The Friday Guests Were Tame, But Our Dinner Was Delicious

For many years, English faculty who reside in Stratford have said, "Let's get together for a dinner." We've never been successful at making it happen, until last night when, mid-week, we all discovered we had the evening free. I decided I'd host, and I set out to roast vegetables, including my first ever batch of barbecued brussels sprouts which, with a little maple syrup, olive oil, and salt and pepper were delicious.

I also prepped the crock pot with chicken and Wegman's Asian BBQ sauce so it would slow cook when presenting during the Read.Write.Act conference hosted by SCALE through the University of North Carolina (my first online, digital conference that was a success - I will write about it at another time).

In the meanwhile, colleagues and I welcomed a new faculty member to Stratford and simply had a nice evening unwinding from the week and eating good food. I also had my first ever flourless chocolate torte which was out of this world.

My plot to clean the house paid off. I knew if I had the event in my home I'd actually clean, which I did. That's the perk to entertaining.

Okay, Saturday, now it's back to the grind: planning, creating, writing, grading, and organizing. Tomorrow is a wash and will be easy, but today is supposed to be nice, so the temptation to be outside will be plentiful.

My little bar, too, pretty much went untouched (I tried). And, by 9 p.m. everyone left to go to bed. I credit the work week for this. Every now and again, we take time off! It doesn't last long, though.