Social misfire

We invited friends for dinner last night, and with winter's full-blown early arrival, I asked Le Duc to start a fire in the small Swedish woodstove tucked into the corner of our living room.

He left it to the last minute, and the damn thing wouldn't draw. So he opened the stove door, inviting plumes of dense smoke to roll into the room. With guests arriving any second, the entire first floor filled with thick woodsmoke that would sting the eyes and seize the lungs of anyone crazy enough to enter.

I was ah, incensed. "Put it OUT!" I shrieked. "NO", he boomed back, and we exchanged a lengthy, highly uncivil set of remarks, each of us graphically asserting the extreme stupidity of the other. Of course our friends were huddled at the door, which I forgot was opened in my frantic efforts to clear the smoke... listening to every word.

Have you ever revealed your less than charming side, when instead you want to be hospitable and welcoming?

The only thing to do was pour everyone a large drink and flap towels around till the air cleared, in more ways than one.