Summer Has Arrived!

By Christy Rost, July 2008

If you’ve been following my columns, you know my husband, Randy and I have been restoring an 1898 historic home in Breckenridge, Colorado for over a year. We have spent a great deal of time planning, overseeing the work, and doing some of the projects ourselves. ( I learned to build two doors that replicate original ones for an upstairs guest bedroom!) Between trips back and forth to our home in Dallas, my travels to promote my cookbooks, and our restoration project, it’s been a busy time.

It’s also been a very long Colorado winter! While I was in Chicago in mid-May, my husband called to tell me there was an inch of fresh powder on the car. All I could do was groan with dismay. Everywhere else I traveled, grass was green, trees displayed a new mantle of pale green leaves, and flowers flourished in freshly-turned gardens. But at last, summer has arrived in the mountains of Colorado. And it is spectacular!

The mountains still wear a mantle of white powder, but now it’s against a backdrop of the bluest sky. The grass is green, tiny aspen leaves flutter in the breeze, and baskets of flowers brighten every corner. I’m working in our large rock garden at the moment, adding rich, fresh soil and compost so flowers and herbs will thrive, and planning new gardens to add lushness to the landscape.

Randy and I hosted our first porch party of the season last night at Swan’s Nest, the name our home received 110 years ago. We still don’t have running water at the house, so everything was prepared in the little kitchen in our nearby condo. On the other hand, having a home under construction means guests’ expectations aren’t as lofty, which allows me to totally relax when hosting parties at the house. Not enough glasses? Switch to plastic cups! Not enough seating at the tables? Nestle into the wicker furniture or sit on the porch steps!

It’s a lesson in casual entertaining we all can learn from – including me. It’s the people gathered together, sharing good food, stimulating conversation, and laughter that makes a party, not details like matching chairs and tableware. I plan to remember this lesson once Randy and I move into Swan’s Nest.

Have a great summer!

Christy