Luckily Easter and it’s long weekend meant that Sam and Tom could join us in The Meadow and spend a few days with Gigi and Sandy which was lovely. The weather was pretty good meaning we could hang out on the veranda chatting in the sunshine and then at night enjoy some home cooked food in front of a roaring fire. The boys cooked for us the first night – an Italian Feast – which went down a treat, the limoncello certainly went down well also (I literally never thought I would ever see my Mother in a baseball cap!!!!!) and it was nice to have the house full of noise and laughter again. I felt a bit guilty tucking into my cosy bed thinking of Sam in his swag on the lounge floor but sadly we are a bedroom short when everyone is here. It’s a dilemma for lots of people our age who live alone 90% of the time and then somehow have to expand 2-3 times a year to cope with extended family but we manage for the most part and Sam was a trooper taking one for the team that weekend…

Easter Sunday was fun – boules on the front lawn with drinks in hand followed by a lovely slow cooked lamb lunch and then a bonfire under the stars with us all rugged up listening to music and chatting away. A special time for my boys and my UK girls to remember…..

So our last week was upon us and we had just a few places left to explore – Shoalhaven Heads is a nearby favourite because it has an off-leash beach for Bailey and also the beautiful river which is easy to walk along, followed by a drink in the afternoon sun at the Heads Pub overlooking that beautiful view. We also ventured up to the Southern Highlands for a day stopping off in Moss Vale for coffee and a bimble around the beautiful homewares shops there before heading to Bowral, Somehow within an hour we all had several shopping bags on our arms and decided enough was enough before heading to Dirty Janes and its treasure trove of goodies and lunch at the wonderful Harrys on the Green. It was like stepping into someone’s home, with books from floor to ceiling and chandeliers reflecting the flames of the log fire that was making it very cosy indeed. Lovely food and the obligatory glass of wine left us feeling very happy at our choice of day out and a reminder to me to go over the mountains more often!

All of a sudden it was their last night and after a delicious dinner and the last couple of bottles of Alicante Bouschet from the wine cellar the MOTH took some pics of the three Bradley Girls for posterity and they were packing for their last hurrah in San Fransisco. Five weeks had flown by and we had been just about everywhere within 200kms of our house to share our little piece of Australia with them. Our last morning was spent in Kiama in glorious sunshine exploring this little coastal gem and enjoying a last lunch at Diggies overlooking the sea – fish tacos, prawn rolls and salt and pepper squid all washed down with some pale pink rose before dropping them to the train and their journey to the airport. With huge hugs, a few tears and LOTS of waving we parted ways feeling very lucky that we managed to have this special time together…I hope I get to do the same with my adult kids when I’m in my 80s!!

So my 5 week ‘holiday’ had come to an end and I had no more excuses to avoid the garden! My veggie patch was the first hit on my list. We are still re-invigorating it back to some semblance of functionality after all the rain whilst being sensible about the amount of things we plant. Winter crops in particular can take 2-3 months to ripen and then you get just one cauli or cabbage for your efforts! We are trying to plant the things that we enjoy eating – some faster crops like peas and beans and broccoli and then some of the other longer growing crops like Brussel sprouts, cabbages, leeks and our perennial favourite – garlic! All the seedlings are planted and mulched with our new fave product – Who Flung Dung – a nutrient and probiotic rich compost/mulch which feeds the soil rather than pumping nitrogen rich fertilisers into the soil which are often not able to be absorbed and then wash away via rain into our waterways causing algae bloom and other chemical reactions. Organic fertilisers add to the microbial abundance and diversity in the soil much as a probiotic helps the human microbiome and it makes far more sense to me to be using these products in our little patch than anything else. With our remaining beds (we don’t need 14 beds of veggies!!) I’m planting flowers – mostly wildflowers from seed to attract bees and butterflies and pollinators. I have always wanted to sow a wildflower meadow on part of our land but ‘he who mows’ deemed this impractical and annoying so I feel this is my only alternative! Also a bed full of flowers means less weeds and much more vitality. Everything has a place in this ecosystem of life!