Well Autumn has arrived after a seemingly non existent Summer and nothing has really changed. We are still getting unprecedented rainfall and after months of rain there is literally nowhere for it to go. The ground is totally saturated meaning even a little shower can send it over the edge again. We are so squelchy underfoot and there is an unpleasant ‘rotting vegetation mixed with cow poo’ aroma wafting around the countryside. My garden is either loving it or hating it depending on which flower you’re talking to. Gardenias are happy chappies but my lavender is a dank black mess of drowned plants. The veggies turned their toes up early in the piece and even the roses are looking a bit sparse. Basically as soon as it’s dry enough I will be pulling out loads of plants and even more grass runners that have overtaken entire flower beds triffid style. Winter will hopefully give me an opportunity to get on top of things before we kick off again in September with Spring.

When the weather eventually breaks the local roads will finally be able to get the heavy machinery in to fix them. At the moment and for the next few weeks or maybe months you can only get to Kangaroo Valley from Berry with an escort. They meet you on the hour going into the valley and on the half hour leaving it and so far it seems to be working. As beautiful as KV is there is always a downside to being an enclosed valley and the road up to Bowral is also shut for at least 3 months meaning a long detour via Jamberoo or Macquarie Pass. Things change daily with landslides so there is no popping up to Bowral for a day pottering about the shops and having a nice lunch for a while yet.

We did have a reason to brave the weather and go to Sydney recently for the 1st birthday of our little Oliver. That first birthday is a special one and is as much a celebration of the parents making it through 12 months of night feeds, teething and new sleeping routines as it is getting to know a new little person, their likes and dislikes and seeing their emerging personality, the new dynamics of a family of four and the love between two brothers beginning what is hopefully a lifelong mateship. So it was that the two families and all the many little cousins came together on a rainy afternoon to celebrate and it was a wonderful few hours of craziness with a beautifully put together afternoon tea and fabulous cake courtesy of Livvy. It was a real labour of love as she had to hire a strong dehumidifier to stop the icing having a meltdown in all the rainy weather….talk about going the extra mile although as you can see the icing animals really made the cake so I can see why it was needed!

We all got to have some one on one time with little Ollie who thoroughly approved of the get together and especially the cake!

The MOTH finally got to catch up with his Melbourne based boss in Sydney and as an early 70th birthday treat they booked into Oncore by Claire Smythe, a restaurant on the 26th floor of the new Crown building at Barangaroo. She is an English 3 Michelin star chef and has bought her unique food to Australia. No foams and earphones here but a lot of intricate work and wonderful taste combinations according to the lucky birthday boy! In a lovely gesture they got a goody bag to take home containing a malted sourdough roll, home made butter and jam all beautifully wrapped and with heating instructions. The sourdough starter came out from the UK with the head chef Alan and is currently 20 years old! I love that they chose to give something so simple and last weekend I made a mushroom omelette for lunch and heated up my roll to accompany it. It was utterly delicious and that simple lunch was seriously one of the best things I’ve eaten in the past couple of years proving that simple things done well win every time!

We finally jagged an evening where it wasn’t pouring down to hold a pizza night to thank the neighbours for all their help when the MOTH had Covid. They were all so helpful and caring, even coming and mowing our lawns (not an insubstantial effort when you have 2 acres) and running to the chemist/supermarket or newsagency for us. We may only have 7 houses in our lane but they are full of good people and we count ourselves lucky every day to have such good neighbours. Here are the boys trying to solve the problems of the world over a few drinks with a tummy full of pizza!

I finally got brave enough to sign up for an art class! After my Mum and Sister bought me a watercolour workshop a few years ago which I thoroughly enjoyed, I have been looking for something similar and when I saw a local Kiama based artist that I like was running a class for 6 weeks I jumped at the chance. I had some money from my 60th (refunds from the Rod Stewart concert that got cancelled) put to one side for something special and this has proven to be just the ticket! Every Friday I pack up my bits and bobs and head to Kiama where we use the studio in the old stone coach house and I’ve learnt SO MUCH. The day whizzes by and I find myself totally immersed in it with no room to be thinking of anything else and I love it! Kerry is a very patient, encouraging and helpful teacher and the rest of the girls are so lovely too – I guess everyone starts somewhere but as they exhibit and sell their work you can just imagine that my paintings look like they have been done by a 5 year old in comparison to theirs!!!! http://www.kerrybruceart.com.au

The war in Ukraine continues to shock and sadden us as well as frighten us a bit. Putin is such a narcissistic egomaniac that he really could do anything at anytime – just because he can and to supposedly prove to the world what a big powerful man he is. However the majority of the world has sided with Ukraine which may be perceived to be the underdog but has shown the world what a strong, proud race they are and with their fearless leader in the trenches with them seemingly capable of small miracles against the might of the Russian army who are becoming increasingly disillusioned and more aware of the true reality of the situation as they leave the confines of the Russian media currently brainwashing the ordinary Russian folk. It is all so sad and unnecessary and such an immense waste of life, livelihoods and cities….

Meanwhile the local dog park has summed it up beautifully…..

Well here we are folks, another year has begun, so full of promise for about 2 and a half minutes but now looking suspiciously like a clone of 2021. We are much more attuned to it all now and the whole Covid chat is becoming very blah blah blah just as it is in fact the deadliest it has ever been in Australia since it reared it’s ugly head. Two years is a long time to remain interested/fearful/diligent about something and we are all a bit over it…. until it arrives at your house. Yup we have a man down in The Meadow with the MOTH contracting it this week. Suffice to say he hasn’t shrugged it off like a common cold and is feeling pretty awful. It’s a mandatory 7 day isolation period for both of us and hopefully I will continue to be well and our life will resume in early Feb but who knows? I luckily had my booster a couple of weeks ago which may be giving me an extra layer of protection, his was due today. All in the timing perhaps? All we can do is stay alert and stay healthy…these are my kind of preventatives

Anyhoo….before this happened we were trotting along nicely, gradually getting on top of our garden (which seems to be on steroids) and trying to whip things into shape after our holiday hiatus. Maybe because there has been so much rain and everything is prospering the birds have so many choices that they left us with a few of our crops this year. I have a gazillion apples – probably for the first time since we moved here 7 years ago – and finally some macadamias!! We have a very established tree which fruits every year but usually the white cockies get to them before us but this year I got a few which we have shelled from their outer husk and are drying on our windowsill until they rattle which is apparently the correct time to break them open. Watch this space….

The garden has been producing some beautiful flowers of the more exotic kind. The sort of flowers that remind me I do not live in England anymore and make me feel like I am on holiday somewhere tropical. The frangipane continues to surprise me – this beautiful crown of flowers pushing through the leaves to show off to everyone and the very impressive flowers of the ginger plant that arrive a couple of times a year and make very architectural cut flowers with an amazing fragrance.

We also enjoyed our first big social ‘thing’ in months when we were invited to a supper show at Willinga Park in Bawley Point featuring Tom Burlinson who I primarily knew as the guy from ‘The Man from Snowy River’. He and his band hosted a Swing Night performing all the hits from Sammy Davis Jnr, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin etc and it was pretty good. Willinga Park is a destination in itself, a fabulous equestrian centre holding dressage, camp draft and show jumping events. The architecture is amazing and the gardens are maturing every year. It reminds me of MONA in Hobart with it’s modern lines and huge sculptures dotted around the grounds. The 2300 acre park is peppered with word-class, architecturally-designed equestrian facilities, including arenas, yards and stables. Public art and native gardens complete the park landscape, while luxury accommodation in the form of modern pavilions rounds out the Willinga Park experience and if you love horsey events I would highly recommend a couple of days in lovely Bawley point for a unique experience. We are going to go back for the Camp drafting in March if things go to plan (which is quite laughable as we can barely plan anything as it is and even then it has maybe a 20% chance of coming together!!!!)

We stopped at our friends place in Milton en route and finally got to enjoy their beautiful Altar Wine Bar. It was a perfect sunny afternoon for a cocktail under the trees and I can see why their venture has taken off so quickly and has become a firm favourite of locals and tourists alike. It is a unique setting and they have a permanent marquee in case of inclement weather, lovely food, live music and even a courtesy bus all set within the picturesque grounds of the Old Church – what’s not to love!

We were very pleased last week to see that our brand new fantastic nature park is finally open in Berry. It has had it’s fair share of setbacks with the weird weather and Covid but is now seemingly being enjoyed by every child within 30 kilometres! It has so much going for it and is only stage 1 of a bigger plan to include a pump track and skate park, a sensory garden and water play and the barbeque areas are in full use already. The only people that probably aren’t quite as enamoured are the people living directly opposite it as parking has already become an issue apparently! I cannot wait to test it out on the grandkids over Easter.

Australia Day was a little subdued this year. I used to really love it as it seemed to be the day where you gave thanks for where you lived and embraced all that was Aussie – a barbie with friends or a day at the beach, a National holiday to immerse yourself in everything Australian, a beer and a flag tattoo sticker or two, the boxing kangaroo flags fluttering from car windows and the Aussie Open or the cricket on TV. Nowadays it is somewhat tinged with the political wrangling over the date. It really shouldn’t be on January 26th which also happens to be Invasion Day as it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip to claim the land as a British colony and the beginning of many brutalities against the Aboriginal people and the taking of their land. I think it is wonderful to celebrate being Australian but not on the date that has so many bad memories for so many. In the meantime here are some of the more affable aspects of being Australian that we love to celebrate……….if you know you know!!!

You Know You’re Australian When:

• You have a spider as big as a dinner plate living in your lounge room and you’re not really worried, because it’s only a Huntsman… (take note Sandy Cherry)
• And a little daddy longs legs never bothers anyone.
• You go to the servo for your petrol.
• You go to the Bottle-O for your grog.
• Your don’t go to a barbie without your beer stubby and your esky.
• You love your barbie (And it’s not a doll).
• You went outside for less than 5 seconds and you are covered in mosquito bites.
• You’re strongly encouraged to slip, slop slap.
• When if it’s not on, it’s NOT ON!
• When you dob in a tosser.
• When you find special beaches for dogs.
• When you are not allowed to keep a Kangaroo for a pet but you are allowed to eat them.
• When you dial before you dig.
• When you each chips – Not fries or crisps.
• When you have a thong tan (On your feet) all year through.
• When you need to get a pen license before you can stop using your pencil at school.
• When you check for Red-Back’s before sitting on the dunny.
• When you have Blue Tongues living in your yard, and you think they’re friendly
• When everyone calls you their mate.
• When half the time walking out in your yard is like walking into an oven, and the rest of the time it’s like jumping in the river.
• When you say “Straya mate!” when referring to where you’re from.
• When there aren’t many full words in your sentences.
• When you understand that it’s acceptable to call Tom – Tommo, but you wouldn’t call Sarah – Saraho.
• When they build the great wall of China to keep the rabbits out.
• When you always have tan lines. Even in winter.
• When you drive though “Macca’s”.
• When you know “Crikey!” can mean something’s either good or bad.
• When your builder is a “Brickie” and your truck driver is a “Truckie”, but your Accountant is still your Accountant.

Post script….yes I know they normally come at the end but the sheer magnitude of everything going on in the world right now demands that I cannot write about the minutiae of my life whilst such sadness, disaster and fear ravage the planet. It’s easy for us here in Australia tucked down at the bottom of the Earth to shut ourselves off from the happenings in the rest of the world but in this age of technology and 24/7 media we are all very much immersed in the horrors going on in Ukraine, unbelievable in this day and age that we haven’t evolved past blowing up innocent men, women and children in the name of territory. A flagrant misuse of power from Putin and now young men from both sides lay dead, entire cities are demolished and the threat of “worse things to come” linger in our heads. If the thinly veiled threats of nuclear or chemical warfare come to fruition it would mean that Europe and their allies would be forced to join in and that would mean a World War. Surely he wouldn’t do that? Unfortunately he is the kind of man that when pushed into a corner plays the bully and goodness knows what he is capable of doing then. How can humankind be so evolved in so many ways yet still act this way? The world has responded by sending as much help as it can, food, clothes, blankets, medicine, some military equipment and many heartfelt wishes to the people of Ukraine. Putin bans Facebook and Twitter from Russia so they cannot see what the world thinks of them or indeed what he is actually up to and effectively shuts the average Russian Joe out from the rest of the free world. Not that social media is the only form of media information but I presume their newspapers and television are already heavily censored or like the BBC have packed up and gone home. Some poignant pictures have emerged that are reminiscent of WW2 and the reminder that at the heart of this human beings like you and I are just trying to keep their families safe and escaping with hardly more than the clothes on their backs and a favourite teddy….

It seems trite to write of our life here at such a time but the very thought of us all being involved in WW3 makes me want to make the most of life all the more (while we can??) but with such sadness all around nothing is being taken for granted. We are profoundly aware how lucky we are to be able to live like this even if it is in a country that experiences such harsh weather events on a regular basis. Hopefully it will transport you to somewhere different even if it is only for a few minutes!

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After two weeks of being busy in Tassie I was looking forward to coming home and getting stuck into the garden, walking the dog and doing some Spring cleaning (even though it’s Autumn) which involved washing all the curtains and washing the house down – white weatherboards are picture perfect but show every speck of dust from our non sealed road when you look closely. All of these tasks have been impossible and I’ve been ‘forced’ into day reading with countless cups of tea and my dining room has turned into a makeshift laundry. It’s perfect weather to bake but then I’d just have to eat it so I’m back to tidying cupboards! Luckily I have squeezed in a morning walk with the pooch every day as the rain seems to clock on at around 9am every morning for which I am grateful!

I have no right to whinge when you see how badly the people of Northern NSW and QLD are faring. It has been a truly rotten couple of weeks for thousands of families and countless animals caught up in the biggest floods in 100 years. What next seriously…it is very biblical going from fires to plague to floods, all that is left is famine! Whole towns are under water, some rivers flooding over 14 metres and inundating shopping centres and forcing people onto their rooftops to escape. Imagine the sludge, the smell and the mould that will be left once the water dissipates, all your furniture and possessions ruined and a house no longer fit to live in. Even if you were one of the lucky ones who could afford flood insurance (most can’t as it’s ridiculously high) it will be a long hard road to recovery. Getting trades to come will be nigh on impossible…imagine the demand! For the sick, the elderly and families with babies and toddlers it is even more of a nightmare. Therefore I will not bore you with my overgrown garden, mouldy outdoor furniture and overflowing washing basket and I will count my blessings.

Despite the rain I enjoyed a lovely birthday lunch at The Blue Swimmer in Gerroa, a little blue weatherboard cottage that sits almost on the beach and puts out great breakfast, lunch and dinner for locals and visitors alike. With the rain pouring down our watermelon margaritas and fresh seafood went down a treat and we rounded things off with their signature haloumi doughnuts – sounds weird, tastes amazing!

Needless to say the animals have been struggling in all this wet weather. The local cows have had their feet underwater now for over 2 weeks which apparently makes them get various foot problems such as foot rot, ulcers and heel cankers; our chickens are looking very bedraggled even though they have a dry coop to roost in at night; we have had a couple of drowned rabbits and the usually happy kennels at the top of our lane is a mud bath. Wet Dog smell is pervading our house and I cannot wait for the sun to come back so we can give her a bath! We thought that we may have had some sort of lawn grub when we saw these patches scattered over the property but it is actually where a rabbit lies overnight and nibbles all the grass all around itself!

Despite my veggie patch being mostly under water and almost all the veg dead, my ‘tropical corner’ is doing amazingly well. The ginger plants are taller than I’ve ever seen them and my newly planted turmeric has blossomed with the warm damp conditions and even bloomed to let me know it likes it there! Apparently once the flower dies I can harvest the rhizomes and have fresh turmeric to cook with. It is a wonderful anti-inflammatory and you can freeze the tubers and grate them into your food when needed. I shall replant a few to hopefully get another crop next season.

The other animals who seem to be a bit put off with all this rain are our micro bats. We have found them sheltering in our raincoat pockets and under the rainhood and this little one somehow found it’s way into our hall light – a hanging pendant with an open top. Although exhausted after trying to get out all night he lived to tell the tale and hopefully their sonar will be working better once these conditions ease. They are harmless and not carriers of disease like the fruit bats but they are noisy little critters. We have two families – one in the loft of the garage and one in the roof space above our bedroom. They enter via the smallest gap under the eaves and are like teenagers coming home at dawn and we can hear them settling into their sleeping spots and chattering – a bit annoying at 4.30-5am and we are considering relocating them if I can find the right people to do so – not as easy as advertising for someone to catch a possum though I imagine? Watch this space……

I am writing this from beautiful Tassie while my little 6 month old granddaughter sleeps and my daughter works from her home office while the almost 3 year old attends daycare. The 2 grandmas are helping out so she doesn’t have to put little India into daycare until she is over 6 months old so we are doing 2 weeks each which has been a lovely opportunity to be with them all again. They grow up so fast and in the 10 days I’ve been here Myla has given up her day sleep and is fully toilet trained and India is sitting up with 4 new teeth! Crazy!!

It is a beautiful place to hang out. Literally surrounded by water, their house has glorious views from every window and there are several local beaches within walking distance. The weather has been great and there is just a hint of Autumn in the air, especially in the morning which makes it very pleasant. Often this time of year is hot and humid in Sydney and makes doing just about anything quite unpalatable so I am enjoying the climate here…more like an English summer’s day than an Aussie one!! At night once the kids were asleep we would head outside, glass in hand, and wrap ourselves in blankets while the sun went down, with the softest flamingo pinkness spreading across the horizon as if tucking it into bed.

We have managed a couple of day trips together which has been fun. We visited New Norfolk, a town built around an old mental asylum from the turn of the last century and now most famous for The Agrarian Kitchen – a fabulous cooking school and restaurant. Sadly it wasn’t open the day we visited but we had a good look around the grounds and the adjacent antique centre before heading off to Westbury raspberry farm to pick our own fruit. As it’s the end of the season they only had strawberries and blackberries left but the plants were laden with lush fruit and Myla absolutely loved that she was tall enough to pick her own little basket full even though she ate 50% of what she picked before it even hit the basket!! A lovely day out for all of us.

Tassie is a special place, a mix of everything you like…beautiful scenery, amazing produce and a genuine paddock to plate philosophy, wineries, history galore, friendly laid back people and a love of the outdoors. Loz and Berry’s friends sound like something out of a Bear Grylls movie…avid surfers, abalone divers and hard core hikers. Their preferred weekend activity is camping off grid on the wild west Coast, barbecuing their catch, swigging rum cocktails and enjoying a sing-along to a guitar. Understandably things have changed a bit since the babies came along but their love for everything outdoors continues. They have wetsuits and surf and SUP boards and they make sure they use them most weekends weather permitting. The ocean here is REALLY cold…an Arctic current runs through it and 10 minutes in it is pretty hardcore. This doesn’t really align with my Noosa in January preferred ocean temperature but it tempts me with it’s lack of waves and sheer beauty.

We attended the Clarence Jazz Festival on Saturday afternoon which was delightful. A hot summer’s afternoon on the water at Bellerive with local ciders and wines on offer and some chilled music to lull the crowd, a few Disney songs to please the kids (as well as hot chips of course) and everyone was happy to enjoy a lovely summer afternoon of entertainment. After 2 years we are grateful for live music of any sort and a new appreciation of performance and participation. You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone as the expression goes!

My favourite part of the day is when we all sit on the couch just before bed and read to the girls, it brings back many fond memories of reading with my own kids pre-bedtime and it still feels like yesterday despite the fact they are all now in their 30s….how time marches on! (Also good to note that kids still ask for “just one more” book in 2022!!!) India appears to have an early appreciation for books but she also likes to eat them so I’m not reading too much into the situation! She is now 6 months old and is the sweetest happiest little baby and smiles every time her big sister appears, tolerating some very boisterous cuddles with not a blink of an eye. I’m sure they will be firm friends down the track but she will have to endure the fate of most 2nd siblings in games with the firstborn which is to be the pupil to their teacher or patient to their doctor, taking the secondary role until one day they refuse and the tables get turned!

As my birthday was imminent Loz took me out for a lovely meal which provided us a great excuse to put on our heels and make-up and feel like girls again! As it was a Wednesday night I had imagined a rather subdued Hobart CBD but the contrary was true as it also happened to be O Week at the local Uni and the place was pumping! We went to a little wine bar called Willing Bros in North Hobart and perched at the window we watched the world go by whilst we sipped some Nebbiolo and enjoyed some Mediterranean food finishing off with a delicious tiramisu complete with sparklers to mark the occasion! Thankfully Loz discouraged the staff from singing as I feel there are far too many birthdays under my belt for such a public display! There was a great buzz around the town and we enjoyed our special night out chatting away and enjoying a night off from the kitchen and the kids! Thanks Lozzy I loved it xx

As they say, all good things come to an end and I felt a little bit sad waving goodbye to the girls to fly back to Sydney, although I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and not being so knackered that I can actually read a chapter of my book before turning out the light. I have a new found appreciation for my adult kids dealing with the constancy and tyranny of their toddlers! I know I did it many years ago with 3 kids aged under 4 but somehow times were simpler and expectations were less and we were younger so maybe it was easier or maybe I have rose coloured glasses about that time in my life! Even dropping them to daycare is more complicated nowadays, there are codes to get into the building and then electronic sign-ins, pin numbers and of course currently there are mask rules on top of it all! They have to have hats and sunblock and water bottles, sleepwear and comforters and blankets. There are government forms to fill in and incident reports if they hurt themselves. Back in the day I literally dropped mine off at a local Italian ladies house along with my friend’s kids where they all played together regardless of age, ate homemade minestrone for lunch and crashed out on a huge mattress together (that woman was a miracle worker – how on earth do you get 10 kids to sleep at the same time on the same mattress I ask myself?) Everyone should have a Nonna in their life that’s for sure. Rose coloured specs….most probably!!

Talking of simplicity this rather took my fancy…..

The decorations are gone, the kiddy paraphernalia is back in the loft, the house is tidy and everything is very quiet. It’s all over for another 2 years and all the planning, shopping and cooking was worth it for a couple of weeks of crazy togetherness. Thank goodness the weather came good and we could all use the pool and hang outside or at the beach, a must with toddlers in the house and for the sanity of the adults! I must say – considering they were uprooted from their regular routines and shared bedrooms for the very first time they were all pretty good and as long as we hit the sack at a reasonable hour we all got enough sleep to cope the next day – many hands make light work and all that jazz! We actually managed our one formal meal on Xmas Eve in our dining room and some lovely dinners on the veranda once they were asleep which was a miracle with four kids under 3 in the house. I miss their little chubby hands in mine as we go to see the chickens for the 100th time or hearing their shrieks of joy as they jump into the pool for the 200th time and their warm little bodies cuddling me after they wake from their afternoon nap and I am very grateful that we all managed to get together considering the never ending pain in the bum that is Covid. We literally just squished Christmas in before Omicron swept through Sydney spoiling all sorts of plans and shutting shops, restaurants, cafes and decimating weddings (sometimes for the 3rd attempt at getting hitched). We are all a lot more resigned to it, more accepting of it even as we have huge case numbers and a lack of supplies in the supermarkets. Most people are expecting to get it and now it is more about getting it at the least inconvenient time rather than a fear of severe illness. Boosters are being rolled out and that combined with a level of personal responsibility and self care is all we can do at this time. Another year beginning with no guarantee of anything changing. Trips still on hold and plans with a mere 20% chance of fruition!

Luckily the beautiful South Coast provided us with many escapes and as there was always someone who could stay at home and babysit sleeping babies they could all variously take off for an hour or two with the older kids, almost a holiday in itself! Once they were tucked up in bed we could enjoy some nice meals on the veranda and relax.

On 27th December just 3 days after his 95th birthday the Cameron Family patriarch left us. Col was a much loved Dad, Grandad and Great Grandad as well as a lovely Father in Law to Heather and myself. He had been steadily declining this year and we knew things were looking a bit grim so thankfully Covid let up just long enough for everyone to visit him in November and December and say their goodbyes. I am so grateful that he managed to come to Lauren’s wedding here a few years ago and spent a Xmas in The Meadow our first year here leaving us with some lovely memories. You started quite a dynasty Pop and our kids have been very lucky to have three of their four grandparents here for so long. You will be missed and fondly spoken about for years to come. So glad we have a couple of pics of him with his various offspring!

I feel totally blessed that after a 12 month hiatus I got to visit him at the end of November with the MOTH and even happier that he was having a good day. I was prepared for him to not recognise me but after about 5 seconds his face lit up and we spent about 40 minutes together chatting about old times (he claimed he couldn’t remember a lot of it but he definitely did have flashes of memory) while he held my hand and kept stroking it. The very best visit we could have hoped for and as it turned out it was our very last. Farewell Col, we love you and hope you knew that right up until the end. We will continue to keep your stories close to our heart and chatted about around the firepit with the little ones as they get older, thanks for everything – we will cook your chicken Maryland recipe in your memory xxx

So a new year begins, maybe not the one we had envisaged but a year to look forward to and make the most of nonetheless as who knows when it’s our last? This whole epidemic has made us realise we have to enjoy every day, appreciate what we have, make an effort to change the things we dislike, have a go at something new while we can, keep growing, cherish our friends and our loved ones and let them know what they mean to us, be kind and considerate and immerse yourself in nature as much as you can. Simple things that nurture you are the way to go – want to make your own pasta/grow your own tomatoes/learn to play the piano or to speak French/buy a puppy – whatever it is just do it!! Life is what you make it after all. Love to you all and let’s make 2022 count for all the right reasons…..

I finally made it to Tasmania to meet my littlest love Miss India Elizabeth Cook. She is the sweetest little thing with an earnest expression until a smile lights up her face and the love shines out. She is such a placid little girl and is so far the perfect baby just eating, sleeping and smiling! I now feel like I have properly bonded with her and reconnected with little Myla ahead of our two weeks together over Xmas. It is a full on life with toddlers and the excitement you feel when they have their midday nap is immense! What to do first…the housework, prep the dinner, hang or fold the washing or just flop on the couch and restore your batteries ready for round 2??? It’s all so rewarding though when they look up from their toys and say “Rara, I love you” and your heart melts with love for them. It was great to spend special one on one time with my three girls and we squished lots of fun into 4 days!

Before I left we had a rather lovely couple of weeks finally being a bit social after our lockdown. I took a pottery class with a few local girls one night which was great fun. I loved getting the cool wet clay in my hands and attempting to form it into some sort of usable object. I didn’t make anything spectacular but I really enjoyed the evening. I thought about doing the 6 week course but in reality how much handmade pottery type stuff can you use? I’m certainly not good enough to make something practical like an entire set of dinner plates so I think I’ll have to give it a miss!

Our Sydney friends had a few days holidaying on the South Coast and we met up with them at beautiful Cupitt’s Estate at Ulladulla. A lovely lunch followed by a few drinks listening to live music outside catching up on life after 6 months was a perfect way to spend a Sunday. It’s like a little bit of Provence there and probably the closest I’m going to get at this stage!

We had to get prepared for Xmas early this year. We have always had a real tree but due to the massive bush fires two years ago there has been a real shortage of trees and the only way we could guarantee one was to go to the Xmas Tree Farm and cut one down ourselves! It was a fun experience but we had to do it the 1st week in December before they sold out meaning our poor little tree is starting to dry out just in time for the big day! The tip they gave us was to top up the water with Coke every week but even that fix-it-all sugar hit hasn’t really worked! The house is looking Christmassy though and we are READY for the clan to arrive tomorrow!

We had an invite to Hyams Beach one gloriously sunny day to have lunch with our Nephew who had rented a beach house to spend some special time with his Mum who had flown from Switzerland to finally meet her little grandson Kane. We had a super time with them and this smiley little guy in one of the most beautiful areas of Jervis Bay. You cannot help but feel uplifted by that turquoise blue water and you can see why it is one of the most popular places to come for a summer escape. Imagine eating on that deck every day – you’d never want to leave!

So as Australia finally gears up for a Christmas we weren’t sure we were going to get (and to be honest we are only just squishing it in between Delta and Omicron surges) this is likely to be the scene on our main highway South from today. It makes popping out for milk a rather frustrating endurance sport so I really have to be on top of my game. I have ‘to do’ lists galore and fridges bursting at the seams, the pool is ready, the cubby house cleaned out and ready for small people to serve us pretend cappucino and the beds and cots are made up so…. let’s do this folks!! With 7 adults, 4 children under 3 years of age and one perpetually hungry Labrador I’m imagining a wonderfully chaotic couple of weeks lie ahead – please have a holiday La Nina so we can all get outdoors and let off steam! I’m wishing you all a time of togetherness with loved ones and a sense of gratitude that we made it through this far. Merry Christmas to you all from The Meadow – see you on the other side!

After two cancelled weddings thanks to Covid my gorgeous God-daughter Francesca finally got married to her person Goodsy! On a gloriously sunny afternoon overlooking the beautiful Kangaroo Valley they said ‘I do’ to each other in the company of a small group of friends and family and their two little daughters, India and Harper. As the days leading up to it were decidedly wet and gloomy we all felt so blessed to be in this wonderful place witnessing two people who are very much in love pledge their vows to each other. Chezzy’s Mum and my bestie Leigh had worked SO hard with her hubby John to prepare their property to look it’s very best for this special day and no matter where you looked there were flowers and trees and green vistas. The sound of birds and the breeze whispering through the trees was the backdrop to their ceremony before the sounds of eating, drinking, chatting and laughter took over as we celebrated into the night. A really beautiful day with some of my favourite people. Just magic.

I felt like a 5 year old off to my first party when Tom insisted on taking my photo as I left for the wedding! It was so nice to get dressed up and put some make-up on and feel like a girl again even if it was only for one day! My feet had forgotten what it felt like to wear heels after 18 months in sneakers! Sadly my gardening and walking clothes have become far too prevalent in my daily wardrobe and as they are so comfy I find reasons to stay in them for way longer than my walks or gardening efforts take! After losing 7kilos of covid squishiness it is so lovely to access a whole new wardrobe without having to shop as all my old clothes now fit again and feel like new! I even ventured to Wollongong and the BIG shops for some new swimmers and actually enjoyed the experience for once!! I was surprised how lovely The Gong was, the main central shopping district was as pretty as a picture with troughs full of flowers everywhere (Berry township powers-that-be take note please) with leafy suburbia and a CBD that is literally a 5 minute walk to the beach and all within an hour of Sydney. I will definitely go more regularly from now on.

Apparently it is Storm Season. I don’t really remember anyone referring to it as that before but the media have definitely coined the phrase this year and I can see why. We have had some magnificent storms, some with gnarly cloud formations and short sharp downpours and others with great rumblings of thunder that make the house tremble and with flashes of lightening that split the sky with such force you’re grateful to be snuggled up inside. We’ve never had any issues with Bailey and storms thank goodness but there are lots of local dogs that really hate it and either run away in fear or whimper and hide indoors. Now that La Nina has joined the party the storms are starting to give way to rain, lots and lots of it and two years since we were in the midst of raging bushfires we are now hearing about many areas under water and crops lost. Life in Australia is never gentle. I am trying to be grateful for the rain, at least I don’t have to water the garden and I must admit the hydrangeas are loving it!

Since restrictions have eased somewhat we have dipped our toes back into the waters of a social life, starting by inviting our lifelong friends over for dinner on Melbourne Cup Day. It was the first time we had seen each other in months and we were like kids in a candy shop being able to chat mask-free and enjoy an afternoon of food and wine together again. We all appreciated it so much more for having been deprived of company these past 6 months and since then we have seen other friends and the MOTH has even been to Sydney for work, staying in the Big Smoke and enjoying the fancy restaurants again!

How adorable are these little boys? Cooper is really keen on cooking and helps his Mum at every possible opportunity all dressed up in his Chef’s outfit and with his little sous chef gurgling happily in the background! He is a really loving little boy and loves nothing more than snuggling up with his Mummy on the lounge holding hands and watching some TV on a rainy afternoon… a happy place for both Mum and Son! I am so looking forward to having them and their 2 little girl cousins here for Christmas this year. It will be Bedlam of course – but of the loveliest kind!

So as our little town starts to open up we are back to fighting for parking spaces and restaurant seats as people from Sydney and NSW travel once again. Some shops and restaurants have undergone renovations and used this time to reinvent themselves with new hours and different offerings. It has been a time to rejig what is important to people and redefine what they want going forward. The workplace will probably never go back to a pre-covid format which means people are much more flexible which should be a good thing and give people a better work life balance. We are starting to dream of going back to Europe, our much planned and looked forward to trip from 2020 now reimagined for September 2022. It is still too early to look for flights but we have a vague itinerary that gives us something to look forward to at least and once we see how Europe copes with Covid this winter (so far that isn’t going too well) we will have a better idea what we can and can’t do. In the meantime we dream and plan and save!! And if we get stuck there is always a road trip?

After 4 long months we were finally allowed to travel to Sydney to see our family. It was so exciting, I was like a kid at Christmas packing up the car and Bailey dog even came for the eventful reunion! When I pulled up at the house and Cooper came running out to greet me with that million watt smile on his face I was truly happy. Yes we may have missed out on holidays overseas and eating out in restaurants but what we REALLY missed was being with the family, hanging out and chewing the fat – nothing earth shattering, just being together. As you can see from the pictures we were happy little vegemites all round. Sadly Tasmania is still shut but has announced they will open their borders on December 15th so Rara already has a ticket on the 10am plane to Hobart! I will finally meet my smallest granddaughter and have a couple of precious days with her before returning to The Meadow for Xmas and the arrival of the ENTIRE family!!! It will be chaotic but fabulous I’m sure…..

This was the Princes Highway (the main road from Sydney to Melbourne) the day before travel to and from Greater Sydney resumed. It will probably never be this empty again and it has definitely been the silver lining of lockdown that the traffic has been almost non existent. They have forged on with the upgrade and as you can see it’s just the finishing off of the median strips that needs doing in most parts now. Hopefully by Xmas the road will be 4 lanes allowing the holiday traffic to flow, unlike the past 3 years where it has been a 10km traffic jam between Berry and Bomaderry!

I had to laugh last weekend when I went out into the garden and saw the MOTH and our neighbour having a chat over the fence ‘country style’ The sound of ride-on mowers is the playlist of my weekend as we are all back to mowing about 3 times a week with the sunshine and rain causing it to grow about an inch every 3 days!

As we pass the magical 70% double vaccinated milestone we are looking forward to eased restrictions in just a few days time and hopefully this little swing will soon have some little people in it enjoying that view! It has been a long 4 months since we’ve heard giggles and laughing in the garden and we are READY to see everyone again asap. That will happen at the 80% double jabbed mark and we have tentatively pencilled the 22/23rd October in our diaries to go to Sydney and see our boys and families but it could still end up being a week later if things don’t go according to plan. Tassie is still well and truly shut to all other States so there is no point getting excited to see that branch of the family just yet but each day is a day closer at least! As much as we are excited for resumption of life (and I was OVERJOYED to receive a call from the hairdresser booking me in) there is bizarrely a tiny little tiny part of me that is a bit sad to think our days of just being us and being able to do what we want when we want (even if that is only walking the dog or gardening) and not having to think of other people’s plans is almost over. The diary is already filling in and events are already clashing with so many people trying to reignite a vestige of our “old life” that I am exhausted just thinking about it! I guess it’s all about the balance as always and it will no doubt be like a comfortable old jacket that once put back on you wonder why you ever wanted it any differently. But for now I am a bit wistful, this has been a time like no other in my lifetime and we got through it, reinventing ourselves along the way. The young ones are champing at the bit of course and with Summer and the festive season just around the corner it will be a perfect storm but one that they need. Twenty months of not being able to socialise and feel free must have felt like a lifetime and I am very happy that there is finally a big bright light at the end of this Covid tunnel for them.

I guess this also means that once again Berry will be heaving with people coming and going from Sydney on their way somewhere (and let’s face it we can only travel within NSW for now) and the ‘Famous Donut Van’ will once again have a huge queue snaking around Berry as the hordes descend on our infamous Star of the Town and then we will know for sure that life is almost normal once again!

The garden is full of activity of the mating kind. Hares are everywhere chasing each other through the paddocks, there are new calves lying in the tall lush grass, just a set of little black ears twitching to show they are there and the birds are going troppo as they find mates and prepare nests. We have 4 gigantic cuckoos here from New Guinea who LOVE our mulberries and frighten me every time I go outside as they fly out of the tree, huge wings flapping and creating a ruckus. They don’t seem to bother the other birds but I will be happy when they move on. The greatest joy at the moment is the tiny birds, little flashes of blue or yellow as they flit from bush to bush, their little bodies only causing the smallest of rustling as they hide within rose bushes and hedges where no other bird can go. Their song is so pure and at a pitch that punches above their weight, being heard above the bigger birds and always filling me with the greatest of appreciation for them.

Our gorgeous Bailey suffered a second seizure two weeks after her first. This time it was a petit mal and she didn’t lose consciousness but it went on for hours, her body twitching and spasming and this time she realised something was wrong. She couldn’t find any comfort unless she was pressed up close to us and therefore she spent the evening on the couch (a 1st) with us both stroking her and comforting her. It was awful in a different way to the first seizure as we kept waiting for the big one which never came and as a result we were super anxious, completely incapable of cooking and eating dinner and very worried when it came time for us to go to bed but the next day she seemed completely normal and when we visited the vet they advised us to wait for just one more BIG one before we consider medicating her as the drugs have their own side effects apparently. So we are trying to go with the flow and not worry too much whilst keeping an extra eye on her activities. I am gradually relaxing enough to leave her at home when I go out although not for too long just in case! I still hold on to the hope that it was a reaction to something rather than ongoing epilepsy, I guess time will tell….

Our 11 chickens are happily co-existing with the youngest two finally permitted to join the older girls at night on the roost. We are getting between 6 and 9 eggs a day which is far too many for just two of us and we have a regular weekly delivery to nearby friends who are chicken-less, even then we always have at least 3 or 4 dozen eggs at home at any one time and they range from big double yolkers to a tiny egg that is perfectly formed but just half the size of a regular egg. We thought it was the young ones just beginning to lay but it has been going on for weeks now so maybe that is the size they will always be?

We have been having some glorious Spring weather and some days that are more like Summer but the other day two weather systems collided and we had a huge hailstorm that literally covered the lawn in little white balls and bought the temperature plummeting down by 15 degrees! You can just imagine the sound of the hail on our tin roof, Bailey who doesn’t even twitch when we have a thunderstorm came looking for me and sat at my feet until the storm passed! The strawberry farm down the road lost it’s entire crop in just 6 minutes, the soft fruit no match for the ferocity of the storm. It doesn’t seem to matter what you are farming, there is always something that is going to wipe you out it seems.

While we have all been waiting out Delta, things have been progressing with the 10km upgrade to the Princes Highway from Berry to Bomaderry. They pulled down the 1st lot of trees three years ago and it is finally nearing completion. If you liken it to a renovation all the hard lifting has been done and now they are starting to pretty it up – the floors are being laid and the painting is being done before the final touch of curtains and furniture. The road itself is 95% done and now they are doing the median strip, sometimes including plants and sometimes just a guard rail, the signs are up but covered and the roadside planting has begun with some amazing mature date palms at our local intersection as well as gums and natives where the landscape allows. Once it’s finished and all the mess is gone I’m sure all we will notice is the amazing scenery as we drive up and down the coast.

Last weekend was the October Long Weekend where usually all roads in out of Sydney both North and South are chockers with people escaping the big smoke. This year of course there was barely a car on the road and the only thing on the calendar was the footy Grand Final and with no sons here to shout and cheer at the smallest of misdemeanours or good play with the MOTH, a few beers and a packet of chips was about as big as it got at our place. It was an exciting weekend for me though as the clocks went forward meaning longer evenings and finally a chance for us to sleep past 5.30am. As usual half the clocks in our house are reading different times as we gradually get around to changing them all….not always the easiest of tasks….

Over the past 20 months we have all been intimately acquainted with our local area. Who would have though the immediate 5kms from our house would EVER become so important? It’s a bit of a suburb lottery as to what you get to see everyday on your walk and never have we been so grateful to live where we do. The 5km rule doesn’t apply to us in rural NSW as some people’s driveways are that long!! We have the whole of our Shoalhaven LGA to play in which goes as far down as Jervis Bay but stops just north of Berry. We have about 5 different regular walks which luckily include the beach and the river but mostly we just stay super local and wander the local lanes. At this time of year they are a joy…let me take you on a bit of a virtual walk down the lane..

As I cross over the Highway and pass the church where my daughter got married there is a sweet waft of perfume from the self seeded freesias growing on the verge outside and sometimes I pick a few to pop in a little vase for next to the kitchen sink or in my bathroom. As I continue on past the stud the horses stand as still as statues, only a few ears twitching and turning acknowledging my presence. As I get nearer to the little creek I hear the gurgling of water thanks to the showers over the past few days and the air is full of the sound of throaty singing as the frogs call to attract a mate. I check out the house at the end of the street that has been coming together over the past 2 years in fits and starts. A lovely weatherboard with wrap around verandahs and views to the escarpment and nearly ready for occupation. Sensibly they planted a garden when they started building and now there are beautiful blossom trees and flowers around the perimeter for them to enjoy and masses of bulbs have come up with a veritable florist shop of flowers to choose from to pick for the house.

Around the corner I pass the duck pond where two duck families share lodgings quite happily and then I stop to say hi to the goats, a small goat farm of around 30 and they are very sweet, often running to the fence to greet me on my daily travels. From there it is open paddocks, black Angus cattle dotted in fields of yellow which look very pretty but are in fact fields of the noxious Fireweed. These invasive plants originated in South Africa but have taken firm hold in the countryside here and as each plant holds 30,000 seeds which are light and fluffy and easily dispersed by the wind so you can imagine how inundated we all are with it. It contains a poison which is toxic to cattle and horses and they will naturally avoid eating it but it tends to get cut in with the silage and can have an accumulative effect on their livers if they eat enough of it. It’s lucky the flowers are so obvious at this time of year that we can easily pull them out of our garden, you can only imagine how many of those seeds get blown in on the westerly wind!

As I turn for home I hear a rustling in the long grass and out of nowhere 3 hares scamper across the road in front of me. They are running so fast around and around in huge circles and I’m not sure if they are three adolescents having fun or perhaps 2 bucks chasing a poor doe with a definite sense of purpose and a twinkle in their eye! A flock of white corellas swirl above me twisting and turning like a shoal of fish before landing in a paddock to feast on some unseen delicacy. The birds are all very busy now that Spring is here and we have witnessed a large amount of parrots in our garden. The mulberries are starting to fruit which always attracts them and we have several pairs of King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas as well as a group of Rainbow Lorikeets that have taken up residency in my giant pear tree just awaiting the next thing to ripen or seed…a giant smorgasbord in The Meadow.

So as the lockdown has gone on….and on…and on I really felt the need to achieve something positive during it, to make it a less negative experience and to give me a sense of purpose in what was otherwise a rather strange world where I had no control over what was happening or what could happen in the future. As a result of a somewhat blasé previous 6 months when the only fun thing we’ve been able to do is cook, eat and drink and say what the heck, I was starting to push the boundaries of my fat clothes and something needed to be done. As there was no chance of socialising it seemed like an ideal time to try and lose those covid kilos and for some unfathomable reason I woke up one Thursday and decided to start! Starting is always the hardest part for me and I didn’t hold out much hope to be honest but I made a 3 week commitment which seemed doable and it really has been so much easier than I thought it would be! I am now in week 5 and have lost 6 kilos so far. More importantly I am feeling so much better, am LOVING my 5-6km daily walk and am not missing my evening wine half as much as I thought I would! Better still by the time we open up I shall be looking a whole lot better and have a little buffer for the inevitable dinners and get togethers that will be on the cards.

Last week I experienced 2 minutes that I never wish to repeat. Our beautiful Bailey Dog started barking as if she was being attacked and then fell to the ground in a seizure that seemed to last forever but in reality was only about 2 minutes long. I didn’t really know what was happening and thought she might have been choking on something but there was nothing blocking her windpipe so I had to just let her go through it. I was beside myself not knowing what to do and fearing the worst. She means so much not just to us but to our kids and the grandkids too, I just couldn’t face losing her and having to tell them. As she started coming out of it she shakily stood up, her eyes glazed and she was foaming at the mouth. I eventually managed to get her into the car and set off to the vet 9 kms away. By the time we got there she jumped out of the car happily wagging her tail when she saw the MOTH waiting for us in the carpark. If I hadn’t seen it happen I wouldn’t have believed anything had occurred! She drank about 2 litres of water while the vet checked her over and she has been given the all clear despite low blood sugar and low red blood cells which could have been explained away for a variety of reasons. The only thing we can put it down to was her scavenging some old maggoty chicken necks at the back of a nearby property which she eventually vomited up the next day. Perhaps they released some sort of toxin? She also presented us with a couple of dead rabbits that she must have found in the paddock but we are certain no one around here would be baiting/poisoning animals as there are too many livestock around and everyone in our lane has a dog. At least I will recognise what is going on if it happens again and if she does has another seizure they will prescribe her medication for epilepsy going forward. I have been loathe to let her meander off on her own since just in case she finds another ‘treasure’ and we are keeping a very close eye on our beloved Choccy drop as we would be lost without her.

Our garden is giving us great joy at the moment. As a rule we spend more time working in it than enjoying it but I think that is starting to change as it matures. Our wisteria which was planted well before we arrived is really a major job throughout the year, keeping it trimmed and winding the soft new tendrils around the arbour post to encourage it’s growth along our balustrade. However, when those first purple pendulums burst into flower I forget about all the work and just love seeing it drip in heavy fragrant clusters called racemes which the bees absolutely adore. This whole corner of the garden is very bee friendly as the lavender is also in full throttle and the spring daisies are also competing for some attention. In a few weeks it will all be over for another year or if I deadhead properly perhaps we’ll get a second showing in Autumn. I’m pretty sure this was planted back in the 80s so I am very grateful for the gardeners that came before!

In an interesting twist it looks like we may be able to fly to London before Hobart if our State Premiers remain stubborn and keep their borders shut to NSW and our far flung family may have to plan a holiday in Fiji in order to be reunited with each other! Surely once the government has worked out a usable home quarantine system we can once again plan a few overseas jaunts with some sort of confidence? I know Australia is a beautiful country but sometimes you just want to launch yourself into a completely different culture, lifestyle and enjoy the diversity of food that comes with it. For now Europe may be a step too far but maybe, just maybe, The Camerons may be able to start planning that holiday in Fiji….