May 8, 2016. Madison, Mississippi. The Modern World.

I believe the modern world is wonderful.   Why anyone would want to go back to "the good old days"  is beyond me.  This evening we entertained 11 for dinner.  Our food was excellent but nobody cooked.  For the first time in my life, I purchased the whole meal at Krogers, our local grocery store.  Thirty years ago that could never have happened.  I would have cooked all afternoon or I would have had someone else cater the meal.

My pattern is to invite people for an event, then figure out what we will eat,  which will usually depend on our budget.  I must have a deadline in order to decide the food.  I know friends will decide on a new dish they want to prepare, then invite people to try it out.  That would never happen to me.  First the event and the people, then the menu.  We invited the Mills to be the first people to fish from our new dock.   With the rest of our family and the Mills family, we made 11.

I decided to be casual and ordered baked chicken from Krogers, to be picked up at 3:00 today.   Until I left for the grocery store today I had done nothing to prepare other than asking Kate and Mary Frances to come and help.  I bought a bean salad. a green salad and rolls at Krogers.   For dessert we ate brownies and cherries, which had just come into season.    The girls set the table and helped with setting out the food.  When all was ready, we sat in our new furniture on the top deck while John and son Payton fished.  Everyone was relaxed and happy.   Good friends and good food is an excellent combination especially when the cook has not slaved over a hot stove.  I like this modern world of entertaining.