I think Autumn is just as transformative a season as Spring,  just in reverse! After a few hot months we can get back into the garden and reinvigorate the soil in the veggie patch after a solid growing season has leached many nutrients from it. As we are starting to get the odd inch of rain here and there things are much easier to weed and preparations for the Autumn and Winter crops are under way. Our roses are enjoying their last flush of the year and it’s a pleasure to bring them inside as it will be a while before they are back in business now. The local farmers have been out in force harvesting corn, baling hay and ploughing the soft earth with new crops while it is still warm enough to encourage growth. The whole countryside has an earthy grassy smell which is delicious. Our new chickens are starting to feel at home and so far the roosters have been playing nice and I am actually starting to quite like them! The MOTH has picked out the ‘chosen’ one and the other will be returned this week to it’s original owner as less is definitely more when it comes to roosters. They are much quieter when they don’t have to compete with another chap for the hens and hopefully “Le-Rod”(lovingly named after MOTH’s brother) will have an easy enough life wandering about with his girls without having to crow too much about it! Literally.

Our long lost mate Smutzer made an appearance this weekend after being given time off for good behaviour from helping his daughter renovate her garden and it was lovely to see the boys pottering about doing boy stuff with nails and fence lines and measuring up the cubby house for some spanking new wood to make it a totally lovely and baby safe place for young Cooper and his soon to be born cousin to play in. We were so lucky to have it already here when we bought the house, complete with a sandpit and a swing from the amazing pear tree that it shelters under, it will be a haven for the littlies when they get a bit bigger. It has a huge chalkboard inside and a slippery dip to complete the fun!! Smutz had all the old boards whipped off in a blink of an eye and will build the new deck in April with some help from our very own Grandpa of the year.

After a maniac terrorised New Zealand last week, once again I am finding solace in nature as we come to grips with the extremes of human nature. Such hatred with it’s devastating results followed by much loving kindness as people tried to balance out the huge chasms between religious and political beliefs. I guess some people would say I am burying my head in the sand but losing yourself in something as simple as planting new seedlings in the soil or walking down a country lane with a dog who is full of boundless joy really helps counter those feelings of hopelessness that can occur as our total media immersion of these atrocities make you feel as if you were actually there.

Another way of giving your brain a break is to try a new hobby and my two hour art class every Friday afternoon is a wonderful way of completely switching off as I cajole my creative right hand brain to do it’s best at copying various images provided by our very patient teacher. Apparently there is no wrong way to paint a picture (which works for me!) and therefore I have no boundaries to adhere to (which also works for me…) We have had a brief introduction to various techniques and methods and we learn about layering and perspective etc through our artistic endeavours. IT IS FUN!! I am definitely no gifted genius but I think it is a very enjoyable way of passing time and looking differently at your surroundings, really noticing what is on the horizon/forefront etc. I am totally hopeless at mixing colours to get the one I had visualised in my head but as they say – practise makes perfect!

I needed some form of therapy last week as my youngest son and heir took to the ring in a charity boxing match. He saw it as a good opportunity to raise money for disadvantaged kids whilst getting fit and all under the banner of his new Company in London. It took place at The Troxy, an art deco theatre in East London and was live streamed on Facebook so luckily (or unluckily) we could watch from Australia while we were eating our cornflakes. On the day of the fight Tom received a call to say that his opponent had pulled out and had been replaced by a bloke who had previously won 4 fights. Not what a guy wants to hear on his debut and we were rather scared on his behalf . Tom The Iron Fist Cameron however had other ideas and came out guns blazing. 57 seconds later his opponent was on the floor of the ring and Tom was the winner. A knock out in the first minute of the fight! Relief all round and a smiling Tom was the victor.

My fortnightly visit to see Cooper was wonderful. The little guy is growing beautifully and is as cute as a button. If I’m lucky I get to see him awake at least twice and Liv is so sweet letting me change him, cuddle him and hang out with him for a while until the wheels fall off and he needs to shut his eyes again. Needless to say I just love those times and he looks so intensely at me with those gorgeous eyes and I feel as if he’s summing me up and I would so love to know what he’s thinking. What on earth could be going on on in their little heads at this age?

I am off to Vietnam next week for a quick visit with the pregnant one before her life changes forever! I am looking forward to seeing their new place and helping with the final preparations for the nursery as well as spending some precious Mother/Daughter time together. The list of things to bring with me range from baby cot sheets to vegemite to some new novels for the Mum to be (goodness knows when she’ll get time to actually read them though….!!) as well as gifts from the UK and Oz as Vietnam’s notoriously bad post makes it impossible to send anything directly. I, in turn, am looking forward to the fabulous Vietnamese coffee, fresh coconuts, lazing around the pool chatting and exploring her new neighbourhood. I am so grateful to live in an era where we can share this time together, albeit for a short while. My Mum and I didn’t have the same luxury 32 years ago when I had my babies 12000 miles away from her in the UK with no mobile phones or even emails. A photo had to be developed and then mailed to show her our first little baby. How times have changed and for the better in this instance!

Some things have actually changed quite a lot……….

A tattoo sleeve used to mean you were a biker who would kill, now it means you’re a chef who makes a lovely pork belly with balsamic drizzle.

It’s supposed to be Autumn and we have already seen glimpses of it. The days are drawing in and the leaves are turning red and gold but we are still having days of 30+ degrees in between the gentler days in the mid 20s so Summer hasn’t quite said goodbye just yet! We are looking forward to the change of season and an end to barbeques and salads and introducing some more robust food into the equation again! The footy has started but the cricket is still going so we are neither Arthur or Martha right now. It is nice to have cooler nights for sleeping and the sun is allowing us to sleep in until at least 6.30am as it pokes it’s head up later and later. A lovely time of the year to be sure.

We are making the most of these last days to go for lovely long beach walks. I’ve finally realised it’s much better if I look up the tides before I pack the choccy drop into the car and take off, thus insuring we can walk on hard flat sand if the tide is on the way out. She absolutely loves it, running through the water and investigating anything interesting that may have been washed up. The bonus is always meeting other dogs and seeing them all run around together like puppies. Our girl is fairly submissive and doesn’t seem to get into any trouble but she freaks out a bit if she bumps into any kelpies. These are the sheepdog of choice in Australia and they just can’t help themselves as soon as they see other animals. They stalk slowly and then drop down as Bailey approaches before suddenly jumping up and circling her in an attempt to “round her up” and she really doesn’t appreciate all the attention and the intrusion into her personal space! She is much happier fetching sticks or balls and running up the beach as if she owns the place!

We have some new arrivals in the chicken coop. Yesterday saw a delivery of 4 Sussex hens and 2 roosters! They are only 16 weeks old but already larger than our two existing Australorps so it has been an interesting introduction. This picture is pretty typical of the current standoff.  The older chooks always usually peck the living daylights out of the newbies but in this instance its just a little bit of argy-bargy to let them know who’s boss as their bigger size creates a slightly more even playing field! We are only keeping the 2 roosters for a couple of weeks until we decide which of them we prefer to keep (on what grounds you choose a better rooster I have no idea??) and as yet they are not old enough to crow so we’ll just see how things go in the chook yard as they get older, bigger and louder!

I whizzed up to Sydney for 24 hours for a flying visit to have cuddles with my new grandson who as you can see is totally gorgeous . He is three weeks old and is growing nicely. He hasn’t quite worked out what is night and day yet which makes for a couple of tired parents but they are doing a grand job and he really is a pretty good baby. There is nothing better than just snuggling up with him on the couch as he sleeps so comfy and contented. They are coming to The Meadow to stay at Easter and I can’t wait to spend more than just a couple of hours with him. Hopefully his Mum and Dad can go off and enjoy a nice lunch somewhere and have some adult time while we look after the little guy.

As I left my shoes behind in my hurry to have Cooper cuddles my friend kindly offered to bring them down for me as she was in her Kangaroo Valley house for the weekend and I drove up yesterday to collect them. It was a glorious day and I love the drive up there, winding up the mountain and passing through pockets of ancient rainforest as you climb to the top of the escarpment where you have views to the ocean on one side and down into the beautiful Kangaroo Valley on the other. The temperature drops at least 5 degrees at the top, there is little to no phone reception and you can totally imagine what it must have been like when the original explorers made their way up the mountain through thick vegetation on horseback or with bullocks and carts to discover that green valley perfect for farming on the other side. The first recorded European sighting of the valley was in April 1812, when surveyor-explorer George Evans passed through the area as he travelled north from his exploration of Jervis Bay. Evans reportedly claimed that the valley offered a view that “no painter could beautify.” and to this day it attracts artists and photographers and has a slightly bohemian feel with a charming little township servicing the 900 odd people that live permanently in the valley and the several hundred more that arrive every weekend! My friend lives in the Upper Kangaroo Valley and as I drove alongside the meandering Kangaroo River I saw little puffs of dust as farmers tended their fields, their tractors ruffling up the dry earth as they went. Despite the need for more rain (it is a constant catch cry wherever you go!) the huge variety of trees gives a lushness to the parched earth. The bird calls here are amazing and it is a wonderful peaceful place to while away a weekend.

Meanwhile in Ho Chi Minh City preparations are forging ahead for the imminent arrival of our little granddaughter (does life get any better folks????) She now has a little bedroom to call her own as they moved to a bigger three bed apartment last week which they LOVE! Loz has been having a lovely time decorating the nursery and getting as prepared as she can although the simplest of things have been hard to find over there (a clothes horse/airer is unheard of and the cot sheets are all nylon – eek!) Her lovely friends threw her an impromptu baby shower over the weekend which made her feel very special and with less than 6 weeks to go we are ready for another beautiful little bub to join the clan! These new little people have given us even more reason to stay fit, healthy and happy so we can be here to see them grow up and enjoy all the happiness that they bring. They also make me look at the world and wish I could make all the bad stuff go away so they can have the best life ever, but we all have the ability within ourselves to make every day count and live our best life, we just have to tap into all the amazing opportunities that life offers – big or small. Having these tiny little people is teaching me a lot about living life…

I’m a Grandma!! Or in my case a Grammy. None of the normal Grandma/Nanna/Granny titles seemed appropriate somehow, especially as 3 of Cooper’s great grandparents are still alive and bearing those names so Grammy I am and I’m loving it! He is totally delicious and has the sweetest little face. He really looks at you, almost into you with those beautiful eyes and the whole family is totally smitten! It’s especially hard for his Aunty and Uncle who are living overseas but with the wonders of technology they have been able to share everything except an actual cuddle!

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So we are one down with one to go with our little granddaughter due at Easter, what a year we are having!! I am off to Vietnam for a quick trip to spend some time with the Mummy-to-be and help her decorate the nursery and other Mother/Daughterly things. More importantly to be a support to her before she gives birth in a foreign land away from her family although thankfully they have a lovely group of friends in Ho Chi Minh City who I know will be there for her. The expat community there are very close as they are all basically in the same boat and understand the needs of their contemporaries completely.

Needless to say everything else in our life has been on a bit of a back burner but we are very much enjoying the cooler change in the weather to get the garden up to scratch, the grass is finally growing back around the new pool area and by Easter it should be looking more like a lawn again instead of a work site. Some rain would help of course but that’s like winning the lottery! The cabana still needs some final touches, hanging paintings, mirrors and hooks for towels etc but it has already become a valuable space for us – an extra entertaining area or a place to read in quiet contemplation. If the peewees would leave it alone it would be even better. The silly things see their reflection in the doors and think there are other birds to fight and they get their knickers in a knot. I come out in the morning to find feathers and bird poo everywhere and I am slightly fearful as to the fate of my brand new huge mirror that will be going up on the wall – will they end up flying into it and causing themselves and the pool house damage? Only time will tell…..

We have been very happy to see our tiny birds back in the garden. They are a mixture of wrens and finches and it is delightful to hear their twittering, pitched higher and easily heard over the rather strident calls of the bigger birds. They dip and dart in and out of the bushes as fast as bullets and are obviously happy that our garden is finally maturing and that they once again have some good cover for their nests.They love to hide in dense and sometimes prickly hedges and shrubs that other bigger creatures cannot venture into. Smart cookies!

In an attempt to use some of the gazillion zucchinis in the veggie patch I have been dicing them and putting them into just about everything. We tasted a lovely raw zucchini, chilli, mint and parmesan salad at our local Italian in Berry ‘Bussola’ which was made using a vegetable peeler to make long thin strips which marinates beautifully. Funnily enough though our favourite thing to do is the old fashioned favourite ‘zucchini slice” which can be ‘jujjed’ up with any manner of ingredients and makes a tasty lunch or snack. A recipes can be found in the kitchen section of this site 🙂

So in a week where we have seen the circle of life well and truly represented as we farewelled one friend and also welcomed in our little grandson I am feeling quite philosophical. Another generation full of hope and promise is here and in turn we are a step further up the ladder (eeek!!) but that makes it even more important for us to embrace all that this life offers and to stay fit so we can play with our grandkids! I start a four week art class next week thanks to a birthday gift from my family and I am looking forward to challenging myself to learn something new a bit out of my comfort zone!

It has been a lovely few weeks of that summer holiday feeling as we enjoyed the month that traditionally has Sydney emptying out and the beaches of Australia filling up as everyone escapes for the school holidays. The weather has been perfect with just the odd 40 degree day with earlyish southerly changes bringing cool breezes and/or thunderstorms so we haven’t had to endure too many hot days in a row. Australia Day officially ended the school holidays and we joined some friends at The Shoalhaven Heads Hotel for a couple of hours of fun. Jugs of cocktails served from their gorgeous 1950’s caravan ‘Hetty’ to enjoy whilst watching the crab races and then the thong throwing competition! Simple family fun with everyone decked out in Australiana and enjoying the live music and some local fish and chips. Things certainly don’t have to be high end to be fun and it was a great afternoon out.

Trying to write the numbers on the teeny tiny crabs proved tricky but the boys got the job done and there was much excitement in the crab ring as to who was going to win the contest!!

We have been getting stuck into the garden which had gone rather wild during the holiday period and was in dire need of some hours being spent weeding, trimming and harvesting some rather huge zucchinis and cucumbers that had escaped our attention! The landscapers came and finished off the new flower beds with some metal edging, fingers crossed it will deter the grass runners and give the MOTH an edge to whipper snip to, making life easier all round! Our new gardenia hedge is now weeded, mulched and enjoying it’s new position with lots of flower buds and bright new growth. It should smell gorgeous when all the flowers are out!

I went out and bought some nets for my plum trees which were laden with fruit and things were looking hopeful for me to finally make a decent batch of jam. The nets managed to cover about 3/4 of each tree, and I pegged the nets onto the branches to make it impenetrable and felt quite proud of my efforts until hubby said he saw two pairs of lorikeets (little cheeky parrots) hopping up from the ground onto the bottom branches and working their way upwards!! Needless to say they well and truly beat me on the race to the fruit and I literally managed to get ONE plum from each tree for us. They destroyed the entire crop, sometimes only taking one bite out of each plum before going onto the next one. Bailey had it all worked out, lying on the floor under the trees and eating all the fruit that the birds knocked down. Animals 1: Susie 0

As our first grandchild’s arrival is imminent we thought it would be nice to have a night up in The Big Smoke and take the parents-to-be out for a grown up night out with dinner and a show. We went along to The Book of Mormon and loved it. A very funny and irreverent take on The Mormon Church and I’d forgotten how much fun live theatre can be. It was especially nice to celebrate the start of Liv’s maternity leave and she had spent the day washing all the little baby clothes in preparation for his/her arrival! So cute to see their lounge room transformed and a few extra tiny socks to get lost in the wash…..Not long now!!

Last year I won my first ever prize at a long lunch hosted by Claydon Park. It was for 2 nights at Bannisters in Mollymook with a dining credit to boot. A very generous prize and I was excited to use it. Initially I had booked to go with my sister when she visited from the UK but we had to cancel after contracting a rotten virus. Then I thought I could go with my daughter when she visited from Vietnam at Xmas but it wasn’t valid during school holidays so as it was due to expire hubby and I went instead and we had a lovely little mini break away from the daily routine. Mollymook is about an hour further south from us and a little bit of a time warp but in a good way. We loved seeing the kids wandering home from school chatting away and happy to walk with their friends for however long it took. None of the fear based parenting that seems to happen in the city meaning kids have to be picked up and dropped off just in case some disaster befell them en route. We saw other kids, as young as 11 at 7.30am coming BACK from the beach with their surfboards tucked under their arms after a pre-school surf and not a parent in sight. It reminded hubby of the Australia he grew up in and it was reassuring to see that families can still enjoy this lifestyle today if they are lucky enough to be able to live in these coastal towns.

Bannisters has three different small hotels, two of which are in Mollymook and the other in Port Stephens and they are all owned by Rick Stein, the English chef. They all have a lovely holiday vibe, gorgeous pools and tasty summery food and cocktails which very quickly make you feel super relaxed. Lying by the pool under their sunny yellow and white striped sun brollies and with a perfect blue sky it was hard to feel anything other than content. If you are looking for a short local getaway I can highly recommend this little corner of the world.

Coming home we were happy chappies, the countryside was looking fresh and green after some nice rain and little bales were dotted all over the surrounding landscape as the farmers capitalise on their windfall, literally making hay while the sun shines and stockpiling food for the dry days that will inevitably recur. Australia really is experiencing all the extremes at the moment with the north of Queensland in flood, a years worth of rain in a few days and causing havoc. This is being watched on the news by the poor folks in southern Tasmania and Victoria who have been enduring terrible bushfires, with beautiful old growth forests burnt out and not to be replaced in our lifetime and other farmers who have had to cull their herds of cattle due to lack of feed and fresh water. It certainly is a tough continent. If we could only find a way to share all our water around…..

Turning into our lane our feelings of happiness quickly subsided as we saw there was obviously a problem with some cows in the paddock. The farmers and vets were there and our hearts sank as we realised things were not good. Two cows were obviously dead and a third was being put out of it’s misery. Apparently it was a case of kikuyu poisoning which is very hard to diagnose until adverse symptoms are noticed. The grass can produce a toxin after periods of drought followed by good rain and it is still unsure as to whether the army worms that like to live in the kikuyu are responsible for the toxins or if it something else. Either way it is a serious threat to small herds and extremely upsetting to all that witness it. I felt so helpless watching these beautiful gentle animals obviously struggling and can only imagine what it must be like for the farmers that have raised them. Heart breaking. We are all hoping that it doesn’t affect any other animals and they have all been moved away to other paddocks just in case. Honestly, who in their right mind would be a farmer?? I take my hat off to them.

Cows are such lovely animals, social, curious, gentle, quiet and engaging.

While the Northern Hemisphere freezes in minus temps with masses of snow causing avalanches we are sweating it out under 35 degree skies with icy drinks and salads galore (anything to avoid putting the oven on!) and this is how we know it is January. Every year it somehow takes us by surprise with media headlines crying record temps and adverts for aircon and swimming pools tempting us with their wares. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise for either continent that we are experiencing these conditions. The height of winter and summer respectively and I love both of them!

How terrible it would be to live in the same temperature all year round and never experience the seasons. No change of clothing, snuggly jumpers in winter or shorts and singlets in summer, no change in bedding from cosy throws to light linen sheets, no pies and puddings or bbqs and salads, mulled wine or icy rose. It would all be rather ho-hum and don’t even get me started on the garden and the variety of plants and trees we’d miss out on! So I’m not going to whinge about the heat, I’m just going to get up a bit earlier to water the garden and wait for a cooler day to work out there and in the meantime I’m going to enjoy everything that summer brings as it will only be a matter of months before everyone starts to complain how cold they are again!!!

Having said that it has been so wonderful to be able to cool down in the pool and not have to stay inside under a fan or in the air conditioning and we have made FULL USE of it over the summer period. Lauren had a few of her girls to stay for the weekend including Estella who is 2 and we had a great weekend mooching about and talking non stop as girls tend to do when they get together! Poor Cam just couldn’t understand how we could listen and talk simultaneously. Luckily the cricket was on so he wandered off shaking his head to the sanctuary of the TV room! He was however in his element in the evening when he stoked up the woodfired oven and cooked up a whole load of pizzas for the girls. We’re starting to get the hang of it now and have discovered we don’t actually have to have a fire burning for hours and hours beforehand, about an hour and a half is fine so it is much easier to be spontaneous nowadays!

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Our Son-in-law joined us for 5 nights before he had to return to Vietnam and we had a lovely few days together.They explored the South Coast, venturing down to Jervis Bay and a few pristine beaches accessed through the National Park meaning the tourist throngs hadn’t quite discovered them yet and generally fell in love with the area. The boys squeezed in a couple of rounds of golf and bonded over the cricket. Fish and chips on the beach, a few coldies around the pool and before we knew it he was gone. Strange to think that the next time I will see him both he and Sam will be Fathers!

Needless to say babies are very much the topic of conversation around our place at the moment. Sam and Liv’s little bundle is due in 3 weeks and Lauren’s in 12 so the girls decided to make the most of the fact that Lauren was in the country and on her last weekend they hosted back to back baby showers! It was fabulous to fully immerse ourselves in everything girly, pretty and baby orientated with both sides of the family and celebrate this special time in their lives. It was so sweet of Lozzy’s friend Claire and her family to offer their Sydney home as a venue for us and we all had a fun afternoon playing games and celebrating little baby Cook. Our little Missy is going to be so very lucky to have so many “Aunties” to play with and talk to as she gets older!

It was really nice to finally meet Liv’s close friends, most of whom are already Mums and to see how much they relish it despite those first few months of being tired and emotional. Liv is lucky to have some real advise givers close at hand and the odd babysitter to boot! Both afternoons were just delightful and with some very generous gifts too I might add. Such lucky little babies.

So after a wonderful 5 weeks of having her home, Lauren flew back to Ho Chi Minh and to her hubby and the next stage of her life. We squeezed in some great beach walks, a visit to her 92 year old Pop, loads of baby shopping (especially for those important things not available in Vietnam) some time with her brother and her friends and a lot of relaxing in nature and the fresh air. My flight is booked for 2 weeks after her due date so I can hopefully be a helpful Granny and in between we have all the wonders of modern technology to keep us connected. How lucky are we?

Life in The Meadow continues and we finally got the last bit of landscaping completed this week with some metal edging being installed in the flower beds. After 4 years of continuously pulling out grass runners on a daily basis we bit the bullet and paid to install a barrier! It gives the MOTH an edge to whipper snip to and will hopefully deter at least 80% of the runners. It actually makes everything look a lot neater and more finished so I’m a happy bunny. No more projects for a while now except our little grandies, who I am so very looking forward to meeting and hopefully being a big part of their lives. WATCH THIS SPACE FOLKS!!!!

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I can’t tell you how fantastic it is to have our pool in and being enjoyed by all! I can’t really remember now what we did on a hot day before we had the pool but it mostly involved sitting under the fan inside! It has been an absolute lifesaver over the rather warm Christmas period we are currently experiencing, especially for our pregnant girls!! They loved just floating around, keeping cool and chatting about all the changes they are both going through and how they are looking forward to the next few months and the arrival of their little bundles of joy! Lauren found out 2 days before she flew to Australia that she is having a little girl so we have been having the BEST time shopping for the cutest little outfits for her! Any baby clothes from a western brand selling in Vietnam would cost a fortune so she is making the most of having all the great Aussie shops on her doorstep for a while!

Sam and Liv don’t know what they are having and are keeping it a surprise (thank goodness or I would be going twice as crazy in the shops) and it will instead be fun in a few more weeks when he/she arrives! Both girls are very well and enjoying their pregnancies for the most part so it has been a very special time having them both here with the Daddies-to-be looking after them.

Christmas was a lovely relaxed affair as it isn’t “our year” and if it wasn’t for Lauren’s surprise arrival we would have been home alone until the 27th. However we did end up celebrating both at home and with our extended family who had rented a large house in Bundanoon for the 3 days and it was lovely to see the little children’s faces as they opened their gifts. I love the chaos of Xmas Day with a crowd – the culmination of so much planning, shopping and cooking and a day that is valued so much that people drive for hours to share it with their loved ones.

The past couple of weeks have been full of simple fun as our Expat ticks off all her favourite Aussie experiences – beach walks, bacon and egg rolls at the surf club, fish and chips at the beach, barefoot bowls with the family and of course lots of yummy home cooked food of the non Vietnamese kind eaten on the veranda watching the parrots in the trees and the cows in the fields!! By default this means that we all enjoy these iconic summer activities too, simple really is best! It was lovely that she could share lots of this with her big brother and they are all looking forward to next Xmas already when “Uncle Tom’ will fly from London to visit his little nieces/nephew and complete the family circle.

Needless to say having our two pregnant girls here together the talk was mostly about the impending arrivals and comparing nursery requirements and goo-ing and gaa-ing over the tiny little clothes that are being collected. It really is quite special having two little cousins “cooking” at the same time and although they won’t see much of each other for the first 18 months of their life while half the family remain in Vietnam they will hopefully later on become good buddies. This is the first of many photos together no doubt!!

After a late start to our summer the weather has given in spades. Hot and humid in the mornings with big rolling thunderstorms in the afternoon. A huge downpour of rain for 10 minutes and then the afternoon sea breeze usually kicks in to cool things down so needless to say the garden is thriving. The grass is going troppo and the MOTH is on his mower every second day and the veggie patch is as happy as Larry. The rain means we don’t have to be a slave to watering and everything is lush and green. The cows are up to their thighs in grass and it’s hard to believe that we were in a drought just a couple of months ago. Water restrictions were officially lifted yesterday and we’re just hoping that things are also getting a bit easier for the farmers inland too. Sometimes the rain doesn’t make it over the first mountain range and it’s just the coast that gets the benefit of these summer storms.

We can’t actually keep up with the amount of fresh daily produce but manage to swop with the neighbours when there’s a glut. There are only so many dishes you can make with tomatoes and zucchinis! The worst part is we love roasted vegetable salads but who wants to put the oven on when it’s 36 degrees!!

So here we are in 2019, another turn around the sun and another year older but enjoying all that this life has to offer (except for the getting older bit hahaha!) The kids pledged their faith in me by getting me some painting equipment for Xmas and therefore this is the time for me to try my hand at something new. If elephants can paint then surely I have half a chance to do SOMETHING semi recognisable???? Watch this space folks…………….

 

This tranquil moment was a couple of weeks ago now and I feel like it was the last time we didn’t have a ‘to do’ list a mile long! We had a fab evening with our friends from Callala Bay, he had been out fishing that day and caught a whole load of beautiful fresh Flathead for us, even cleaning, filleting and pin boning them for us to take home, thanks Nifty, they were delicious!! The next morning we headed off with the Choccy Drop to the local beach where it was just us for as far as you could see. I love early morning walks along the beach, nothing like some sand between your toes and the salt water on your skin to make you feel alive. It has been a busy couple of weeks but today I finally have a minute to sit down as I am awaiting a delivery that apparently could arrive any time between 8am and 8pm and which has to be personally signed for! This is unusual in these days of internet shopping as usually, if I am not here they just leave it on the veranda or take it to our local Post Office for me to sign for it there. Today however I am waiting for 2 sun loungers for the pool area which are a bit big for the local post office collection thus I am catching up with all my ‘inside’ jobs! What’s the betting they arrive at 7.30pm!!The pool is in and the tradies have finally left, now all that is left is to finish it all off with plants and furniture etc. Needless to say by the end of a project there is nowhere near enough left in the budget to do all you originally envisage but we are getting there slowly! Thanks to a Super Storm that dumped 4 inches of rain on us in 24 hours our new turf around the pool is now looking good and I have spent 3 days planting 200 gardenias around the perimeter of the fence where they should soften the boundary and add colour and fragrance to the mix! It was hard work, leaving me with raw weeping blisters on my palm until a knight in shining armour arrived in the form of Pat from next door with his fence post digger to dig the last 100 holes for me! I LOVE my neighbours!

The MOTH has been away in the depths of North Africa for the past week as he visited The Ivory Coast and the cocoa plantations who supply his company with all their raw products. It was a very long way to go for a week and demanded a lot of preparation with many, many vaccinations, yellow fever, rabies, hepatitis and cholera as well as a couple of weeks worth of malaria tablets. And Africa being Africa it also took tons of paperwork and expensive visas before being allowed to even set foot on African soil. As they had to refuel in Ghana a transit visa was apparently necessary and at $200+ and involving trips to and from the consulate to apply in person, they didn’t even end up getting off the plane! Crazy. It was a thoroughly unique and memorable trip despite a slightly fraught itinerary and trips literally through the jungle (no paths) in 4 wheel drives to reach the Women’s Co-op, remote villages and schools. The kids were SO happy to see them and receive the funny little gifts the boys had taken for them. As there is very little facial hair in Africa some of the kids were quite mesmerised with Wayne’s face and he had a little flock of kids around him just staring at him! White AND hairy!!!

When they arrived they were received by the Village Chief and in a little welcoming ceremony were given the gift of a live rooster, a bottle of rum and some local cava type drink that was passed around in a coconut shell to share! The rum got left behind but the poor rooster got chucked in the back of the van with all the luggage and sqwarked indignantly every time they went around a corner and a case landed on top of him! Apparently it would have been very rude not to accept it but I dread to think what ended up happening to him. Of course while the MOTH was over there playing Big White Chief I was here with the floods, 100km high winds which reduced my Jacaranda to a mere trunk – completely blowing the branches straight off. Also right on cue I had to deal with the obligatory dead chicken. I swear they wait until he drives to the airport before curling their toes up. That means we only have 2 chooks now, one of which has gone clucky and has had to be taken off the nest (where she spent all her time with her feathers all fluffed up and making little motherly clucking sounds)  and put into solitary confinement for a few days until those broody feelings disappear! We will get some more in the New Year, Wayne is talking about getting some Sussex hens. I really hope they will all get along this time….

The day before he left for Africa we drove to Wagga Wagga to celebrate his Aunty Joan’s 80th birthday. It was a 5 hour drive each way but worth it to see our extended family all under one roof. The biggest surprise for Joan was the unexpected arrival of her two brothers. They are the last of the 7 siblings and it was so lovely to see them altogether and celebrating a very special lady’s birthday. At 92 my Father in Law Col did very well and I loved seeing him chatting away to all his nieces and nephews and looking so animated. Many stories from the ‘Old Days’ were recounted and a good time was had by all.

Our local village is starting to look very festive with many of the trees wrapped in candy cane red and white and the Xmas Tree taking pride of place in the shopping centre. The shops are all participating in Xmas specials and we have the much anticipated Santa Race as the highlight of The Berry Merry Christmas on December 13th. I won’t see it this year as I will be up in Sydney collecting Lauren from her flight from Vietnam. She has finished her 3 month stint with the U.N in Bangkok and is happy to be home with her hubby and planning for their little baby. She is half way through her pregnancy now and I can’t wait to see her and her bump and spend some special Mother/Daughter time together. I have invested in some floating pool chairs with drink holders for our two pregnant girls to float around on over Xmas, if the sun ever comes out enough to get in the pool that is!! The weather has been very strange and quite cool but apparently that is all going to change any minute now!

Despite cooler temperatures my veggies are still doing their thing and we are so happy that our tomatoes are ripening and providing us with the deliciousness that only home grown ones can! At least the bugs haven’t discovered them just yet and neither have the parrots noticed my beautiful little baby apples but you can bet your bottom dollar that the minute they start ripening and sweetening up they will be all over them like a rash!

So I am going to enjoy the next few weeks in the lead up to Christmas, we will miss Tommy of course who is LOVING his time in London and getting right into the Christmassyness that they do so well over there. He has embraced his inner Brit and is enjoying the wool coats and scarves, pub lunches and log fires that come along with the winter weather and he, Max and 20 of their Aussie ex pat friends are going to have an “Orphan’s” Christmas together, no doubt with lots of celebratory food and wine and stories reminiscing about Christmas at home which is a very different affair! We will toast each other from afar and next year we will all be here together (with two very new small people joining The Cameron Clan) and Christmas will be magical once again but in a totally different way!! Merry Christmas everyone!

 

I have finally turned the corner and am starting to feel like my old self again! It’s been a long 5 weeks but it has really made me appreciate how good I usually feel!! And guess what? While I have been feeling sorry for myself and hibernating indoors, Spring has finally sprung! It’s definitely a bit late this year, a direct correlation I think to the glorious Indian Summer that the northern hemisphere has been enjoying, but the tide is about to turn both ends of the world and I’m pretty sure that in another few weeks we will be basking in more normal temperatures and sunshine. The garden has blossomed despite our very dry winter, the roses are bursting with colour and blooms are everywhere you look. The hydrangeas have doubled in size and are flowering beautifully just in time for me to cut bunches of them for the guest bedrooms and the trees are in full leaf, hiding at least 4 different birds nests. We have baby peewees, top notch pigeons, wattle bird babies and baby magpies just to name a few. Baby bunnies scurry out of the hedges when we water them, tiny little adorable balls of fluff ( at least that’s what I call them, the MOTH describes them somewhat differently!!) The fields are full of little calves and the jacarandas are in full throttle with purple puddles of gorgeousness everywhere you look. Even the saplings I planted last year have one solitary panicle of beautiful indigo flowers which is a good sign they will really come to the party next year and eventually provide some decent shade for the hydrangeas.

After nearly 4 years in The Meadow the garden is finally starting to fill in and mature and it is a real pleasure to wander around, cuppa in hand and enjoy it! Of course with all the work on the pool our lawn is looking decidedly dead/trashed/ruined around that area and we are very much looking forward to seeing it transformed later this week with some new turf. As usual with a renovating project there is no money left at the end for all the fun decorating part! I know exactly what I want but it will have to happen gradually. Thank goodness we have lots of different chairs scattered around our wrap around veranda that can be ‘borrowed’ for the pool for a while and at least we have already made the very important purchase of the ‘chilled beverage fridge’!! Now we just need some summery weather….

As I propelled myself back to full health we made a few trips to Shoalhaven Heads where we can walk the Choccy Drop guilt free on the beach as it is an official leash free zone. She loves nothing more than running off into the shallows chasing a ball or just sniffing all the interesting things that get washed up on the beach. She comes home bedraggled, exhausted and very happy to sleep the rest of the afternoon in the sunshine on the veranda. A dog’s life indeed!! A new venture has just started up at The Heads, Bangalay Villas and Dining, a well thought out eco friendly retreat right on the beach and it’s lovely to be able to go there for a coffee or some breakfast after our walks! It’s a step up on the local eateries and I hope that people embrace it as The Heads will be an even nicer destination with a few more options for dining.

We also ventured to The Heads Pub for a fun Melbourne Cup Lunch, it was a lovely relaxed day with a few wins on the ponies, a nice lunch and some great chats with friends old and new on our table. A big thanks to my friend Leigh for lending me her lovely fascinator and earning me a best dressed prize and to Maryan who went above and beyond with organising the day….

In the continuation of this years proclamation of news in The Cameron family, I am very excited to share that we have an engagement in the family! Liv and Sam were on holiday up on the Sunshine Coast when he proposed and she actually said yes!!! Doesn’t she know what a crazy family she is getting into??? Hahaha!! We are all thrilled and very excited to welcome her into the Cameron Clan and to have yet another wonderful event to look forward to. Our cup well and truly runneth over…Isn’t love grand!

The gorgeous couple, congratulations guys ♥♥

Struck down by a fast moving mystery virus that seemed to change on a daily basis we set off from Hobart in our hire car thankfully unaware of what lay ahead and optimistic as always that it would “just be a 24 hour thing” and a few hours later we pulled into Coles Bay in the beautiful Freycinet National Park. I spent a couple of days here about 7 years ago and absolutely fell in love with it and was keen to show Sandy all the area had to offer. Our little cabin in The Big 4 Caravan Park would normally have sufficed with us being out all day exploring, walking and eating our  way around the Bay but it ended up being like a prison as we succumbed further into an acute tiredness and hacking cough/sore throat/nausea. We had no appetite which meant my very favourite Marine Bay Farm with its amazing oysters was given a big miss as were all the local restaurants and their delicious local pinots….sigh. Determined not to miss out on all the area had to offer we dug deep and walked up to the Wineglass Bay lookout. Up through beautiful pink granite and amazing rock formations we went, enjoying the view from the top and capable of no further walking we were happy to trundle downhill and call it a day. Our walking friend from The Three Capes arrived that night giving us a perfect excuse to attempt dinner but even a shared pizza was just too much and all we wanted was sleep! Annie had gone downhill after the Capes Walk too but seemed to bounce back much faster than we did which was just as well as she was off to walk The Tarkine! A chance encounter with a wallaby with not one but two babies in her pouch made us feel grateful for this chance to immerse ourselves in nature despite our bodies not coming to the party.

Feeling rather grim we were happy to set off the next morning to Cradle Mountain where we had splashed out and rented a lovely cabin complete with a log fire. The amazing Peppers owned Cradle Mountain Lodge was a mere 2 minute walk away on a raised boardwalk where we passed wombats and pademelons galore, all completely oblivious to us and it was an absolute joy to be able to get up so close and personal with them. The huge roaring log fire, leather armchairs and delicious food were all very welcome and the rain only made it feel more cosy indoors and a good excuse to snuggle up and have a few afternoon naps. After not eating for about 5 days we were starting to feel hungry even if we couldn’t manage much (and in Sandy’s case, she couldn’t taste much either!) so thankfully on our last night we made it to the restaurant and actually enjoyed our meal. We had forced ourselves to go to Dove Lake where you can walk the 6km circuit through many different environments, lush green woodland, exposed stone tracks (mostly going up, always up…) and finally you arrive at the iconic boatshed which is such a well known picture immediately associated with Cradle Mountain. It had rained for 3/4 of the walk and we were cold and soaked through, but quite chuffed with ourselves for doing it nonetheless. You can knock The Bradley sisters down but not completely out thank you very much!!!

 

We drove into Launceston absolutely pooped and despite previous thoughts about walking The Gorge we literally collapsed into a heap, ordered some take away which we mostly didn’t eat and fell into bed. We were SOOOO looking forward to heading back to The Meadow where we could see a doctor, go to a chemist and just recuperate. Our last week together was mostly spent on various verandas sitting, chatting and sleeping! Wayne would leave us sleeping in the morning and come home to us sleeping in the afternoon and even then we could barely make it to 9pm before crashing out again for 9-10 hours! We did manage a few drives, spending a nice hour at Hyams Beach on beautiful Jervis Bay with its whiter than white sand and turquoise water which helped rejuvenate us. Also an hour sitting in the shade of the deep veranda at The Cambewarra Lookout, watching colourful parrots flit to and fro. The owner was concerned enough at my appearance to ask if I was feeling ok which gives you an indication of how well we were going! Luckily all this sitting around gave us many many opportunities to chat about everything under the sun which was what the holiday was primarily all about and despite everything we did have a really lovely time together!

 

The final night arrived and Sam caught a train down to share the last supper and a bonfire with his Aunty before she set off back to the UK. Due to our circumstances she had hardly bought anything to take home but was very pleased to find that our supermarkets sell pink Himalayan pouring salt in 1kg containers and this was one of the very few things she had packed to take back. Sadly and in complete keeping with the rest of the holiday, security at the airport deemed a kilo of salt was 500g too much and confiscated it! Even more sadly, when she went to freshen up in Dubai after a 14 hour flight she discovered that the burly security officers had forgotten to replace her toiletries bag into her hand luggage after rifling through its contents and it contained all her contact lenses and some very expensive items totalling about $400!!! On phoning the airport I was told “the computer shows that nothing was left behind”….grrrrr! I suppose it was a fitting end to a slightly wonky holiday and in true Bradley fashion we laughed when we could easily have cried! Luckily we have a UK holiday planned next year (to see London’s latest mover and shaker) and I am planning a nice trip to Cornwall together with my Mum and Sister so fingers crossed we will have better luck there! It’s always much easier to say goodbye when you know you are going to see each other within 12 months. Bye Sis and thanks for being you  xx

 

So, three weeks later and I’m still not quite right but life is vaguely back to normal and busy again with the pool house coming along nicely although it’s mostly a game of one step forward and two steps back as the builders and the landscapers dance a waltz of whose turn it is to do something next. We do have progress but it’s taking its sweet time. It will all be worth it when it’s finished and we’re enjoying time with our friends and family in that cool blue water…..

 

In even more exciting news there will be yet ANOTHER family member to enjoy it with as I am very happy to announce that my daughter is also expecting a baby next year. She is 9 weeks behind our 1st little grandie with the babies due in February and April!!! How lucky am I??? As my sister says, it’s like waiting for a London bus, there are none for ages and then two come along at once!!! We are super happy and very excited for our growing family. She will have the baby in Vietnam and stay there for another year before heading back to Australia so it looks like we will be regular travellers to Ho Chi Minh City in the next 12 months!! I love the thought of the little cousins growing up so close in age and hopefully being good friends, just like our kids (we had  3 under 4) who have turned out to be such close mates as a result. Very Happy Days Indeed!!!

Our little Grand Bump ♥♥♥

 

If, dear readers, you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, I basically went to Tasmania on holiday with my sister who was visiting from the UK and fell down the proverbial rabbit hole…!! Life has been somewhat on hold for the past few weeks as both us girls battled a tenacious and everchanging virus that was bestowed upon us by a fellow walker who arrived amongst us on Day 2 of our visit and left 10/12 people struggling by Day 5!! We were a small group of 12 walkers thrust together for 3 days of exploring The Three Capes in a wild corner of Tassie. We loved the idea of the trip as we only had to carry day packs and every night we had a comfy bed in a lovely villa at beautiful Stewarts Bay Lodge with a nice dinner and a couple of wines before being whisked off to the next walking location the following day. Sheer luxury in comparison to our last walking ‘holiday’ together when we walked the Portuguese Camino de Santiago and carried our lives on our backs and stayed in Pilgrim Albergues with up to 40 other walkers, so exhausted that we didn’t really care about our bunk bed style accommodation with complete strangers! This was going to be different and we were excited as we landed in Hobart with a spare day before the start of our walk.

We stayed down at Constitution Dock in the middle of happening little Hobart which we LOVED. Our first night was dedicated to meeting up with a girl we went to boarding school in England with 40 years ago and who now lives in Hobart! It was a lovely evening full of local pinot noir and endless conversation about where our lives had taken us in the intervening years and the next day Jenny drove us up to the top of Mount Wellington which looks out majestically over the entire Hobart area and is well worth the drive. We took a ferry to MONA (Museum of old and new art) which in itself is the most amazing building and thrust ourselves into a rather Alice in Wonderland-esque world where nothing is quite as it seems. Some of it was fantastic, others a little weird but we had a great day, including a lovely lunch outside in the sunshine. We were optimistic about what lay ahead…..

So in what can only be said was a state of “not as fit as we thought we would be by now” we turned up at our collection point looking the business in our hiking boots and brandishing walking poles like pros. That’s about where it started and finished as we realised we were probably the weakest duo of the group and could potentially hold these people up on the trail. Luckily the company we booked with ‘Life’s an Adventure’ had 2 guides especially so they could take a stronger AND weaker group at a slightly different pace, ensuring that everyone got something out of the walk. Day 1 was the EASY day apparently and we did complete it despite struggling on the uphill stretches. Our fearless leader Barry was a mine of information and pointed out all the flora and fauna along the way and stopped frequently for photo opportunities. It is certainly a beautiful part of the world. So wild and craggy with huge black sheer granite cliffs with massive waves smashing against them but also inland forests of trees covered in moss and lichen, a fairyland where you wouldn’t be surprised to come across a gnome sitting on a toadstool!!

That night after a hot shower we bundled into our van and had dinner overlooking the historic site of Port Arthur, all lit up and a living reminder of how far we have come since those initial years of settlement. It really is a beautiful part of the world with a special quality that you can’t quite put your finger on. We were all tucked up in bed by 9.30pm anticipating another full day ahead. We had already opted for the shorter walk so that we could visit Port Arthur in the afternoon and the weather was shaping up to be just perfect. The day dawned as predicted and we enjoyed a beautiful walk along to Fortescue Bay showing us more woodland hugging the coastline and many different flowers and evidence of native animals, in particular the Tasmanian Devil. We never saw one but followed their trails. Dappled sunshine and a slower pace meant we really enjoyed this walk and thoroughly enjoyed our tourist status at the Lavender Farm and later on through the now very serene grounds of Port Arthur which was right next door to our Lodge.

This was our favourite day and as the first ominous signs of a tickly throat and cough made themselves present we didn’t think for a minute it was going to affect us adversely. Day 3 dawned and we set off in a Shotover style boat to explore the 3rd Cape – Cape Pillar. Thank goodness we did as we were told for once and donned about 10 layers of clothing as things really revved up once we got out of the Bay and we were zooming at wharp speed towards some of the most awe inspiring cliffs. Hardcore climbers like to climb this vertical pillar and walk along the spine of the cliffs but we were content to stay in the boat and appreciate their sheer vertical-ness and magnificence from the water! It was FREEZING though, a couple of tough German guys had turned up in shorts and tee shirts and I can only imagine how cold they must have been!

Then the final walk, wending our way up stone stairs up and around the cliffs, up and up and up! It was tough and a few people had either stayed in the van or turned back and by the time we got back there were people asleep all over the van, a bad sign of what was to come as it turns out…. Unfortunately the very nature of the van hadn’t helped as we were basically hermetically sealed within it, no windows opened and we had to rely on aircon for “fresh” air as we bumped along the track. This meant we all shared Lyn’s germs,including the tour leader and full grown men with most of us gonners by the time we made it back to Hobart. The final insult was still to come. As we all fell out of the van, so keen for a shower and a comfy bed Barry informed us that we had lost the door to our trailer on the bumpy track and that 2 of our cases were missing. Two guesses as to who they belonged to! Actually we were lucky that Sandy still had hers so we could at least share some clean clothes and toiletries but until I heard a few hours later that the cases had been found I was definitely a bit down in the dumps! A lovely Belgian couple came across the cases looking very out of place on the track and took them back to the lodge (luckily we still had their labels on them) where they managed to track us down and by 10.30 the next day we had them back, a little worse for wear but much better than the alternatives!

So we went to bed thinking tomorrow would be a better day, the start of our more relaxed stage 2 of the walking trip, self guided and looking forward to all the amazing local food and wine that lay ahead for us. Onwards and Upwards and all that jazz we muttered with British optimism……

Sadly this sums us up perfectly……