This week I have felt rather like an extension to the International Airport with guests flying in from both Hong Kong and Indonesia to stay here at The Meadow. Both parties were delighted with the slightly cooler weather and the verdant countryside as they originally hail from England and Germany. A bit of European nostalgia mixed with the delights of swimming in a crystal clear and cool ocean and some fabulous local food and wine and our little house in The Meadow was full of chatter, laughter and happy tourists! Katy and Oli were here for a wedding that was happening locally and looked very sharp as they set off for the celebrations. It was lovely to host them as Katy was Lauren’s bridesmaid last year and is going to be wed herself in June. Weddings are flavour of the month at the moment!

Dieter is a German chap who has lived in Indonesia for 20 years and met us through the cocoa business. He is very friendly and jocular and a great guest. He is also a chef and Master Patissier and Chocolatier. This brings with it a certain amount of trepidation for the host trying to cook for him! We decided to keep everything very simple and give him some experiences he can’t really get in Indonesia so on our first evning we walked along Werri beach at Gerringong with Bailey and bought some fish and chips to go with our beers and rosé, all eaten overlooking the headland and feeling the salt spray on our skin. He LOVED it!

The next day he was keen to try out the wood fired oven so we made pizzas and pork ribs marinated in my brother-in-laws ‘Big Daddy’s Smoky Memphis Sauce’ and they were unanimously declared delicious. We had to have a nod to the chocolate that brought us all together so I made a very simple flourless chocolate roulade with fresh raspberries to finish off. Simple and yummy.

During the week I met some old friends, Mandy and Tony, for breakfast at The Berry Sourdough Cafe which is known throughout the land for it’s quaint barn building and it’s delicious pastries. I try not to go there very often for obvious reasons but it is so lovely to have it here in the middle of our little town for when guests arrive or as a wonderful meeting place or a special treat! The fact we can buy such quality products this far out of the big city is testament to the artisans setting up shop (and a lovely lifestyle) in our area. We are lucky bunnies indeed.

My side garden is starting to look less new nowadays with the white iceberg roses really filling in the space well, together with lavender, jasmine and a hedge of camellias keeping them all in line. When I look back at the picture below taken exactly a year ago I am really pleased with it’s progress. and in time the 3 Crepe Myrtles and 2 Jacarandas will provide some nice shade on the westerly side of the house.

We met for our first FUN lunch for 2018 and there were quite a few new faces which was great. I’m pretty sure there is no-one in this group that is younger than 50 and many are considerably older but what a group of inspiring women they are! Still working into their 70’s, many with multiple roles and businesses. From owners of retreats and guesthouses to olive growing, fudge making, specialist cruise travel agents, artists, photographers and stylists, health and wellness councillors and horse riding gurus you can’t help but feel inspired listening to their ideas and plans all being actioned rather than just thinking or talking about them! I left feeling that life is full of possibilities no matter how old you are, in my case only hampered by my own indecision, disorganisation and procrastination. Thanks ladies for showing me that there is plenty of life left for women over 50!!! Deciding to procrastinate no longer I am going to see if I can get involved with the AWCH hospital ward grandparent scheme at our local hospital where you can be of great help to a sick child and their family. A ward grandparent volunteer does the following:

• is assigned to an individual child for the duration of the child’s stay in hospital
• visits the hospitalised child on a regular basis
• performs activities such as nursing, feeding, changing nappies, bathing, playing, talking, singing, going for walks with the child
• does not perform any medical tasks

I have always wanted to get involved specifically with babies born addicted to drugs through their mothers as they have SUCH a hard time for those first few weeks but there doesn’t seem to be a specific program currently available locally so in the meantime I am going to see if I can be useful in a different capacity. Watch this space!!

There is a definite sense of the season starting to change. Despite some daytime temps of 36 degrees, the nights have been pleasantly fresh and cool allowing us to have a comfortable sleep unlike most normal February nights. Nature is quite amazing really, Easter is very early this year thanks to the moon and her cycle and nature too is early with the leaves already starting to colour and fall when in other years we have to wait until April for that! The galas are having a grand old time as they party on the seeds and kernels dropping from the trees in our garden and the veggie patch has been cleared of the tomatoes and cucumbers in preparation for silverbeet, brussel sprouts, cabbage and broccoli. We are so lucky in this part of Australia to experience all four seasons, with Summer definitely playing the biggest part with a good 6 months of lovely weather. Winter however is also a great time to get outdoors with blue skies and sunshine together with the crisp temperatures. The Lucky Country indeed.