We have been pretty busy the past week, getting ready to host our eldest’s 21st. Now after hosting 5 christenings at MP in the past 8 years, it was kind of exciting to move onto a 21st.
And while the dynamic is completely different, the beforehand party preparations are fairly similar. There is no escaping the weeding, mowing, pruning, whipper snipping and getting bird poop off the verandah. With bird poop removed we decide it is a good chance to reoil the verandah. (The butcher birds love our verandah for there is always a free feed after each meal under the chairs of 4 little people…it’s kind of nice having friendly birds, I just wish they were “verandah trained”!)
And then there is the house: windows to clean, piles of clutter to give a home, beds to make and furniture to polish. Oh yes, I also decided to give the office an overhaul. Kind of goes with end of financial year and party preparations combined!
And the week prior doesn’t mean that business stops. Rob & Tess also tackled some mustering and cattle were loaded out the morning of the party. Well actually, one of the highlights for some guests at the party was the delivery of a load of cattle during the pre dinner drinks. The truck lights added to the ambience although I’m not sure about the “cow smell” wafting through the night air. A smell many of us are used to, just seems a little stronger when dressed in your party clothes..
I must admit we took the easy option with food and employed a caterer for the evening. With 90 guests plus kids RSVP’ing it just seemed to make sense.
Oh, and they washed up the mess as well, perfect!
Made life simple and the fire was a worthy addition to a winter party held outdoors.
Now we didn’t anticipate a flu spreading through the ranks in the week of party preparations and on my list of want went well, what could be better for next time, I have made a note to ward off all bugs and avoid crowds beforehand. And maybe take lots of olive oil extract in the month prior!
Another note to myself, is to practice some night time photography beforehand. While I captured some nice moments on my camera, most were riddled with the dreaded camera shake. Luckily I had a dear friend on the guest list who captured some of the evening. Thanks Trude!
This photo was my attempt attempt at nighttime photographer without flash – thanks Fiona for the tip on the higher ISO. A fair bit of practice to do yet!
Another really nice moment of the evening was the surprise performance of these 2 lovely ladies. What a treat and what gorgeous voices.
It is hard to believe that my eldest has celebrated her 21st. It is such a privilege to be a mother, to watch your children grow from precious newborns and blossom into young adults.
And be part of all the years in between…
I love this photo, Andrew is still dressed in his night time attire, tie in windsor knot and all!!
The morning after at a bush do is also a fun occasion unless you’ve got a hangover of course..
We had 50 people stay over, I think we were at capacity…
Now that is one 21st down and five to go!
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