We flew home, full of bonhomie after our lovely trip – happy to have caught up with so many family and friends and with our cups full! We had 6 weeks to catch up with life in Oz before we packed up again to visit Canada – somewhere neither of us had been. The weeks filled up quickly with some lovely occasions. Our dear friends Dave and Anne threw a “long lunch” for about 100 of their closest friends at The Royal Sydney Golf Club in Rose Bay. It was a magnificent venue to celebrate their wedding on a fabulously sunny Autumn day with delicious food, fab wines and a great band! It was so wonderful to see them both SO happy at this age and stage of life – ain’t love grand!

We are officially in Bird Season. To be more accurate Cockatoo Season. First it was the Corellas – hundreds and hundreds of them. You could hear them from 2 kms away screeching their little hearts out as they flew together in formation looking for their next target! They decided they liked our lane and they descended on every conceivable fence, tree, telegraph pole or electricity wire in sight. They were full of the joys of Spring….in Winter, with 1 in 5 pairs mating at every given chance, rolling around in the middle of the road like a pack of teenagers completely disregarding their safety from oncoming cars and tractors. The result was the odd white body, left in situ in the hope they would learn their lesson………..Now the Sulphur crested Cockies have arrived – less of them but much bigger and noisier than the Corellas and with as much if not more mess from their ravaging of the trees. Our pecan and macadamia trees have been totally stripped – in eleven years we are yet to get one bowl of nuts before the birds arrive. We popped some nets over our mandarin, grapefruit and orange trees to sabotage any attempts they made on our citrus crop and have actually had quite a lot of fruit – a miracle!

There have been a few changes in our High Street in Berry. Some businesses that have been there for 20 years have shut down – people retiring and moving away and some just coming to the end of their popularity. A new ladies clothes shop is a welcome addition and a new small wine bar has become a very popular venue very quickly proving there was a niche in the market for those that don’t always want to go to a pub with their TVs, pokies and snooker tables! There is a venue for everyone and this has become our go to spot for both a larger group (there is a large indoor communal table) and for a cosy drink with the girls outside watching the world go by with braziers and optional blankets for your lap. Nick also owns the locals favourite coffee shop and has an innate knack for knowing what people like. In this instance, choosing the best wines at a reasonable price and providing not meals but frenchified bar snacks, cheese and charcuterie, olives , almonds and soft pretzels – a popular move, My local girls and I made the best of both the newcomers in one evening when the dress shop had its official launch and we followed up with a bottle of red at Le Bar – perfect!

One of my loveliest Sydney friends had a “special” birthday to celebrate and we made it the perfect excuse to get together down in this neck of the woods. My friend Leigh has finally finished her beautiful new house in Kangaroo Valley and was excited to share it with the Sydney gals for an evening of eating, drinking, chatting and giggling! We attempted the worst board game ever and tried silicon face masks that slithered all over the place making us look like melted academy awards! Leigh managed to anchor hers with her specs at least! It was lovely to wake up the next morning with the mist curling around the house, the kangaroos jumping past and the kookaburras singing their hearts out – so very Australian. We drove to Bowral for a spot of shopping and some lunch before bidding the city girls farewell and heading back down the mountain!

To round off our 6 weeks we finally caught up with our little boys who seem to have shot up and got new teeth since we last saw them! They are growing up so fast and we had a lovely time together. We ventured out to watch The Swans play which was fun as we caught public transport – SO much more fun than driving a car! They are finally old enough to sit and actually watch a game (or most of it – lets face it, an AFL game is super long even for an adult!) and we also had a great time at the bowling alley and Timezone. Cooking with Dad at home is always fun – he makes a mean banana cake and licking the beaters is as much fun in 2026 as it was in 1966! They loved their new question and answer book and we had a lovely snuggly start reading it in bed while their Dad made us all pancakes for brekky – heaven!

So here we are 2 sleeps away from getting back on a plane and I am getting quite excited. Our last trip was to places I knew and loved well but this trip is to somewhere NEW, as my sister says – I am going somewhere my feet have never been! It will be an adventure and we’re going to make the most of it. Speak to you soon from The land of maple syrup, grizzly bears, ice hockey and the beautiful Rocky Mountains!