I’m making a concerted efforted over the next few months to do more things with people. Part of it is addressing the fact that curling stops during the late spring and summer, but there are other motivations as well. I pitched a few ideas last week, but only a couple took. One of those that did was me hosting brunch after church on Sunday.

I busted out my new muffin pan for the first time, a small victory. I often buy a muffin on Saturday mornings, but it is overkill to make a dozen just for myself. I did leave them in the oven a couple of minutes longer than I would have liked, but cooking times get weird when there are multiple things in the oven and I was simultaneously cooking bacon. I also brought out a venison tenderloin to share because having guests over is something worth celebrating and nothing says celebration more than a choice cut of meat. We rounded out the meal with eggs, strawberries macerated in limoncello (that was an experiment that needs some refinement), mango, and dragon fruit. I was proud of my little spread even if it would not trouble the editors of the Michelin guide.

I was close with my timing and portion estimates with almost everything. The only thing I overshot was the dragon fruit, a little bonus that I picked up a few days prior when I happened to be near the Asian grocery store while doing other things. At least I wasn’t short on anything and the dragon fruit has kept in the refrigerator.

I don’t have the greatest amount of seating in my living room, but there is enough for five to sit comfortably. Yet as normally happens, people congregated in the kitchen as I finished cooking and people chose which juice or syrup to use for their homemade soda. Once everything was ready, people got their plates and we moved to the dining room for the meal and discussion. It was a sprawling conversation, flowing from topic to topic, a far cry from my usual posture of eating alone at that same table. Then I had a nice nap after everyone left as I didn’t feel like walking during the hottest part of the day.