Jane Eyre and the Royal Wedding

As springtime is peeking out every few days from the cold, we're welcoming the change of pace. But before Mother's Day---the big signal for spring/summer---we've had a few special cafe dinners. One was an enchanting roasted Cornish hen dinner, with the roasted potatoes and dense brown bread that Jane Eyre dreams of, gruel! asparagus and mushrooms, dark English beer and berry trifle. We then set off to see "Jane Eyre" at the movie theater...it rained later that evening, nodding a final touch that I could not have arranged!

Our other special dinner, was a royal wedding dinner. Ladies wore tiaras and one woman wore the lovely lace skirt and tunic that was worn for her wedding! Gentlemen were similarly, and nattily attired.

People made reservations for their little groups, but I decided to seat everyone at a long table. I considered that some may feel weird sitting two by two with tiaras on! I placed ivy down the center of the table and tucked in the symbolic flowers that were represented on the wedding cake---thistles for Scotland, roses for England, Sweet William, and lilies of the valley for Ireland. I could hear the party laughing together, all the way into the kitchen!

I served plates of canapes to echo the tone of the wedding breakfast following William and Kate's big do at Westminster---smoked salmon and dill on toast with caper mayonnaise, sausage rolls (holysmoke, I'll make these again!), quail eggs with celery salt, strawberries with clotted cream, and shepherd's pie for the main course. We toasted with champagne, ate a big fat wedding cake decorated with peanut butter acorns, and shared our love stories! People lingered and then faded, happy, into the night. Ever so much fun!