We all know how rare it is at the moment to have family spend time together, so when I was speaking to my brother a week or so ago about trying to find a free weekend for a visit, I wasn’t expecting it to happen any time soon. With three high school kids and sport and work and life, we rarely get to spend time together despite them just being an hour and a half away. I was thrilled when messages were sent and a date locked in for last weekend after Saturday sport, even better was the timing that it was my Mum and step dad’s wedding anniversary so it was a chance to celebrate that together. Poor Mum has been in a state that we all haven’t been together for so long, especially with my older sister and her kids in Melbourne who we haven’t seen in well over a year and is struggling big time with lock down. So we got the chance and grabbed it!
I spent Saturday morning doing an old school housekeeping before visitors arrived. I cleaned that house from head to toe, washing, folding, prepping, scrubbing and faffing – it felt like an age since I had done that before visitors arrived…I used to do it all the time before Mum and Lucy moved here and they came down to stay (it made me nostalgic for the old June long weekend).
It was around 3pm that our guests arrived (with SUPERIOR hostess gift of the best duster that ever there was). Prosecco was poured, platters placed on the table and a good old catch up of everyone. A house filled with people always makes me so happy.
Best decision we made for the weekend was outsourcing dinner. Kids had their big year 12 cousin drive and pick up pizzas (how weird that they are big enough for that now) and then we ordered a 3 course dinner party pack from Birch in Moss Vale. You might remember that Rob and I did that for our wedding anniversary back in March when we were in the start of lock down. These are the actual BEST things to do…a little prep and cooking but mostly it is all done and ready to go. Post pizza and kids we sent them off to hang out while we set the table, lit some candles and frocked up for our dinner party. It was so much fun!
Even better was having our niece on hand (who wants to be a chef one day) ready to go with playing up and prep with my Brother in law who used to be a chef. Excellent result! The food was so good: tuna tartare, some pork and mushrooms and a Bombe Alaska thing that was exceptional. Lots of very good buttery chardonnay, a speech or two and lots of chance to catch up, it was perfect. So, so good.
We woke Sunday morning to a perfect winter’s day: some frost and then lots of sunshine. Again, I had outsourced a little breakfast at our local cafe and bakery Moonacres with lots of great bread and pastries, fruit, so simple and so good before out niece started on her batch of cinnamon buns that she wanted to bake for us all. Great result! We ate breakfast, we kicked a ball around in the garden, we baked, we chatted, we went for a long walk and then we sat and ate some more in the sunshine in garden.
Everyone left around 3pm, a mere 24 hours all spent together but it just filled all our hearts with memories and good times. Our family doesn’t need much really: good food, wine, a table to sit around and time together and we are all happy. We are desperately missing our other family and hope that we can be all together again at Christmas. I know how lucky we were to have this time, how precious these moments are, and how one of the only good things that has come out of this shit 2020 is to never take them for granted. These are the things that matter. I’m so glad we got a chance to soak them up while we could.
Oh I’m in Melbourne and missing my people and the opportunity to do this so much! Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed living vicariously through you for a brief moment.
Please adopt me….
Ha!
I so feel for your Mum Beth. I’m in Tassie (& we ai t allowed to go anywhere & 2 of my 3 offspring are in NSW and S
ACT – along with 5 of my grandchildren. They have seen each other but it will be a year at best before I see them again. The two granddaughters here are missing their cousins dreadfully and my 2 boys have already had 2 planned catch ups go by without happening. It’s been a year like no other and I often wonder if life will ever be the same again. Lovely to see you all enjoying your special family time xxx
We were very lucky indeed x
Lovely, civilised, convivial and yum! The daph and hellebores are magnificent 👌 Have you ever thought you might have been an event planner in another life?
Hardly! I do love a faff and dinner party though that’s for sure. Maybe I was a servant in the time of Downton perhaps?!