Another ending on the way

It's now the beginning of another year and as most people do, I am reflecting on my previous year. I expected to have lots of time this past year to do so many things. One of them was to blog a lot more. As you know, this didn't happen. So what has happened.....

I have had a wonderful year being a grandmother! My granddaughter - the first of many grandchildren I hope, is a delight. I have so enjoyed becoming part of her life and I'm really hoping that the relationship we formed this year will continue, even though we won't be seeing quite so much of each other now. 

From the moment we arrived in Canberra, I started trying to work out ways to meet people - I wanted to find like minded people and I succeeded. One of the first things I did was a workshop about food and making better decisions about sourcing and eating ethical and healthy food. I met a couple of people at this workshop that I kept running into and if we were staying around longer, would certainly be very good friends.

I then got involved with the Southern Harvest Association. First buying fruit and vegetables, then becoming a subscriber to their CSA box scheme, becoming a volunteer and finally a part time employee. But the best part about being involved with SHA are the people I've met. Some of who, I'm going to be very sad to have to say good bye to. I have found a community here and it's something that is quite special. 

I here some people say that 2020 was a terrible year, and yes Covid 19 has been terrible and caused a lot of hardship and sadness for many. However 2020 for me has been a really happy time for me. I've learnt to take life a little easier, to stop and smell the roses! I've had the time to cook lots and to fulfil a dream of writing a recipe book. I've been working on a Permaculture Design Course and Teaching Course, which I have finally completed the assessment for the PDC - took a little longer than I thought! Now I need to start work on the teaching component, which will involve actually teaching someone something about permaculture so that should be fun (and challenging). We went to Victoria a few times, in between covid lockdowns, to visit our son Edmund, which was more often than if we had of been in Queensland all year. I took up knitting - something I learnt as a child but have never really done much. I made many beanies, a vest and a poncho, mostly using local alpaca wool. There is too much to list - it's been a very full and happy time!

So even though this is only the beginning of the year, it's the end of our time in the Canberra region.

We are all moving back to Queensland soon and so a new phase will begin.....

Here's a few photos from this past year.

We met a wonderful pig farming family and have spent quite a bit of time with them. This photo was taken in mid-winter - we enjoyed experiencing a real winter!

I managed to plant a fairly successful garden - we've eaten something from it most of the year and will be leaving lots for the people coming after us. Although, I'll be going home with garlic, potatoes and carrots - and whatever fruit has ripened in time - apples, nectarines, pears and plums still to ripen.

The adorable one helping me plant tomatoes - which are all still green, but will hopefully start ripening in the next few days.

We even got to spend some time hiking. This is Molongo Gorge, ACT.