A feast of no occasion

Today between tossing bits of chopped onion in a mixing bowl and getting the dishwasher ready to go I was struck by the sudden urge to whip up a little something extra that Allen would like. I really do have the dearest and wonderfulest of all husbands, and I decided to take advantage of my unexpected burst of energy and give him a treat. So I rushed out for some cream and eggs and a lemon, and while my meatloaf was baking I dashed off a batch of lemon curd that actually turned out pretty well considering it was my first attempt. This isn't anything I planned beforehand at all, but we ended up having quite a gay little feast. It helped that Allen had finished work by this time and could help me wrap a few loose ends in the kitchen. Then, while the veggies were steaming we whisked away the day's clutter in the living room, shut the door on the clothes waiting to be put away in the bedroom, and lit some candles over our little feast table. That meatloaf certainly did look nice sitting there with the candle light flickering over its dark, crumbly self, but the best part was us just sitting there together enjoying it and each other.It really wasn't anything too terribly special -just meatloaf and brown rice with steamed veggies. It didn't have to be though. Candles and lemon curd cooked on the spur of the moment and lovely heavy cream waiting in the fridge to be whipped up in delightful accompaniment and, above all, the warm impulse in each each of us to celebrate "just because" was more than enough to create a feast of no occasion. After dinner Allen stacked the dishes and got the movie started (perfect timing NetFlix) while I whipped the cream and got out the dessert things. Then we settled back with our curds and cream to watch a wonderfully fun Deana Durbin film and enjoy the last of our little impromptu celebration.

Times like these are one of the reasons I love being married to Allen. We've always enjoyed fun little things like this. I'd say that some of our visits to that little BBQ place outside Amicalola Falls SP counted as feasts of no occasion. The food wasn't fancy, but it was all it was supposed to be in the perfect place for it to be. It exactly suited the occasion, and we reveled in it. Then there was the time that Allen and I were sitting at the dinner table talking about how much we'd like to go back to the Melting Pot. I was particularly talking about how much I'd like some chocolate fondue. Then before I knew it we were running around improving a double boiler to melt the chocolate in and running off to buy chocolate and fixings. We put the chocolate in a pyrex dish which we kept warm by means of putting my steamer basket over a tea candle and setting the pyrex dish on top. Pop a Nero Wolf dvd in the computer and behold tradition unrolling before you. Now however we have a proper fondue pot which my mother-in-law rather laughingly thought we'd rather use than my upturned steamer basket.

Regular feasts are good. Fasting is good for time. Plain, simple meals that do the job and leave you satisfied are good and welcome. But it's such a delight and a blessing when for no reason at all you decide to spontaneously enjoy the thrill of being yourselves together in the palm of God's hand. It's good to pull the magic out of a meatloaf.