it's harvest time!

Sayonara city - I'm out of here! I'll be offline for 9 or so days (who's counting?!) as I head off to my parent's farm near Mudgee for the annual East Ridge Olive Grove Harvest Festival.

I look forward to this time of year even more than Christmas. It's got all the elements needed for a great festive holiday - family, friends, copious amounts of good food and wine, good conversation and a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life - with the added bonus of fresh clean country air, gentle exercise and the satisfaction gleaned from being involved in the making of the most delicious tasting, award winning olive oil you've ever tasted!

Okay so I'm a little biased due to the fact that I helped plant these olive trees for mum and dad and have helped harvest them every year. I think this might be our 5 year anniversary too (I'll have to check with mum about that though) so it's going to be extra special. And we're hoping for a bumper crop - harvest is being held over 2 weekends this year instead of just the one. That's if the birds don't eat them all, hail doesn't destroy them, fires don't come through the area or Icelandic volcanic ash decends upon us. Tom's parents come every year and this year they're bringing extra help all the way from Stockholm. Fingers crossed Dory gets to hop on the plane in time, what with all the delays due to the Icelandic (int)eruptions...

So I've packed my Blundstones, an array of colourful beanies, a large stash of wool for making granny squares, my cameras, a book (Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami) and I'm keeping Dad company while Tom and the rest of my family head back home mid week for work/uni. Dad's hired out a few seasons of The Darling Buds of May for our viewing pleasure. Oh, and The Brittas Empire, which would be loudly voted off the island if the rest of the clan were still there. We share a love of British television, the good, the bad and the extraordinarily, painfully woeful. But that's just for the evenings of course - I plan to spend my time off scouring the local op shops and snoozing. Bliss.

Just like this...

I'll miss you, you know. I'm sure I'll have loads of catching up to do on the interwebs upon my return. Don't do anything too exciting while I'm gone, will you?


I'll also miss you Snouting Girl. Sad you won't be eating rotting rabbits and then getting sick, grousing at the other dogs being the grumpy old fun police, getting dirty with a filthy stinking beard, carrying kindling for the fire and generally being the loveliest dog we've ever had. (Sorry to all our other dogs, Cleo will always be my favourite, it's true...)

R.I.P Cleo Sept 2009