Dinner with Friends

Have I told you about our friend Anne-from-Canada? Anne and Anita came to work on our nursery in, oh, 2002 I think. They saw on our website that we offered the chance to work for a few weeks in exchange for board and sight seeing trips. (We don't offer that any more because the room we gave our holiday workers is now my sewing room.) And work they did! weeding and planting out and all sorts of back breaking tasks. And we showed them the beauties and glories of Wanganui. Anne and Anita live in Canada, the northern, cold part of Canada where there is snow on the ground for 7 months of the year! And, as Anne loves to garden, she came back to Wanganui the next year and bought a property here so she could both garden in our summer, her winter, and also indulge in her other interest, house renovation and decoration. Her ordinary house in Wanganui has been totally made over to something extra-ordinary and very beautiful - and Anne is only here a total of 2-3 months every year, the rest of the time she is at her home in Canada.

However, while she is here we make the most of her company and that includes at our regular Sunday evening dinner with Robert and Jennifer. As you can see, lately its been pleasant enough to have dinner outside. Last week Anne was here with us (Terry was taking the photo). That evening was a vaguely Spanish themed meal, with Anne bringing shrimp cocktails, Robert provided a tasty chicken stew and I made cauliflower and potato dishes. Jennifer made a yummy cassata with icecream, yoghurt, sultanas and apricots.

By this week's Sunday dinner, Anne had left to return home (Robert took the photo) but we promised to think of her and we did. We took photos of the food she had left us:the potato salad included potatoes, eggs and spring onions that Anne gave me when I picked her up to take her to the airport.

Jennifer made a green salad using blanched beans, broccoli and asparagus with almonds and gherkins and a red salad with tomatoes, radishes, red onions and smoked tuna - they were both worthy meals in their own right! But Robert had gathered the ingredients for a blue cheese sauce so I found some steak to grill... and then there was wine left over from the blue cheese sauce to drink so we drank a toast to absent friends. To you Anne - many happy returns to Wanganui!