Culture

Blake and I have been know to have as much culture in our life as there is in yogurt (and even then it would be a small size of yogurt.  More like a gogurt.)  We had a dinner party with a couple that I met through kids play groups.  These friends are Italian-Canadians who just move from France.  Doesn't that just ooze culture.  They are some of the nicest people I've met in a long time. Let's just call them "Maria & Mario".  They are wine conessuiures so Blake and I thought it was humorously appropriate to present them with a bottle of, you guessed it, sparkling apple cider. They shared it with us and of course washed it down with the real thing that I can't pronounce. They greeted us at the door with kisses on the cheek (like in the movies).  I didn't even mind another woman kissing my husband because it was so genuinely sweet.  Mario then made us dinner.  Real, fabulous, stop talking to me so I can eat this bit of heaven, Italian dinner. It was pasta and crab legs with a light tomato-crab sauce.  I'm not doing it justice.  My stomach is growling just thinking about it.  But that of course was after the peppers that were stuffed with lobster and grilled and then the Italian pizzas for the appetizers. All of this was followed with baclava (greek honey, filo, pistachio, gooey deliciousness) and brownies.  They offered us fancy cappuccinos, coffee, or warm milk.  We settled for the cold milk and sat surrounded with sweetness.  As if we could fit more into our unbuttoned pants. We managed.  There were a few things that I noticed from this evening that made it so wonderful.  I hope to follow their example as we entertain throughout our life.  If any of our company could feel half as welcomed as we did, then we've succeeded. 

1.  They accepted our differences (and there were plenty).

2.  The weren't shy to ask questions about our beliefs or life.  Maria recognized that our missionaries wore the black name tags and the "Mormon" church had great commercials.  

3.  The meals were drawn out so we could enjoy the company.  I thought the peppers and pizza was dinner.  Then came the "heaven in a dish" crab pasta.  I know, I'm kind of over the top about the food.  But seriously, I guess you had to be there.

4.  They were so polite and courteous of us.  They even tried to find the sparkling apple cider so we'd feel more comfortable but they didn't know where it was.  (Juice aisle, top shelf, Walmart)

Anyways, It was a wonderful evening.  I'm trying to figure out how to reciprocate, but how do you follow that?  BBQ? Dutch Oven?  Any ideas?  Blake and I now can admit that we have a little bit more culture in our lives.  A large container of yogurt.