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| The road through Gundagai, New South Wales |
I OWE you all a huge apology for my recent absence.
Not sure if you guys are aware, but this blog is just a little side project – at this stage anyway! I work full-time as a news producer for a major daily metropolitan newspaper and have been rostered to work through the festive season. So when an opportunity presented to take a short break in early November, I grabbed it. It’s been a big year on many levels, so I decided to hit the road to visit family and friends in Canberra and Melbourne, then slip across Bass Strait to my birth home of northwest Tasmania.
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Going home: The lush green pastures of the Wynyard,
Table Cape and Mount Hicks districts on the north-west coast of Tasmania |
However, in doing so, I failed in my digital duty to alert you of my intended departure. In my infinite wisdom I thought I’d post “from the road”. Well, we live in a digital world, don’t me? How wrong I was! Living in a mobile universe still poses certain problems in regards to how do you post on the road – as I discovered. Some of the locations I visited did not have great internet or wi-fi access. Then there was the time factor. Between running around madly trying to catch up with everyone and the hours I spent driving, there was little or no time to sit down and actually write things. Sure, I could have planned it better and scheduled posts at regular intervals. But I did not.
My youngest sister suggested – in hindsight – that, perhaps, I should have put up a small post to inform you all of my hastily planned short sabbatical. But, alas, I did not. Hindsight is a beautiful thing! But I’m back from my travels and now gearing up to full blog speed!
The break was not a holiday in the sense of relaxing by a pool sipping cocktails or taking long walks in the countryside, or even catching up on some much-needed literature. It was about spending time with loved ones as I won’t be able to during the festive season.
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| Flying into my local airport at Burnie/Wynyard, Tasmania |
Despite all my misgivings, it was fantastic catching up with everyone. Coming from a large family (I am the eldest of eight), I was also very conscious of dividing my time equally among everyone! So I managed to celebrate with my mother on her 77th birthday; catch up with an old friend for his father’s 92nd birthday; hang out with my siblings; re-aquaint myself with my young nephews; and shared a bottle of cheap wine, a bowl of pasta and a bellyful of laughs with a couple of old girlfriends. Bookending all this was Mr Galeforce in Canberra, which concluded a very exhausting but enjoyable break!
Trying to co-ordinate with everyone’s schedules was incredibly stressful and challenging. Not to mention the hours – and the more than 2000 kilometres – clocked up driving! Suffice to say I returned to Sydney feeling rather exhausted, needing a holiday to get over the break!!!! So I’ve been able to squeeze in 10 days in early December, so I’m treating myself to a trip to Bali … for a real holiday.
Just what every woman needs: sun, surf, private villa in Sanur, shopping … you get the picture! But this time, I promise to schedule a few posts while I’m away!
Been away lately? Planning any road trips to see family during the festive season?
Would love to hear all your tales of holiday wisdom and woe.
Labels: festive season, road trip, what every woman needs
