Jenny Lane = J E N N I L Y N (okay, a stretch. Missing "I" and the "Y" is in the wrong spot.)
I took this picture en route to my fancy Thanksgiving evening job serving a fancy feast & washing fancy dishes.
Funny story: A
Mormon walks into a Jewish home to serve a fancy dinner.
Not funny? True story:
The hostess hands me a long handwritten list of instructions, points to all the fancy prepared food and fancy state-of-the-art machine/gas oven/warming contraption/convection microwave to use for each food item.
"Please open the wine to let it breathe" she said over her shoulder as she rushed off to get fancy dressed.
I see the sealed fancy wine bottles, covered with metal. Childproof. Me-proof. (100 proof?) A can opener is not going to work. I eventually get the foil metal off, and there is no way that cork is coming out with my fingers....
When the host walked by (I knew him from working the big C job last summer) , I quietly asked for help. He talked me through the steps of fancy cork removal with a nifty tool I don't own, twisting, pushing the little arm things down, pulling it out whole and smoothly. I did the 2nd one by myself, successfully.
The hostess showed me before the 14 guests arrived the water line on the pot and where to pour in the 5 tablespoons on the fancy espresso machine.
"Please start the coffee before dessert."
Everything went smoothly. I don't spill any fancy butternut squash soup on anyone. I get all the fancy food hot at once and onto the buffet table. Clear the soup bowls with no trips. Refill water glasses without splashing anyone. (I ignore the fancy breathing wine bottles, since they are on the table=self serve, thank you very much.)
Clear fancy dinner plates. Non-fancy-Wegman's-store-bought pies are heating successfully and it is time to make the espresso...
I filled up the glass pouring pot with water. Did the 5 Tablespoons part, turned on the switch, red light came on, so I knew it was on. Waited. I could see the water in the clear pot. Nothing happening. Still clear. Nothing brown happening... DIDN'T KNOW THE WATER WAS SUPPOSED TO GO IN THE TOP, TOO.
It was a learning experience. They paid me well, and I didn't break one dish. Hand washed all those delicate pieces of fancy china and let the dishwasher handle all the fancy crystal. I even got to taste the fancy soup!
I drove home thankful for my simple dishes, my dishwashers (all 5 of them), and a warm bed with a very simple (not in the head simple. Simple as a super compliment-John calls himself this: straight-forward, not complicated, easy to love, nothing fancy, sweet & simple) husband.
