The last post

Ten years ago today we arrived at our new home in Tasmania. We didn't know anyone. We'd been here once, on holiday. Keen for an adventure, tired of the stresses caused by too many people and hoping for a simpler, more comfortable life, we packed up our cars and drove down to our new home in the Huon Valley. We had a gut feeling that we would love it here.

It's a big call, but I'm calling it: I think it was the best decision we ever made. A lot of things go into that assessment, including our beautiful friends, the fresh air, friendly people, great food, wildlife and wilderness, plus the many opportunities we've had and things we've been able to do here that we never could have in Sydney. This is home now. It's entirely possible we might live somewhere else in the future, for work or for adventure, but this is where I would come back to.

It's also ten years since I started this blog. I started it as a way of letting family and friends know what we were up to, and a way for me to record some of the little details about our new life. The classic online journal, if you like. Since then, I've met many people who have told me they read my blog before they moved here and found it useful. That always comes as a bit of a (lovely) surprise. Each year, I have also printed a book from it, to send to a few 'offline' relatives and friends.

Ten years and more than 800 posts later, I've decided to call it a day. So what comes next? If you want to find out, for now, you can find me on Instagram:
@huonview 
@old_bank_franklin

Reflections

In the year or so since we moved down from the hills of Franklin into the centre of town, I must have taken hundreds of photos of the Huon River, it's different moods, the high tides and the low, sparkling water and gloomy, its boats and birds and more besides. At one point I had to stop taking my phone with me when we walked Gretchen. Every day something would catch my eye and I would whip out the phone. It was driving David crazy. My phone was filling up with river views. Now, with restrictions on what we can do and where we can go during the pandemic, I've never been more grateful for our twice-daily dog walks along the river. It's calm and reflective. Just what we need right now.

Top local takeaways in the age of COVID-19

Since arriving home from Germany six weeks ago now (where has the time gone), I have done a LOT of cooking. Roast chicken, lamb shanks, teriyaki salmon, lasagne, stir fries, risotto, curries, soups, steak and salad, Thai noodles, tuna patties and sticky pork to name just a few. And that's before I get onto all the cake, bread and biscuit baking.

We've also tried to support local eateries. With every restaurant and cafe unable to operate normally at present, many are providing takeaway options, home dinner kits or even home delivery. In the COVID-19 era, the term 'takeaway' definitely does not only mean fast food. We've had burgers and pork and fennel sausage rolls from Frank's, hand made pasta and prepared sauces from Osteria at Petty Sessions, fish and chips from Aqua Grill and Tangaroa Kai, and Thai from Huon's Little Treasure. Last night we had a foot of pepperoni pizza from Osteria, with a salad made from produce included in our 'ration pack' delivery from Fat Pig Farm. Today's lunch was pork rillette (pictured above) from the same ration pack, spread on a hot piece of sourdough toast, plus more of the delicate salad leaves. It's surprising that I can still fit into my jeans, really. And there's much more on offer in our local area... sushi from Masaaki for starters! Oh wow, can't wait to give that a go.

Forest bathing

On Easter Monday I went for a rather long walk. More than 25km, according to Runkeeper. After weeks of being cooped up in 'iso', like (almost) everyone else, I was desperate for a leg stretch and some forest bathing, as I believe the Japanese call it. I turned left after leaving our front gate, then left again and just kept walking, up into the hills. Up and up, past the houses and fields of cows and chooks, to the land of wallabies and lyrebirds. Ah, the smell of fresh rainforest air.

I visited the Old Mill site in the forest for the first time since the surrounding coupe was logged a few years back. Then hiked down some forestry roads, in the hope of finding my way through to the top of a different road to return down the hill. However, it has changed a bit up there, and I got stuck and had to return the same way. It's been more than a year since bushfire roared through some of these lands, and I was a bit surprised how little has grown back in places. I was expecting much more green regrowth and undergrowth I guess. Next time I'll try the walk in reverse to see if I can work out how I got through last time. I love exploring the hills of the Huon.

Let it rain

The forecast dump of rain over Easter has arrived, and we're not unhappy about it. For one, it's a stay home weekend anyway thanks to the coronavirus crisis. Two, we got a new rainwater tank this week! It's right at the back door and we're looking forward to collecting rainwater from the large roof area for use in the garden, for car washing and more. It seems a waste to use town water for these things, so even our small stainless steel tank will be very useful. Plus the tap on it is right at the back door, and I reckon we might drink some of it too. We got a bit spoiled living off rainwater tanks up on the hill for nine years, and the taste of town water is, well... no comparison. We've bought a water filter jug that sits permanently at the kitchen sink for our drinking water.

#quarantinebaking

We're not in official quarantine or self-isolation anymore. We stopped receiving the daily text messages from the government after our 14 days were up. But we are still isolating at home like pretty much everyone else right now. And like many others stuck in their homes, I've been doing a fair bit of "quarantine baking" or "iso baking" as it's now known. Bread, apple cake, choc chip cookies... and now my very first attempt at home made hot cross buns, using a recipe delivered in a timely email from Provincial Home Living during the week. If you want the recipe, scroll through their 2020 Easter catalogue here. I omitted the fruit peel (husband not keen on it) and didn't have the right attachment for my piping tube to get the crosses as flat as I'd like, but who cares. They tasted brilliant, plenty of cinnamon and spice and all things nice. Just add (lot of) butter and a hot cup of tea. And don't look at the scales, it's only bad news.

Remote working? My top five tips

I have worked from home full time for almost 10 years now and in that time I've learned a lot about how to do it successfully. But for many people currently in self-isolation or working remotely due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it may be the first time they've worked from home or at least the first long-term remote work stint for them, so I thought I'd share my top tips.

1. Get used to being on video. Not all of us are comfortable being on camera. I confess it's not my favourite thing, but I am a convert. In almost 14 years with my current employer, I have had regular video calls with my manager and my team, who are all based in other countries. Until the last year or so, it was mostly optional. Now, almost every meeting I am involved in is a conference call using video, often with 10 or more people on the call. Being able to see people helps to build relationships and reduces the temptation to multitask or tune out during a meeting. You can see reactions, smiles and gestures which can make a big difference. If you're a small business and don't have fancy collaboration tools, Skype or WhatsApp work just fine.
2. Do not work in your pyjamas. It's the cliché about working from home that I hate the most. Apart from during a few 6am conference calls, I can honestly say I have never worked in my pyjamas. I get up, shower, wear proper clothes and make up. It's a job, and you will not feel professional or motivated in your PJs. And related to the first tip above: you may be invited to a video call at short notice and sleep or leisure wear is not a good look. I usually go for the 'newsreader approach': hair brushed, makeup on and a professional top/jacket paired with comfy jeans and ugg boots.
3. Take breaks and move. It's very easy to sit at your desk for hours and then realise you haven't moved. I sometimes even forget to eat, especially seeing as I often have meetings during normal lunch hours due to time differences with the US and Asia. Set a reminder on your PC, smartwatch or Fitbit and make sure you get up and stretch regularly. Book exercise into your calendar. Having a dog means I walk for 20 minutes twice a day even if nothing else. I also love my standing desk.
4. Set up a work space. Where possible, find a dedicated space for your PC and other work equipment, ideally one that's not shared with your partner or kids. Recently I've taken to moving to different locations in the house during the day, just to mix it up and get a different outlook - or to get the best background and lighting for that important video call! 
5. Stop at the end of the day. I am much better at this than I used to be, but it can still be a problem during peak periods. However, one of the top benefits of remote work is the flexibility in hours. As long as you get the work done and deliver results (agreeing what those are is a key to successful management of remote workers), it's up to you to determine when and how. Especially in winter, I usually stop work at 4pm to walk the dog before it gets dark, then go back to work afterwards. I might go out for a haircut or medical appointment during the day and make up the time later. As long as I am meeting expectations, that is fine. I get much more done working from home than I do in the office, so I don't feel guilty about taking time out.

Remote work isn't new. The technology is available and not hard or expensive to set up anymore. It's not possible for all jobs of course, and even for work that can be done remotely, I understand it's not for everyone. However, I hope this current crisis serves as a wake-up call to organisations large and small who still do not allow employees to work from home or other locations largely for cultural reasons or a lack of management maturity.

I'm not unusual in the company I work for. In a crisis, our leadership team can tell all staff to take their laptops home and work from there indefinitely. It's been useful more than once, even as far back as during Japan's earthquake and tsunami disasters in 2011. And it's proving critical in the extended and constantly shifting COVID-19 crisis.

The view from my home office is pretty good, despite the fly screen!

Making sloe gin

The kindness of friends in our local community in making sure we had food in the house during our self-isolation period after returning from Germany has been extremely humbling. While I feel a little guilty as I am not sick (touch wood), I am so very grateful. Without their support and offers of help, it would have been challenging to have a normal-ish life at home. These lovely people have dropped off milk, bread, eggs, vegetables, home made soup, Tim Tams and even great German beer, which will be perfect for washing away the disappointment of cutting short our holiday.

Among the doorstep deliveries was a bag of sloes. Sloe gin is something I hadn't tried until moving to Tasmania. My top tips for the local ones would be those from McHenry and Nonesuch Distillery, quite different but both delicious. Now I'm about to try making some myself, using this recipe from 'Gourmet Farmer' Matthew Evans. We'll get to find out what it tastes like in somewhere between three and six months time.

Auf Wiedersehen, Göttingen

It's been crickets here for a while, I know. I worked long hours in January and February for various reasons: it was planning and budgeting season, the coronavirus (COVID-19) was ramping up in Asia, I was getting ready for eight weeks long service leave, and of course there were a few of those those random requests that send you chasing your tail for no outcome at all. Gotta love those.

On 28 February I started my long service leave, and on the same day, got on a flight to Germany to do a language course. Studying at the Goethe Institut in Germany and doing the level C2 exam (a proficiency standard for European languages) has been top of my bucket list for years. David wanted to come with me and do a beginners German course. We were supposed to be gone for just over a month, but the Coronavirus situation escalated very quickly. Die Welt has published a fantastic animated graphic showing just how quickly things moved in countries outside China from late February. Every morning we got up something else had changed.

On Sunday night 15 March we learned that our German courses were cancelled along with the exam I was studying for. It was unavoidable but annoying, as both of us were really enjoying the course. Within two weeks, I had gone from being quite terrified and certain I would be unable to pass the exam to confident that I could. We cancelled our planned trip to Berlin at the end of the month. Then, the Australian government advised that citizens should return home as soon as possible, and there were rumours about the financial viability of airlines including one we were flying with.

The beautiful city of Göttingen where we were based started to close down. Shops and restaurants shut, public transport stopped taking cash and then started cutting services. Unable to contact the airlines as contact centres failed, we hot tailed it to Frankfurt airport to try and bring our flights forward in person, to no avail. Then the Tasmanian government announced new entry restrictions. We ended up forking out $3,800 on new flights to get home before even tougher travel restrictions came into force. Which we won't get back as travel insurance does not cover you in a pandemic.

I won't deny that having to say goodbye to my dream and the prospect of having nothing to look forward to again sent me into a bit of a downward spiral. But compared to the impact of this crisis on other people's lives and livelihoods, it's nothing. We're now into day two of 14 days self-isolation. I definitely won't be bored, as there is a long list of things I was planning to do in April, many of which can be done at home. Posting here is one of them.

The three amigos

In the camping ground on the Franklin foreshore, there are three greedy ducks that can often be seen around breakfast or dinner time, accosting people sitting outside their campervan, caravan or tents. They stand patiently in a queue, waiting for food. Cheeky chaps. But cute. And yes, it's the same trio each time.

Global village

Our little village of Franklin is filled with accents from around the world, as the fruit pickers come to stay and work in nearby orchards. Over the past month, we've met young people from Canada, the USA, France, Italy, China and Taiwan. There's a nice summery vibe in town with all the visitors. A tent city has sprung up in the camping ground on the river. Friends are hosting pickers in their homes and Kon's pub (a.k.a. the Franklin Tavern) is full. Unfortunately it seems the fruit season hasn't been so good this year - for cherries anyway - and the work may dry up early. Not good news, for the growers or the pickers.

The cannery

There's been a lot of buzz about the Cannery Kitchen and Bar since it opened in December, and it did not disappoint. We visited for Saturday lunch with friends early in the new year and shared some fantastic pizzas from the wood-fired oven, a salad and some broad beans, washed down (as Les Norton would say) with local wine, beer and house sodas.

My first thought as we entered the restaurant was, wow, where did the money come from? They must have some deep pocketed investors. It's stunning. The two enormous wood heaters were attracting a fair bit of attention. Staff were welcoming and helpful. Parents seemed very happy with the kid friendly outdoor area too. Wonder if we could bring the dog? Coming soon: a function space which we could see under development. It would be a fabulous wedding venue.

We will definitely be back soon. I am especially looking forward to the 'European baked goods' for Sunday breakfast, sounds perfect.

A very Huon New Year

I'm a bit of a grinch when it comes to New Years Eve. Big parties, crowds, fireworks, lots of alcohol and overpriced dinners are not the way I want to see in the new year. In the past I have found it to be a letdown and kind of depressing. Happily, this year was a quiet one. We popped in on friends who were hosting a group of fruit pickers from China at their lovely home right on the Huon River. There were cherries, cheese, cider and snacks and a fire pit on the river bank, with good company and plenty of laughs. We were home watching an episode of The Crown and messaging friends in Europe by 9.30pm and in bed ten minutes before midnight. At midnight we heard a neighbour pull a party popper and say "yay!" and that was it! At 9am on New Years Day we were doing Geeveston parkrun with 47 other people making a great start to 2020. I hope yours is brilliant!