“If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” - Woody Allen
The plan was perfect: guests would arrive at Jean’s Spring Into Summer Party by way of her long, winding driveway lined on either side by beautiful flowers and foliage. Along the driveway itself, I would chalk-letter some quotes about summer and nature and friends, encouraging guests to linger and savor the walk as an experience, setting the mood for an afternoon in the sun, soaking up the last moments of spring and ringing in the long-awaited summer.
Then we woke up and it was cold and rainy.
As you know, chalk and rain do not mix. Or rather, they do mix quite well - and that’s sort of the problem. Where visions of summerplums once danced in our heads, I now envisioned a driveway looking like a box of crayons forgotten on a radiator in January.
Jean was a vision of the calm, cool, collected hostess. No time was wasted wishing for different weather before we came up with a Plan B. I pulled out a couple of the best quotes I had collected and revised my design in miniature onto 10"x14" framed chalkboards. One board would be a quote welcoming friends and family at the entrance.
And the other, a quote to remind everyone how beautiful June evenings can be when they’re better behaved.
Most of the quotes I planned to use were like that - beautiful and flowery, both literally and figuratively - and I think I’ll keep them secret just in case I ever need them again. But I was going to throw this one in on account of the way it tickled me and the fact that just because Jean is a wonderfully talented and passionate gardener doesn’t mean all of her friends are:
“I love nature, I just don’t want to get any of it on me.” - Woody Allen
And now this blog post is a Woody Allen sandwich.
