After a challenging couple of months (and a 2nd bout of the infamous C Diff) things are on the improve. The MOTH is walking really well after his knee replacement and even managed to kneel down the other day to fix something in the pool – a task I thought would be impossible – so he is feeling pretty good and is finally starting to resume normal life. He has lost 10kgs (and discovered a whole new wardrobe) but finally has his appetite back so who knows how long that new wardrobe will actually fit him! I now feel that I can happily get on the plane to the UK on Tuesday knowing he is in good hands here with his team of doctor, pharmacy and friends all there for him if things go off the rails again. He would have to be really unlucky to get a 3rd bout of C Diff but he knows what he is dealing with now at least and can recognise the early signs and get straight on to it.

I took the Choccy Drop along the beach today for a last walk before I leave. It is her very favourite place to be (apart from in front of the fire on a cold night) and we had a lovely time watching the big seas and checking out all the driftwood, sea plants and shells that they have brought onto the beach, it was especially nice walking in the sunshine after a couple of weeks of rain and wind. 21 degrees here today which isn’t bad for the start of winter and probably warmer than it is going to be in the UK next week in their summer! It’s always lovely to go back home though, no matter what the weather, but this time we are incorporating a side trip to Jersey in the Channel Islands into our itinerary and it would be fantastic if we had good weather there – eating outdoors is an essential part of a summer holiday if at all possible!

Driving to the beach this morning I felt like I was in a painting. The cows were shrouded in a light mist that hung over the fields, some baby calves lying at their Mums feet in the morning sunshine. The Shoalhaven River was like a huge silk ribbon with not a breath of wind to send ripples across it – just a perfect reflection of the trees and a few boats bobbing on it’s surface. The trees are still showing the last of the Autumn leaves, copper, orange and red, and they line either side of the road as I drive through them – an arched tunnel of vibrant colour that made me feel especially happy to be alive! Autumn is a beautiful season around here.

We had a lovely few nights away last week with 3 other couples in beautiful Bowral. This is a town in the Southern Highlands about an hour inland from here and it is as close to being in England as you can get especially at this time of year. The cold climate means dressing up in all our warm clothes and having a wood fire going 24/7 whilst eating yummy food and enjoying some big reds. We had a great few days with lots of laughs and quizzes and card games. We had a lunch in one of my favourite little places – Harrys on The Green where you feel as if you are in someone’s home. The walls are lined with books and plants and the room has chandeliers and an open fire, a perfect spot to enjoy a lovely little menu and a wine or two before braving the outdoors (it poured that day!) It is attached to Dirty Janes with all its treasures and perfect for a snoop about and perhaps a purchase of that one thing you didn’t know you needed??

We enjoyed a lovely lunch at The Briars on our last day, it’s a bit of an institution and I remember coming down from Sydney in the old days for lunch here in winter and it’s still great!

Old friends are certainly a perfect tonic and was just what the doctor ordered for our patient. We did remark that the recycling bin was far less full than when we normally go away, not sure if that is a sign we are all getting older and more sensible or that the MOTH and his reduced drinking has perhaps influenced the rest of us?

I spent one of the mornings with an old friend from Sydney that I haven’t seen in about 25 years. It was a miracle that we ever reconnected, but a couple of years ago I was enjoying reading an article in Home Beautiful featuring a gorgeous home in Bowral and there she was – my friend Judy and husband Mike – looking exactly the same and sharing their new home with us all! Luckily I was connected with her son via Instagram and he gave me her phone number and so finally as we were in the same town at the same time we managed to catch up! It was seriously as if we had seen each other just last week – we picked straight up where we left off all those years ago and it was lovely.

Yesterday saw 16 of us venture up the mountain to enjoy a wonderful lunch at Mount Ashby Estate – a winery with a lovely restaurant in a beautiful setting. The day couldn’t have been more perfect with bright blue skies, sunshine and just a nice little crispness in the air to mark the first day of winter. We feel so lucky to have been recent inclusions in this group of fun people – met through golf – that are mostly all in a similar phase and stage of life. We have kids roughly the same age, properties roughly the same size and have nearly all come from Sydney in the past 10 years! This means we have a commonality and shared experiences which cannot be underestimated. A few of the group are particularly gifted with organisation which means there is a rare week that there isn’t something on – trivia or happy hour at the pub, a gathering to watch a footy game at someone’s house or an all in lunch or dinner like yesterday. It makes all the difference to life in the country where it’s easy to become isolated if you live out of town. It’s also good for me to know they are here keeping an eye on the MOTH while I’m away. So as you can see, after 2 months of being on the medical treadmill we have come out the other side and are enjoying life again – hallelujah!!