Housewarming – noun – \ˈhau̇s-ˌwȯr-miŋ\: a party to celebrate moving into a new home. First known use of this word is dated in 1577. (Merriam-Webster)
Since moving into our our little old former farmhouse, Jonathan had been itching to have people round to see it, and to have a party.
We had gotten the first round of work on the house done, and although there is a lot left to do – we felt it was in good shape for the first presentation.
Jonathan was scheduled to leave around December 11th for sea and miss Christmas & New Year’s, my 35th birthday fell on December 2nd; Jon wanted to combine all events into one! On December 7th we had a Housewarming/Birthday/GoingToSeaForTheHolidays Party.
I was, naturally, anxious about it. Having groups of people in our personal spaces always sets a bit of a special Panic off in me: who will need a bed to stay over, will someone break something, what will the dogs do, will I clean the place nice enough, will people like our house, how drunk will people be, will people actually come, what will we do to keep them entertained, what if it rains, will people mess and trash our house, what if someone is a total jerk, when will they leave, what if… what about…. etc etc.
But that’s just me…. I fret. I fret, and I decorated the house in Christmas, Tree and all.
Jonathan, however, got to work on building his project for the house & party…. a huge grill! out in the side of the yard, Jonathan constructed a huge brick grill pit. It still has some completion to go through, but the basics of it were done up in time for the party. Huge welded grill grate, set in a large brick & block open pit with a entry for loading wood for burning.
Jonathan has put a great deal of work, thought, and $$ into building this – and it really is awesome. It cooks well, it looks great, and he has made some wonderful food off of it already! When is it completely finished we will showcase it with a full array of photos. 😉
Jon got that squared away enough for the party and cooked a big pile of BBQ! Chicken, Racks of Ribs… Mmmmm Meat! We also had 3 bushels of Blue Crab…. Oh boy, was it ever delicious!!! We needed to bring a little Virginia influence to our gathering, since folks mainly do Oyster Roasts here.
This was the Last Guy from our Blue Crab Bushels.
Friends brought sides, snacks, cookies, a ham, wine, drinks, and the like. Some brought gifts and board games. We had a stellar turn-out about 40 friends came to see our new home, share some laughs, enjoy some food, and smash some crabs! By about 9:30pm, everyone had gone on their way, and after a little cleaning up we were all in bed by 10:30pm. It was a great afternoon. We were really grateful for everyone coming out to see us – some from states away, most the friends we have made in our 2 year here in Charleston.
It’s always nice when friends gather around to support and create warm memories. It’s always nice to know you have good friends.
And as it turned out, Jonathan’s rig got delayed so he didn’t get shipped out. The great thing about the delay is that he will get to spend Christmas at home. Christmas in his first, very own home. That is a great blessing, indeed.
Voyage of the Ragamuffins 