While half our friends were basking in brilliant sunshine in Europe we were freezing in uncharacteristically chilly conditions in Australia. Warnings of arctic blasts affecting our East Coast came rather too regularly for our liking and firewood was used and re-ordered much more than usual. The August winds came to add to the wind chill and discomfort and we became inside dwellers, just waiting for conditions to return to our usual crisp blue sky winter days. The wind managed to dry out the squelchy-ness at least and we finally don’t sink into the grass with every step we take although one serious downpour and we’d be back to square one. Trees have been pruned, roses, salvias and hydrangeas have been cut back and the early jonquils and snowdrops are already nodding their heads, a little splash of colour in the garden together with the camellias but it wont be long before the buds start appearing on the wisteria and the trees as we continue on the cycle of life. The Olympics have been keeping us entertained while we hibernate indoors and despite the time difference we have been able to keep abreast of most things almost in live time! An early wake up time is rewarded with the finals in many instances…

We did have a lovely break mid July when we drove north to The Sunshine Coast and beautiful Noosa to spend a week with our Tassie crew, who were also escaping the cold. We enjoyed the journey, stopping overnight in Forster and then Sovereign Island where we caught up with my sister in law and her partner and had a lovely evening catching up on the past year since we last saw them. It was a perfect location for us to pick the girls up the next day from Brisbane airport where two very excited little girls (and one big girl) were happy to see us and eager to see their holiday house and enjoy a break from their school routine as much as us. Our rental was perfectly situated a flat 10 minute walk into Hastings street and the beach and as we had the car with us it was easy to get out and about to the river and further afield to Eumundi Markets and Sunshine Beach to explore. Both girls were VERY enamoured with our little heated spa pool at the holiday house, which served to both delight them and tire them out meaning they dropped into bed and slept like logs every night!

We hired a boat and took them fishing where Indi snagged a lovely flathead before we released it back to the river. They weren’t too sure what to make of its bloodied mouth and it flapping around on the deck but have since talked about little else other than them catching a fish! A trip to the markets with both girls firmly clasping their wallets containing their saved coins to spend on something of their choosing was BIG! Crystals were high on the shopping list, handbags and jewellery followed and the piece de resistance was queuing to have their faces painted – a happier mermaid and fairy you have NEVER seen! It was quite the economics lesson for the girls with them having to ask how much things were, see if they had enough coins and then either negotiate a price or sadly have to realise they couldn’t afford their longed for treasures. Reality sucks but they both left happy after churros dipped in chocolate sauce!

Their cousins live nearby at Peregian Beach so in an unlikely but well timed reunion the Tassie side of the family came together a long way from home. The big girls bought over some toys and lots of patience and the little girls loved every minute of their time together. Nanny and Poppy also met up with us at the Sunshine Beach Surf Club for a lovely lunch in the sun. The girls were so good, dining out in restaurants every night (albeit early and with lots of colouring in and promises of icecreams afterwards to ensure compliance!!) and Loz and I even managed to sneak in a couple of cocktails on Hastings street one night when the MOTH was glued to the State of Origin at home on the TV happily “babysitting”…

A Xmas prezzy from our lovely daughter prompted us to book a lunch at the gorgeous Rickys on the Noosa River and have a couple of hours of grown-up time and it was fantastic. The location is second to none, looking out over the sparkly water with the odd boat puttering past and water birds diving for fish which made for a very relaxing lunch. The food was excellent and the wine delicious so we were happy campers and it reiterates that Noosa can be anything from a simple camping trip and a hired fishing boat to eating at a top notch eatery and everything in-between.

A walk through the national park and the pandanus trees that are synonymous with Noosa was a hit for the girls as they kept a look out for koalas and whales. We were rewarded with a whale spout quite close to shore and a slight breach which made for gasps of excitement all around! Sadly, the koalas have really become a rare sighting around Noosa nowadays, gone are the days you’d be returning home up the hill and spot a little lump or two in a tree – whether or not they are just hiding themselves better off the beaten track or have moved away it’s hard to know. Hopefully they are still out there somewhere.

After a very early start to the airport to farewell the girls we drove back to The Meadow and after a recovery day we were straight into a lovely weekend with the little boys! Despite the chilly weather they both played outside most of the time – as fed up as we were of being inside so much no doubt. Some vigorous scootering at the park warmed them up and they discovered the pump track which made for lots of fun, Ollie is nearly always the smallest person on these things but never hesitates to push off at the rate of knots! A visit to the cows, sandpit fun with Papa and swinging in the garden with Dad and they were asleep on their feet!

Fast forward a few days and I’m writing this while Bailey lies on the floor in front of me crying and trembling after her operation this morning to remove a cyst from her cheek. It had recently become quite large and although it wasn’t overly bothering her she kept knocking it on things making it bleed and there was a small question mark over whether it was nothing to worry about or could be something more sinister, so the decision was made to remove it. She is 9.5 now and apart from being de-sexed at 4 months she has never had an anaesthetic so it was all a bit scary for our girl I think. She is such a calm dog and took it all in her stride but when I collected her from the vet she waddled out looking very unimpressed with her eyes all droopy and her back legs hardly working from the drugs. Thank goodness she wasn’t any heavier as I had to heave her into the car and then she refused point blank to get out the other end and I spent an hour with her resting on my lap in the back of the car until she felt a bit less weird! The next 24 hours were reminiscent of having a newborn as she didn’t sleep for more than 2 hours at a time and was constantly crying and whining and trembling. Poor little darling really didn’t understand what the hell was happening to her of course. Lots of cuddles helped but the night was LONG. Thankfully 48 hours later she is back to her old self and the wound is healing well. Now we wait for the pathology results…….

On the same day we received the sad news that one of our oldest and dearest friends was gravely ill in hospital and unlikely to make it through. The MOTH arrived at the hospital first thing in the morning to discover he’d missed him by just 10 minutes and we were both in shock. While he waited to say his goodbyes so many memories came flooding back of their shared times together as they had lived in Paris, Rome and Sydney as young men sharing houses together and I had met him a year before I met the MOTH making him one of my oldest friends in Oz. He had no children of his own but was Godfather to our Sam and took a huge interest in all our children’s lives growing up. He was a photographer and documented all of our important life experiences. He was our wedding photographer, took some gorgeous pregnancy shots and then featured at all the kids birthdays. For every first day of a new school he would be on our doorstep at 7am to capture the big moment – each child has pictures of their first day at junior and high school and the group family shots that went with these days have become the time markers of our child rearing years. George remained very Italian to his last day – loving family, friends, food and wine. The most generous and kind hearted guy with a big personality and it’s hard to believe he has gone although the many many stories of him will live on. A good fella who we all loved…arrivederci Georgie xoxo