The Lodge: Suppertime

Alright, so I wasn't serious about putting up 34 separate posts, but since I really need to get my behind to bed, here are just a few from supper the first night.  Once we 'landed' so to speak, we met Ree and her lovely eldest daughter who had been cooking and re-cooking our meal all night, trying to keep things warm for us.  They showed us to our gorgeous, amazing, hotel-like rooms and I had approx. 2.4 seconds to snap a quick shot before we ran back out to enjoy a delicious feast and shyly tell our entire life stories around mouthfuls of buttery rosemary rolls (or maybe that was just me).

For dinner, well, go check out PW's post with pictures and stuff.  It was amazing, I almost died when those rolls hit my mouth, and I could NOT at all get enough of the sweet tomato ketchup sauce that went with the meatloaf.  Make that stuff, you'll be famous in your home!  For dessert, I managed to come out of my food coma and pick up my camera again.  Let's just say these apple dumplings were SO amazingly good (thanks to Mountain Dew of all things) that there is currently a fresh-made pan sitting on my kitchen table.  Well, only three are left, actually.  Make these too!  Also, please note the cowgirl napkin on my lap.

Now that the cameras were out of hiding again, I felt not too weird snapping pictures of everyone and everything.  Before they got up from the table I managed to capture Dani and Ashley.  Midwestern girls are ridiculously sweet and pretty, let me tell you!

I also caught Ashley and Paige, mostly because they were situated directly in front of me and could do nothing to avoid it.

We lingered over the delicious apple turnovers for a while, because they really deserve lingering over.  Make sure you don't forget to sprinkle the cinnamon on top, by the way... it makes a huge difference.  Not that anyone in the following picture did something like that yesterday...

This big smile is in spite of the fact I gained two dress sizes over the weekend.  Can't win 'em all.

After dinner we all tripped over each other to help clean up, mostly to avoid having to talk more about ourselves I think.  It didn't work though, Ree is a masterful expert at coaxing detailed histories out of people (if only my background check company had half her skill!)

Oh, and can we all look at Ree's eldest offspring for a moment?  She's the one twice my height wearing a fashionable scarf.  My mom and I are pretty sure she's going to become an international model if her parents ever let her off the ranch... which certainly isn't as wholesome a life as a cowgirl so I think it's good they've got her in the middle of nowhere.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention those unfortunate guests who were not welcome at the table, and were therefore salivating with hunger just outside the door for hours and hours and hours.  Poor dears.

 

Yup that's Charlie above.  There's more Charlie to come.  And on the left down below is Hooker.   I always assumed she was titled after a 'Lady of the Night' and Cowboy Josh just had some weird sense of humor... but actually she's named for a town that's called the same thing.  And she HAS been fixed, after a single litter of puppies... and if I were you I wouldn't bring it up.

Alright, there's a ton more to come, see you tomorrow!