I finally got around to having Papa’s wife over for Sunday lunch. Papa had decided that there were wild boars that needed slaying so he wasn’t able to join us, so Papa’s wife’s 88 year old mother came instead. Ok, just the ladies, no pressure. This is how the day went:
6:15 – Awake making coffee and reading the news. While I’ve always read the news in the past, since moving to Le Petit Village, I read eight news websites each day. I think it has more to do with a connection to the English speaking world than it does to me being a news junkie . The thing is, I do care, and it’s important, but more times than not, extremely depressing and infuriating, and I can get quite worked up about some stuff. Don’t even get me started on the gang rape at that school in California. I can rant for hours about that one. And then it’s the Boyfriend’s turn to sit with a confused look on his face. (Big digression, I apologise).
7:00 – 8:00 – Begin food preparation; slicing mushrooms, chopping tomatoes, dicing onions.
8:00 – Wake up the Boyfriend so he can ‘help me’.
8:00 – 10:00 – Continue food prep.
10:00 – Shower and pick out clothes. What to wear for a Sunday afternoon hosting lunch at home? Anyone who read my post about my sad lonely shoes, will be happy to know my black suede 4inch shoe/boots got to come out. They looked great but oh so impractical to run around the house in.
10:30 – 11:30 – Quick clean up, more food preparation, and tried to delegate tasks to the Boyfriend. The delegation didn’t go quite as planned. Somehow instead of doing what I asked (very nicely asked) he would either always end up A. standing in front of the television or B. trying to ‘help’ me at my task, like taking the pepper grinder out of my hand while I’m in mid-grind, cause yeah, that’s helpful.
11:30 – Started making risotto.
11:30 – 12:15 – Stir risotto (as anyone who has ever made risotto knows, it’s very easy, but it’s all about; stir, stir, and more stirring).
12:15 – Papa’s wife and her Mother arrive for lunch baring a lovely plant (I’ve already forgotten to water it). Quick aperitif , glass of rosé and some marinated olives to nibble.
12:45 – First course, Panzanella (tuscan bread salad). Never made this before but I wanted to give it a try because it looked colorful. Maybe my lemon-garlic vinaigrette was a bit too lemony but it was still pretty tasty and I’m sure all that lemon can help cure something.
1:00 – Mushroom risotto. I had mastered this dish so why now, when serving it to Papa’s wife was it too al dente? Why, why, why? But still, she complimented me on it. When I said it was the Boyfriend’s favorite, I was corrected. Her couscous is his favorite. Ok.
1:15 – Steak and wilted spinach salad. Simple, easy, tasty. It gets the job done.
1:30 – Cheese plate. Thank heavens we have a spare 3kg.
1:45 – Dessert. Or more like rum with a little chocolate mousse. Oops, I got a little heavy handed when adding the rum. Wow. I’m drunk. Must stop eating. Gave to the Boyfriend. He ate both.
2:00 – Espresso time for us, a snooze on the couch for the 88 year old. At least she felt comfortable. Or hammered from the dessert.
2:30 – The Boyfriend’s friend, the Spaniard arrives. I decided to off load another rum and chocolate mousse. The men seem to really like it.
3:00 – Papa’s wife and her wobbly mother leave. Huge sigh of relief. I did it. Done.
3:30 – The Spaniard and the Boyfriend go out for a drink after a little encouragement from me. Some alone time for clean up.
5:00 – Dishes finished and sit down… aaaahhh.
5:30 – The Boyfriend returns.
5:45 – There is shouting outside window. The Cousin and his Lady from Avignon are here. He never can just knock on the door like a normal person.
6:30 – We go to the Honeys. Why, I’m still not too sure. Had our day not been busy enough? I guess not.
7:30 – Mrs. Honey and I win our second game of pool against the Boyfriend and Mr.Honey because girls are better than boys.
8:00 – Return home.
8:15 – There is a knock on the door (at least we knew it wasn’t the Cousin). The Brother arrives for a drink which leads me to wonder if the Boyfriend has some sort of lo-jack on him.
9:00 – The Boyfriend and I are alone. I take the opportunity to finally try to have a little relaxing conversation while he shovels left over risotto in his mouth and then…
9:15 – The laptop starts ringing. French Mommy is skyping.
9:30 – I manage to stay awake for half an episode of the West Wing.
10:00 – Snoring.
bisou
It's Me, Sara Louise 
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