Let’s dispense with the usual summary of what happened in the past year.

2025 wasn’t a great year: we did travel a fair bit, but family illnesses both here and abroad, had us focused more on medical issues than gastronomic delights. By the end of the year, it seemed fitting to return to France for the festive season and spend time with my family, one more time.

We started the New Year full of hope, with both my mother and I recovering well. We were looking forward to a busy 2026. So many projects that had been put on hold, now ready for completion, events to plan, travels to organise… 

January and February are now behind us, and whatever plans we may have made, they are gone by the window. We returned from Paris mid-January. Two weeks later, we were told the sad news that my mother had passed away. While not unexpected, her passing so soon after seemingly doing well, was a shock.

We headed back for the funeral earlier this month, spending a couple of weeks with the family. It was comforting to see so many coming to pay their respects, people I had lost  contact with 40 years ago but who somehow still knew of me thru mum…

Living so far away presents a few challenges:. You miss out on family events, only catching a few glimpses during your brief visits. You barely have time to engage with anyone, beyond the initial catch up. On unfortunate occasions like this, as I was going thru Mum’s things, I wish we’d had more time together. 

Mum used to love having us sitting at the table, at all times of the day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also, for mid-morning coffee and afternoon tea ! “She is retired, with nothing else to do. Who has time to spend all day cooking, eating, talking then washing up on the kitchen? “we’d always argue. Then we’d run off to explore the city or away on a road trip for a few days.   

As she grew unwell in the past year, she turned to more simple cooking. Her favourite “no fuss” dinner was omelette. As it turns out, it’s ours too! Our last dinner together was the night before we flew back to Sydney.

I cooked the family individual bacon omelettes (omelettes aux lardons). Because I am used to Australian larger servings, I used all the eggs in the fridge. Only to be told a few days later, that there was a shortage of eggs in France !

And by sheer coincidence ( or maybe not ), cheese omelette is the last dinner I cooked for my brothers and I, four weeks later. Before leaving Paris again.