I am writing this from beautiful Tassie while my little 6 month old granddaughter sleeps and my daughter works from her home office while the almost 3 year old attends daycare. The 2 grandmas are helping out so she doesn’t have to put little India into daycare until she is over 6 months old so we are doing 2 weeks each which has been a lovely opportunity to be with them all again. They grow up so fast and in the 10 days I’ve been here Myla has given up her day sleep and is fully toilet trained and India is sitting up with 4 new teeth! Crazy!!

It is a beautiful place to hang out. Literally surrounded by water, their house has glorious views from every window and there are several local beaches within walking distance. The weather has been great and there is just a hint of Autumn in the air, especially in the morning which makes it very pleasant. Often this time of year is hot and humid in Sydney and makes doing just about anything quite unpalatable so I am enjoying the climate here…more like an English summer’s day than an Aussie one!! At night once the kids were asleep we would head outside, glass in hand, and wrap ourselves in blankets while the sun went down, with the softest flamingo pinkness spreading across the horizon as if tucking it into bed.

We have managed a couple of day trips together which has been fun. We visited New Norfolk, a town built around an old mental asylum from the turn of the last century and now most famous for The Agrarian Kitchen – a fabulous cooking school and restaurant. Sadly it wasn’t open the day we visited but we had a good look around the grounds and the adjacent antique centre before heading off to Westbury raspberry farm to pick our own fruit. As it’s the end of the season they only had strawberries and blackberries left but the plants were laden with lush fruit and Myla absolutely loved that she was tall enough to pick her own little basket full even though she ate 50% of what she picked before it even hit the basket!! A lovely day out for all of us.

Tassie is a special place, a mix of everything you like…beautiful scenery, amazing produce and a genuine paddock to plate philosophy, wineries, history galore, friendly laid back people and a love of the outdoors. Loz and Berry’s friends sound like something out of a Bear Grylls movie…avid surfers, abalone divers and hard core hikers. Their preferred weekend activity is camping off grid on the wild west Coast, barbecuing their catch, swigging rum cocktails and enjoying a sing-along to a guitar. Understandably things have changed a bit since the babies came along but their love for everything outdoors continues. They have wetsuits and surf and SUP boards and they make sure they use them most weekends weather permitting. The ocean here is REALLY cold…an Arctic current runs through it and 10 minutes in it is pretty hardcore. This doesn’t really align with my Noosa in January preferred ocean temperature but it tempts me with it’s lack of waves and sheer beauty.

We attended the Clarence Jazz Festival on Saturday afternoon which was delightful. A hot summer’s afternoon on the water at Bellerive with local ciders and wines on offer and some chilled music to lull the crowd, a few Disney songs to please the kids (as well as hot chips of course) and everyone was happy to enjoy a lovely summer afternoon of entertainment. After 2 years we are grateful for live music of any sort and a new appreciation of performance and participation. You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone as the expression goes!

My favourite part of the day is when we all sit on the couch just before bed and read to the girls, it brings back many fond memories of reading with my own kids pre-bedtime and it still feels like yesterday despite the fact they are all now in their 30s….how time marches on! (Also good to note that kids still ask for “just one more” book in 2022!!!) India appears to have an early appreciation for books but she also likes to eat them so I’m not reading too much into the situation! She is now 6 months old and is the sweetest happiest little baby and smiles every time her big sister appears, tolerating some very boisterous cuddles with not a blink of an eye. I’m sure they will be firm friends down the track but she will have to endure the fate of most 2nd siblings in games with the firstborn which is to be the pupil to their teacher or patient to their doctor, taking the secondary role until one day they refuse and the tables get turned!

As my birthday was imminent Loz took me out for a lovely meal which provided us a great excuse to put on our heels and make-up and feel like girls again! As it was a Wednesday night I had imagined a rather subdued Hobart CBD but the contrary was true as it also happened to be O Week at the local Uni and the place was pumping! We went to a little wine bar called Willing Bros in North Hobart and perched at the window we watched the world go by whilst we sipped some Nebbiolo and enjoyed some Mediterranean food finishing off with a delicious tiramisu complete with sparklers to mark the occasion! Thankfully Loz discouraged the staff from singing as I feel there are far too many birthdays under my belt for such a public display! There was a great buzz around the town and we enjoyed our special night out chatting away and enjoying a night off from the kitchen and the kids! Thanks Lozzy I loved it xx

As they say, all good things come to an end and I felt a little bit sad waving goodbye to the girls to fly back to Sydney, although I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and not being so knackered that I can actually read a chapter of my book before turning out the light. I have a new found appreciation for my adult kids dealing with the constancy and tyranny of their toddlers! I know I did it many years ago with 3 kids aged under 4 but somehow times were simpler and expectations were less and we were younger so maybe it was easier or maybe I have rose coloured glasses about that time in my life! Even dropping them to daycare is more complicated nowadays, there are codes to get into the building and then electronic sign-ins, pin numbers and of course currently there are mask rules on top of it all! They have to have hats and sunblock and water bottles, sleepwear and comforters and blankets. There are government forms to fill in and incident reports if they hurt themselves. Back in the day I literally dropped mine off at a local Italian ladies house along with my friend’s kids where they all played together regardless of age, ate homemade minestrone for lunch and crashed out on a huge mattress together (that woman was a miracle worker – how on earth do you get 10 kids to sleep at the same time on the same mattress I ask myself?) Everyone should have a Nonna in their life that’s for sure. Rose coloured specs….most probably!!

Talking of simplicity this rather took my fancy…..