Open Gardens

To all the waiters of the world: I'm sorry for all the times I was incredibly indecisive and even sorrier for all the times I've asked for a substitution. I'm not so sure how I got through 24 years without ever having to serve tables, but I am getting my just desserts now! Today, Mary and I had about 60 people come to the deli in the span of three hours, from 1-4pm, though some lingered far into the 5 o'clock hour. Two things I've learned-- there is no cure to waitress fatigue quite like red wine and chocolate and there is never enough ice.

That said, it was an absolutely perfect day on the farm and though hectic, it was deliciously so. Elgin is having it's big "Open Gardens" festival this weekend wherein all the private gardens in the area are open to visitors. This is the perfect time of the year for the blooms and roses propagate like rabbits here. All along the roads in the valley, the rose bushes are absolutely bursting with color and the roadside is a collage of just the most stunning blossoms. So, in attempt to build on this already established tradition, we opened the Highlands Road up to visitors. And, phew, don't know if I'll ever pray to the gods of busy venues again.

Most everybody was absolutely lovely, but it doesn't hurt to have beautiful views and bottles of wine to really relax the people into a mode of patient acceptance. We had such a colorful mix of folks coming through-- from an Irish couple who schooled me in Gaelic, to a German couple who wanted to drink wine straight from the bottle, to a whole pack of kids who thought that dragging the roots from the dam shore into snowman-like piles was a great idea-- that I was never wanting for interesting conversation and real entertainment. Perhaps the most, how shall I say it, diverting table contained four dutch. Arriving famished, they asked for a round of bread to start them on their way. Then, they ordered the wine and food pairing, (which was delicious if I may say so-- hollandaise asparagus with the sauvignon blanc, spicy prawns on mustard seed salad with the rosé, plum dressed fillet crostinis with the Ruadh and a gooey brownie with our Highlands Road coffee blend), but apparently such food is just fodder for the fire in the land of tulips. Unsatisfied, they proceeded to order a plate of chicken pies each, only to jump, still famished, onto a cheese platter. Convinced that at this point they would either sink into the ground or pop, they did every American proud and went on to order a whole plate of desserts. I guess they don't make those sturdy wooden shoes for nothing...

Oh and in the last installment of EXCITING BREAKING NEWS-- the bridge is finally fixed! I got a phone call this morning asking if they could use the bridge to come to the deli and I sighed my long sigh and proceeded to have a 10 min conversation about how this is africa, and people are painstakingly slow and you just never know yadda, yadda only to have Emily, Justin and Mary's 12 yr old daughter, tell me that they had just driven over the bridge that very morning. I literally ran down to the entrance and the miracles of miracles had occurred, forget the parting of the red sea it is the joining of the African roads that takes true, blind faith. Also, it must be said that the men worked around the clock to make it happen, and illustrative of the last-minute nature of the endeavor and its haphazard African fashion, as people were arriving today, they had to wait for the bulldozer to move over so they could pass. Always courteous and quick to accommodate the passing cars, it still added an interesting opening flair when the entry drive was flanked by large machinery.

May the Dam ditch rest in peace.