It seemed like a laid-back weekend was in store...Saturday at home, and Easter dinner with my family at my parents' house. Then, Saturday morning we got a call from some friends we hadn't seen in a long time who were in the area for the day. Of course we asked them to dinner and when they accepted the weekend went from laid back to highly active. With time so short I was tempted to re-use the table setting from a couple of weeks ago, but it was the day before Easter, the weather was finally sunny and the setting just didn't seem appropriate any more.
So...an Easter table, chop chop. None of my pieces were right in color or theme, but I did have a peach colored undercloth. I thought I'd use it with green, yellow and pink dishes and pink glassware, as I had the last time I gave a dinner at Easter. I have some glittery eggs somewhere that might add some interest.I ironed the peach cloth and added a vintage white linen embroidered runner. Lacking flowers I got a small house plant in a white basket and put it in the middle. The basket immediately made the whole thing more low key, less sparkly. Now the glittery eggs didn't seem right. I already had a basket of china eggs as a seasonal decoration in the hall, so I robbed it for duller, more realistic eggs and that seemed good. I had little soft green leaf dishes as a gift from my friend Marie, and they also seemed good. I used the same candle holders, and the same green ribbon from my last table. The center now was almost entirely green and white, very quiet and more naturalistic than I first envisioned...sort of Zen-like, I thought; The pink glasses and dishes were too much so I went back to clear. I really liked the unflashy solidity of it, but worried that it lacked spirit. So, using the exception that proves the rule, I got out the chartreuse crystal dealy-bobber decorations from Christmas and stuck them in the plant. They echoed the leaf shapes of the real plant and both blended in and added zest to the centerpiece.
Its funny how my ideas get short-circuited by the settings as they unfold. It so often seems that my work starts out with a plan and then becomes what it damn well pleases. Its usually better when that happens, but it is like wandering in the wilderness. This time it came out okay...at least I found the table satisfying. The meal also came out well. I spent more time on the table than on planning the menu, but the food, though simple, tasted pretty good. We spent a very pleasant evening reconnecting with our friends on the day before Easter.
Note: I kept wondering as I made this table why I kept thinking of Zen as I fiddled with eggs and pastel colors. Later I found out that some Buddhist traditions consider April 8 to be the birthday of Buddha, so this really was a Zen Easter. Perhaps I was receiving unconscious vibes from the universe.