Fine Dining ~ At Home

I woke up rather emotional today. I’m sure you can relate. As the country song goes “some days are diamonds some days are coal.”

I struggled to wrap my brain around this isolation thing ~ I mean, seriously, I have worked from home the majority of my life, so why am I finding this so hard? (Besides the fact that I can’t see our parents or extended family, or especially hard that we can’t see our son, daughter in law and sweet granddaughter…. but if I dwell on these thoughts the tears will flow).

My mind drifted back to other times I felt “stuck at home” – for example, during blizzards while living in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee when the boys were little. There were times we couldn’t even go to the grocery store as road travel was simply out of the question! We’d hunker down, sitting next to the wood stove for our homeschooling, play games together – have legos cities all over the place. Oh my, I’d rather forget all the extra housework caused by wet boots, gloves, snowsuits after a frolic in the snow.

For those times when we’d lost power, we’d bring our sleeping bags to the living room to enjoy sleeping by the comfort of that wood stove pretending we were pioneers living in a log cabin. More than once we’d be warming our dinner on that wood stove! I was always thankful for the diligence my husband had during the summer and fall in putting up so much wood ahead of time for winter.

I know my neighbor Laura Mize will remember this – one particular blizzard found us without power for over a week. When our efforts of burying ice chests in the snow drifts proved to be a potential danger that our food would spoil, the two of us cooked up everything that wasn’t going to keep then gathered our families (5 young boys between us) we had ourselves a good old-fashioned potluck dinner! Those were the days my friend!

 Isolation in a blizzard is nothing like “stay at home” restrictions of our current worldview.

I remembered today something from my past, can’t remember who to attribute this to, but I can remember…. “Even McDonald’s by candlelight can be a special occasion.”

Yep, I needed a distraction, something to make this out of the ordinary isolation a little less stressful…

I present to you ~ Fine Dining at Home

Use your good dishes, find a candle…simple potato soup never tasted so good! As did the daily ration of two Oreo cookies each (grin). Oh, my goodness! I’ve never bought so many Oreo cookies in my life! Not a normal staple in my household but it is quickly becoming so!!!

I’m hoping that each of you can find a little distraction, whether it’s putting a quilt on the floor for an indoor picnic or pulling out the candles with your good dishes ~ we need a little fine dining at home, wouldn’t you agree, to keep the emotions at bay, at least for a bit.

This too shall pass…. perhaps like a kidney stone, but it will pass. (grin)

This is Karen Overton, The Quilt Rambler #staycalmandquilton

7 thoughts on “Fine Dining ~ At Home

  1. lynn bourgeois says:

    It’s not an easy time Karen, but I take solace in my thoughts that we are a large global village, and villages support the residents. We will do all that is within our means to get everyone through this safely. So many designers are offering sew alongs or patterns to help spend time productively. Canada’s National Ballet School is offering on line free dance sessions for different ages .There are almost daily virtual paint nights. Each one doing what they can to help. That is love. I feel it in my hear. Yesterday I could not identify why I felt sort of sad. My friend has nicknamed me Miss Cheerio, as I can usually find a silver lining in any situation. Not yesterday. It was last evening before I could put a name to my feelings. It was grief. Grief for loss of my way of life, for the loss of life around the global village, loss of all that is familiar. Now that I know what was happening ,I’m back ready to create new adventures, lift friends who need a boost, tackle problems so solutions can benefit all those round me. I hope you will find your new “Joie de vivre” in your surroundings. hugs
    Lynn

  2. Linda Elliott says:

    I love to read your letters! Even in tough times you find bright bits of life to cheer us on.
    My own personal disappointment is not being able to go to Painted Pony and look at material.????
    The Good Lord will take care of us…in bad times and in good times!
    I spend a little time each day counting my blessings.
    Thanks for your good stories too.
    Love
    Linda

  3. Brenda @ Songbird Designs says:

    Thank you, Karen. This is a great idea! We always eat in front of the TV! May have to give this a try!! Our governor today issued a shelter in place order for Alabama. I guess I’ll be making face masks tomorrow as long as I can sit up. Maybe a while before I have to rest again. Shingles and sciatica are rough. :-

  4. farmquilter says:

    Yes, these are (thankfully), unique times to most of us. Definitely can become overwhelming. The peanut butter Oreos have become my go-to sweet…strange because I won’t eat regular Oreos!!! With following the guidelines of staying home, wearing masks when we have to be out in public, and the grace of God, we can get through this!

  5. Margaret Lewis says:

    Thank you Karen for your post A nice reminder to treat ourselves especially gentle during covid19.

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