{pretty, happy, funny, real}: Staycation? Close, But Not Quite

Staycation is a new-ish word in the American vernacular, but it doesn’t quite describe what happens when friends or family visit you and you clear your calendar for that period in order to be able to spend as much time as possible together. As far as I know, we don’t have a word for that in our language, but we need one, because that is what my family did while my brother and his family were here for more than two weeks. They live in Perth, Australia, so their visits are widely-spaced and much-anticipated.

Pretty

In last week’s record-setting heat, cold meals were welcomed as often as possible.

Happy

Water sports helped beat the heat — this is my sister-in-law and my sweet, sweet nephew. Just look at his eye lashes — killer!

Funny

Even when most of the rest of the family is in the lake at my parents’ house, I’m more often found relaxing in a lawn chair or working in the kitchen. On this day, however, I took the plunge, and it was great fun.

Real

Even when one is having a blast with visiting family and friends, dishes continue. Actually, especially when one is enjoying visitors, dishes continue. In fact, this is exactly the kind of thing I am writing about in a series called Cerebral Homemaking. You can read the first article here and the second here. More is on the way as we explore how changing our thinking about homemaking can help us change our behavior. That’s some of the contentment at our house lately. We are having a special summer, filled with family and memories of past times and making great new ones to savor in the future. What is happening at your place?