Country Hospitality: Example B

Here in the country there's a need to feed people.  Where the Wife grew up people didn't bring over casseroles and there was never a zucchini drop on a doorstep. Dinner invitations, though frequent, never involved butchering livestock or stacking hay. So, the Wife had to be educated in country hospitality, where people are fed...constantly.  We grow double the amount of garden produce simply to give away. This is country hospitality.

So when the Wife first asked Dear Farmer for the garden plot (there were Honorable Sons No. 1 & 2 at the time), he made for the Wife a 20x40 plot well tilled.  "Gracious", thought the Wife, "Who else are we feeding?"  She quickly found out!  As soon as the garden was producing (and over producing) Dear Farmer began making neighborly visits.  First the relatives, then the neighbors, pretty soon even for the people in towns next door.  Preserving keeps your pantry stocked, but also something on the shelf to give away!

Dear Farmer also began inviting people over for dinner when he and Wife were first married.  Apparently everyday is a reason to invite families for dinner:

"We're hanging laundry on the line!  Want to come over for spaghetti?" 

"We're butchering the layers, how about you pluck feathers?  We're having BBQ Chicken!"

"My wife broke her little toe today, would you like to come over and have Chinese?"

(not one of these is a joke, all true.)

As time has marched on, the Wife has learned the joy in Dear Farmer's need to feed. It's part of good old country hospitality!