Sarongs at the Barbecue

Many Uses for a Sarong

Jeff and Joslyn hosted their first barbecue on July 4th this year. Young and married for just one year, they nervously ventured into the untried territory of entertaining guests. Friends had told them, “You can’t go wrong with a barbecue.” Hmmm. Are you sure?

No Apron? No Problem

The first thing to go wrong came out of left field just as the hamburger patties began to sizzle. As Jeff reached over to flip the burgers, he heard his father’s critical voice. “You’re not wearing an apron! Do you want to spatter grease on that nice shirt Mom and I got you for your birthday?” Jeff had worn the shirt because he thought his parents would be pleased to see him using their gift, but there was no pleasing Dad.

Joslyn had his back. In a second, she had grabbed her favorite sarong and draped it over Jeff, covering the endangered shirt. “We don’t have any aprons,” she said sweetly to her father-in-law. “I’ll be sure to get one next time I’m at the store.”

Sarong to the Rescue Again

She had just finished silently congratulating herself for her quick thinking when Jeff asked if she knew where the oven mitt was. She knew exactly where it was. It was on the ground after being slightly chewed on by the dog. No point explaining this in front of their guests. She reached for another sarong that she had been planning to cover the table with, and handed it to Jeff. Wrapped around the chewed up oven mitt several times, it worked quite well as an oven mitt cover-up. And no one knew there was a slightly chewed up oven mitt underneath, protecting his hand!

Decorative and Useful

As soon as Joslyn could reclaim the oven mitt/sarong, she spread it on the table. It looked beautiful and festive. When the barbecue was turned off and there was no longer a need to protect his shirt, Jeff peeled off the first sarong and spread it on the grass. He and his Dad sat down to eat and talk about a safe subject, one of the few they actually agreed on: baseball. Joslyn took a deep breath and sank into a patio chair. Her first attempt at entertaining seemed to be going well, thanks to the multi-purpose sarongs.