in so that there were no hard feelings. Finally some took their leave, but a few of us ended up back on the terrace, enjoying a pulsating heat-lightning show behind the clouds, loathe for the evening to end. John and I finally collapsed into bed around midnight.
As I post this, I am reminded of several comments I have found on my blog lately, saying "You are just having way to much fun up there!", and an email message I received saying "You really have found the good life in Wimberley!" Finally I realize, I have found it, haven't I? After decades spent reading about others who were "livin' the good life", people are now reading about me? Well, what d'ya know!
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