Friday morning arrived quicker that Grace had imagined. She planned the day like she did her job. Grace was an organizer and had lists for everything; upstairs assignments, polishing woodwork, garden clean-up, and small handyman jobs for the guys. Rising early had not been on Grace's agenda for a few days, but this morning she was up and in the kitchen making her tea and about to try Aine's recipe for scones. This was not something she had ever made and wanted to make sure she didn't disappoint her friends. Normally if she had some of the girls over, she would just run down to the local baker and pick up some sweet breads to serve. She just couldn't do that here in Aine's cottage.
Before she realized it she had flour all over herself and her hands were covered with the moist sticky dough. Grace kept thinking here must be a better way to do this. And then there was a knock at the door.
“Yes, who is it?” Grace called as she stood in front of the closed door with her hands still covered with dough.
“It's Peter. Is everything okay?” Peter asked back through the door.
“Peter, please come in, I can't open the door at the moment.” Grace started to laugh at her predicament, and once Peter opened the door, he followed suit. Soon the two of them were laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes.
“What can I do for you Peter? Just follow me while I get this cleaned up. I'm making a terrible mess.” Grace explained to Peter.
“I was just stoppin by to see if use was healed up,” Peter said. “Looks like you need a little help there.”
“I don't know what I did wrong. I'm trying to make my grandmother's scone recipe.”
“I used to watch my mum all the time. I don't think you have to knead the dough. Just plop it on to the baking pan.”
Grace scraped off the dough from her hands and realized how much easier it was to just drop spoonfuls of dough on to the pan. This was so much easier. Peter helped her place the pan in the oven and soon the aroma of freshly baked goods was filling the room.
Grace offered Peter a cup of tea and they sat at the small table in the kitchen while the scones baked. Peter asked how Grace was healing and when she might like to go out for a short run. Grace explained about her friends coming to visit for the weekend and that she would be very busy, but Monday might be a good time.
The timer went off and Grace pulled the scones from the oven. They looked wonderful. She gave one to Peter and took one for herself, opened the whiskey laced marmalade that she had purchased and put that and some butter on the table. Grace and Peter dug in and took their first taste, Grace with her fingers crossed.
“Wow, these are wonderful,” exclaimed Peter. “Reminds me of the ones my mum used to make.”
“I think you are right Peter, these are pretty tasty. Grandmother really knew her stuff.” Grace agreed with a sigh of relief.
After a little more small talk Peter headed out and told Grace he's stop by on his run on Monday to see if she was up to joining him. Grace was actually looking forward to getting back to exercise again. She was feeling bad about not exercising since she hurt her calf.
Time was getting away from Grace and she needed to get busy with the preparations for dinner. Tonight she would attempt to make Aine's recipe for Guinness Stew - beef tips braised in Guinness stout, potatoes and carrots, in a cast iron pot served family style, and a plate of cheeses, along with apple slices, and one more baked item – fresh soda bread. Grace really hoped she could pull this off.
Off the guest sitting room was a sun room with tables where the guests would be seated for their breakfast. Grace rearranged the room so that there would be one large table in the middle where all her friends could be seated. A bright white linen tablecloth and a pair of silver candlesticks that Grace found gave the room a dressy feel. After hunting through several cupboards Grace found Aine's china and crystal. A thorough washing made it sparkle like new and the room looked ready for a party. Grace smiled as she looked at the room.
The cottage seemed to take on a life of its own as the aroma's of dinner wafted through all the rooms. Grace followed the recipes to a 't' and after tasting what she had made, she was quite pleased. She knew she was ready for this evening and the weekend. Now a few minutes to relax, shower, and change before her guests arrived. She took a seat in the chair in her grandmother's sitting room and closed her eyes.
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