The Pleasures of a Houseguest
I am writing you this dispatch from a study crowded with books, soft plaid blankets, a jade plant, and worn rugs with tassel fringe. No, I haven’t suddenly traded up (though I do have a lottery ticket in my wallet that I think may just be the golden ticket). I’m house-sitting.
Being in someone else’s space presents certain challenges. You may not, for example, have your usual tools for making dinner, but you may have the added value of Bravo. But what was made abundantly clear to me as soon as the lady and gent of the house drove off in their car is how much life and warmth people bring to a home. Without someone shuffling between the sink and the stove, it’s just an empty kitchen. Without someone listening to the game on the radio in the living room, it’s just another quiet space with four walls and windows. I was lonely immediately.
So the arrival of my friend Alison could not have been better timed. And after spending an evening in a big house by myself, I was more than ready to roll out the red carpet for my guest. In my little Brooklyn apartment, there is only room to pour a glass of wine for my sleepover guest before blowing up the air mattress. I can never implement the tricks and gifts shown in magazines: a carafe of water by the bed, fresh flowers, a stack of reading material. My version was a bouquet of just-snipped garden flowers, a menu of weekend activities to choose from, a fluffy towel, and some glamorous looking bath products that had been stowed away, just waiting for a girly girl to love them.
We didn’t accomplish much on the weekend list of possible activities. Is there any activity, city or country bound, more appealing than having your friend’s undivided attention, a relatively comfortable seat, something delicious to drink, and the feeling that you have more than enough time to scheme your lives into greatness? Then again, maybe we’re just ladies of leisure.
One of the greatest delights of having a friend come to this big old house and make it a lively, fun place to be again is that even after she climbed back onto the bus Sunday afternoon to return to the city, I returned to a house still radiating ambient heat, the way the city blacktop holds on to a summer day hours into the cool evening.
The Single Gal: So lovely. Thank you!49 weeks ago
Jenn: That was really inspiring. Makes me wish for a house to sit, just so I can have some entertaining space.49 weeks ago
Lisa (dinner party): Oh my goodness. Fancy bath products, bedside flowers, petting goats(!!)? You can put me up any time!49 weeks ago
Lisa (dinner party): Uh, I realize now it was “petting sheep”. Still, a highly fun option.49 weeks ago
The sheep were too much of scaredy cats to be pet, but we tried!49 weeks ago
Julia: what a lovely story Sarah. I really enjoy your stories of friends and entertaining. I aspire to be the sort of warm, welcoming hostess you come across as; … I fail miserably, but am lucky enough to have the sort of friends that are just happy to get a cooked meal mostly. This weekend I had the pleasure of a house guest. A friend of my partner’s, someone I had never met before, but happily we hit it off straightaway and had a great time, even when he revealed he was wheat and dairy intolerant after I had put the ricotta and spinach lasagne in the oven…doh. But we all enjoyed each other’s company so much that in a few weeks time we get the pleasure of being somebody else’s houseguest, as this kind stranger (well he was a stranger to me!) has invited us to stay with him for more fun and frivolity. Good company is like a breath of fresh air sometimes… a real tonic49 weeks ago
Margaret: “a study crowded with books, soft plaid blankets, a jade plant, and worn rugs with tassel fringe”
49 weeks ago
did you see inside my head to my dream house, or what? Also:
“Is there any activity … more appealing than having your friend’s undivided attention, a relatively comfortable seat, something delicious to drink, and the feeling that you have more than enough time to scheme your lives into greatness?”
No. You have no idea how much I wish for the “cloud” working style to revolutionize ALL professions, so we can all work from wherever and whenever we need to. As in, I NEED to see my friend in Portland this week; I’m going to go there. In the meantime, 9-5 it is. Your blog helps dispell the ennui.
Julia, And what a lovely story yours is! I’ve never had a wheat and dairy intolerant houseguest, so hats off to you! People say I’m a good hostess and I’m always really, really flattered, but honestly, I think it just comes from being selfish. I always think, “what would I want to drink/do/see/eat/etc.” I pretty much always just have what I like in mind and then do it for the other person. There, the secret’s out.
Margaret, I left out, “a sombrero, a Dutch clog, a telescope, and piles and piles of unread reading material.” It’s probably a little more eccentric than your dream house.
I know that feeling of needing to see a faraway friend. Sometimes a huge email spill or talkfest can help. I hope you get to go soon!49 weeks ago
Alison: It really was the best weekend!49 weeks ago
Karen: What a wonderful weekend you had! I am sure the lady and gent of the house were so happy you enjoyed the time in their home. After all, a home is for sharing. I know that when I have family or friends visiting, I want them to feel “at home”.
You can house sit for us any time! We even have an adorable golden retriever (okay I am biased, but she is really cute) that loves to snuggle! Ha!49 weeks ago
Anita: What a treat! It was nice for your friend to show up so you could share your weekend with someone.49 weeks ago
Leafy Green: Those flowers are gorgeous! Great read, thanks Sarah.
“I returned to a house still radiating ambient heat, the way the city blacktop holds on to a summer day hours into the cool evening.” Oh, that is sooo sweet!49 weeks ago
pattyskypants: Zinnias, cosmos, cleome and rudbeckia! What a sweet bouquet. xxoo49 weeks ago
alison, thank you so much for coming and making it so fun!
karen, say no more! i love snuggly retrievers!
anita, it was so nice, and it made all the difference.
leafy green, i wish i had a garden of my own to pluck bouquets like that from!
pattyskypants, wow, that’s amazing! how did you do that? and there are some little brown-eyed susans tucked in there, too.49 weeks ago
Jen: I’m house sitting right now too. So much space! So many channels! But no zester.
What I’m enjoying the most is the little back porch. It’s not big, but you can watch hummingbirds drink and listen to their whirrs. And my husband and I can make lunch in the kitchen at the same time without getting up in each other’s grills. (!)
This weekend a sleep over is planned and you’ve inspired me to roll out the red carpet a bit!
Enjoy the rest of your house sitting time!49 weeks ago
rhonda35: Lovely piece - I’ve never housesat, despite how much I covet that idea, but must have had 100s of guests over the years as my husband and I moved from place to place while he was in the USAF. I love having houseguests! I think your use of a paint store color sample as notepaper is a fun, creative and wonderfully “green” way to make a list of local activities cheerful and enticing. Love it!49 weeks ago
Jen, The channels are nice, but I feel like I need a PhD to work the remote! I’ve also realized that I miss my hidden stash of snacks (popcorn, chocolate, etc.)
Rhonda, I’m always trying to think of crafts and little things to do with paint sample chips. I think they are so cute!49 weeks ago
rachael (speirs art): I am so envious, i want to be your houseguest!49 weeks ago