Hospitality questionnaire -- Chandra

1. How often do you have company in your home (per week/month/year)?
At the very least, there is usually at least one child visiting for lunch on Sundays. Other than that, we don’t have people over on a regular basis. I’d say that per year we probably have “real” guests only a handful of times. But it may actually be lots more, my head’s just too foggy to say right now… I actually love having guests over; my husband is not so keen on it. It’s not that he’s introverted or anti-social, he just likes certain people, and they are the ones he likes to stick with.

Our interactions have really changed dramatically over the years. We used to have far more “visiting friends”, and we would get together very often…when Nick & Esther lived in Ontario, they were at our house every week, sometimes more than once a week. When Steve & Cecilia were in Ancaster, they were at our house pretty much every week as well. When Nick & Lisa lived in Ontario, we got together a couple of times a month. When John & Jen were in Ancaster, they came over for a games night a few times a year …and so on. It seems we scare our friends into moving away, and now that they are all gone, Pete’s not comfortable with “starting all over”, so we just don’t really entertain other than family events.

2. What do you enjoy about hosting? What do you dislike?

I actually love being a hostess, because that’s very much my nature, and I love to cook and bake and make people feel welcome and loved. But the last couple of years, since I’ve been having trouble with sleep apnea, even if I don’t find myself feeling tired, I find that I feel detached and disinterested (regarding pretty much everything, not just hospitality)…like I’ll think sometimes “We should have so-and-so over”, but it just seems like so much trouble to actually get around to it, so I rarely bother. My kids sometimes beg me to invite aunts and uncles for dinner, so we’ll extend impromptu invitations, and that works for me. I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to getting the results from my sleep study and (Lord willing) finding a solution to this problem!!!

3. Name 2 things that you do for company/before company arrives, that you rarely/never do otherwise.

I’m not sure there is anything. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a neat freak. I wash my walls maybe once every few years (is that gross??), I usually only get rid of cobwebs in the corners of the room only when Pete comments on them (we get a fair number because we heat with a wood stove)… But the house is usually tidy, toilets are clean, the important stuff is done. But if you drop in unexpectedly, there’s a good chance there will be a bit of a mess in the kitchen, or dishes in the sink, toys on the floor…ours is definitely a “lived in” house.

Now, when my dad comes for a visit, that’s a whole different story…the house gets a thorough cleaning then!! :o)

Oh, we do lock the dogs in their kennels when we have guests…I guess that counts as something we don’t do otherwise.

4. What is on your "last-minute check list" right before the door bell rings?

Lock the dogs up, make sure kitchen floor is clean.

5.What is your favorite "event" to host? ( for example: coffee, a meal, evening, over-nighter, family/friends, outdoor/indoor, casual/formal... etc)

Any of the above…I’m totally not a picky person, I just go with the flow. Michelle came for an impromptu tea yesterday, and the girls asked if Samantha could sleep over. Since Michelle’s coming back for Book Club tonight, I said sure… so sleepovers are great fun. But I also really enjoy having the whole crowd over for Thanksgiving or Christmas or whatnot.