Wednesday, March 04, 2009

that was the weekend that was

The gods of weather were obviously happy with the devout prayers continuously aimed in their general direction this past week because - in between the 38 C/ 100 F forecast for Thursday/Friday and the 100+ km/hr gale force winds that we got on Tuesday - we were blessed with an absolutely perfect last-day-of-summer for Nadie and Chris' engagement party on Saturday.

Some of the guests were a tad jittery about heading anywhere that could be described as 'the bush' - understandable given that the four main fires of Black Saturday are still burning [ but not near here ] after 3 weeks
I had to reassure more than one set of rellies ... they all knew that areas near Daylesford were under threat and on the map that looks very close to me, so I can understand the concern, but sheesh, give me credit for some sense people. I mean, seriously ... trying to evacuate, and be responsible for, large hoards of friends and relations is not my idea of fun so, were there any realistic possibility of fire action in the vicinity, rest assured I would be cancelling the festivities.

anyway
notwithstanding weather related concerns, most of the expected guests duly arrived for lunch and were fed roasted pork, lamb, beef [ but no goat ] from the spit, salads, Nonna's lasagne, Brenda's pav, trifle - mine, not Nonna's much to #1 son's evident regret - and 'Easiest Dessert Ever' as made by me - which is to say, exactly as taught to me by Nola G many moons ago...

and a whole heap of other stuff too lavish to list

toasts were given
very, very brief speeches made
presents duly admired
Fun was had watching grandson Riley who is entranced by the caprine contingent

... and the side of my house [ I am such a BAD influence on that kid LOL ]


also admired [ and snuggled ] was great-nephew Isaac who was appropriately rewarded for his absolute adorableness with the woolly fruits of my labours - two wee jackets, a hat and bootees - that I totally failed to capture on camera

all in all I think it could be said that a good time was had

Later after most went home, the remainder settled in for a Games Night - a card game that had something to do with Killer Bunnies
and then we started again with a full-on cooked country BBQ brekkie - known in Jasmine-speak as a PCB,* - at 9 the next morning.




* My friend Jasmine is famous for her house parties and the obligatory BBQed gustatory delights of the following morning, known to all and sundry as a PCB

... and my favourite story relates to one of her boys who came home from school many years ago, and announced:
" In computer class they asked if anyone knew what PCB stands for** and I said a proper cooked breakfast and they all laughed at me. I HATE you!"

** Printed Circuit Board

10 comments:

Rose Red said...

Heh - I love the PCB story! Congratulations to Chris and Nadie, and you as the proud mum! And look at Riley, hasn't he grown!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your beautiful daughter, and a fine-looking prospective SIL! BTW, don't know exactly where young Isaac fits on the family tree, but he looks a lot like Nadie, I reckon.

catsmum said...

Marcie,
well spotted ... young Master Isaac belongs to my [ or rather my late husband's ] eldest nephew Michael and his lovely wife Chrysee - so on the Italian side of the family - and as we all know Nadie did not get her gorgeous sultry looks from my side

Nola G said...

Glad that the party went well. Congratulations to Nadie and Chris. I hope the boy remembered to pass on my regrets I couldn't come. Did I actually teach you to cook something? I don't remember. Did that involve Butternut Snaps, pineapple and whipped cream?

Lynne said...

Glad it all went well. Congratulations to the happy couple.

catsmum said...

Nola m'dear, I think 'cook' might be an overstatement of the effort involved but, yes, I do mean the pineapple concoction

Sheepish Annie said...

My uncle is a passionate believer in Properly Cooked Breakfasts. I spent a great deal of time in my youth being educated on what makes for the Proper Breakfast. It's funny to hear that phrase used somewhere else! But your PCB story is even better!!

It looks like a great time was had by all. Congrats to the happy couple and all my best wishes as they celebrate their engagement.

catsmum said...

this particular PCB involved
gluten-free sausages, eggs, bacon, potatoes, eggplant, kebabs, onions, burgers, mushrooms, veggie burgers and tomatoes ... do you think we had enough variety ? LOL

Jackie said...

You know sometimes when you look at blogs and you don't rhad all the writing? Well I was ahving a quick look and that baby in that position being held over that barbecue....I just had to go back and check it was just sausages on it!I enjoyed reading. Thanks!

catsmum said...

LOL Jackie my sweet I hadn't thought at all about the juxtaposition of those two photos
but rest assured, wee Master Isaac was never within less than thirty feet of the source of the flames :]