What's growing in the garden?

Not much, to be honest. However, a lot changes in eight days! When I returned from my work trip on Wednesday, a bunch of carrots were ready to harvest, the snow peas had grown like crazy and fallen over in the wind, two of the lettuces had turned into small trees, there's an abundance of rhubarb (time to make some of my favourite kind of jam), the coriander had bolted and gone to seed, the arugula has flowers, the tomatoes are doing okay... but my lack of planning means once that lot has gone, there won't be much to follow other than my successive lettuce plantings. So soon I am going to dig it all up and add plenty of compost and plan some winter crops.

The big apple

 I spent the past two days exploring parts of New York City that I haven't been to before, after three days of meetings with my team and managers at company headquarters in Connecticut. On Friday night my team had a fantastic meal at The Standard Grill. On the weekend I toured the fascinating Tenement Museum, had brunch at Freemans, walked over the Brooklyn Bridge, went to the New York Transit Museum in a disused subway station, took in the view from the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center), saw the works of top German and Austrian artists at the Neue Gallerie and ate in its Viennese-style Cafe Sabarsky, then marched through Central Park in the brisk -5 degree but sunny late afternoon. Oh and went shopping of course. Mainly clothes.

I love this city. Although I have chosen to move to "the country" (I suppose you'd call it that), and I absolutely love the peace it brings, I still like cities. I just do not want to live in the suburbs ever again. If I move back to a city, I swear I'll live somewhere smack bang in the middle of it. Where I don't need a car and have everything on my doorstep. Just like here in NYC.

As well as doing my normal job this week, I have been voluntary tourism ambassador for Tasmania, telling everyone about the gourmet and wilderness paradise that it is. What I discovered is that the only thing many people know of the place is Taz the Tasmanian Devil from the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoons. Some of those believe that it's a fictitious cartoon beast and not a real live (albeit increasingly threatened) animal.

Tomorrow the 30 hour trip home begins. I'm starting to look forward to some fresh Tassie air.

Brunch at Freemans

Walking over Brooklyn Bridge

An old subway carriage in the New York Transit Museum

Lovely old brownstones in Brooklyn Heights

Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge

Sparrows warming themselves in the sun (it was -8 degrees)

Manhattan skyline from the Top of the Rock

Viennese-style lunch at the Neue Gallerie

Late afternoon sun in Central Park

Little fruit trees

The apple and pear trees planted as bare root stock in July seem to be doing okay so far. Hopefully they will do more growing over the next few summer months. The Huonville Crab is the prettiest by far, with beautiful burgundy coloured leaves, but only the Berner Rose and the Cox's Orange Pippin are bearing any fruit.

Rescue dogs

This beautiful dog belongs to Wendy from our local seafood restaurant and fish and chips takeaway, Aqua Grill. Isn't she sweet? She was adopted a year ago as a rescue dog and is a little timid - not keen on people wearing black apparently, and a bit frightened of feet. But once you win her trust, she just wants chin tickles and ear scratches like any other pup. How on earth could people mistreat an animal like this?

Last month we also had the great pleasure of meeting Tippy Latte, another gorgeous rescue dog, at the home of Rhondda, owner of Star Anise beauty therapy in Huonville. She was also a little nervous of all the people at the Christmas barbeque, but when you weren't looking, she would quickly sneak up and lick your elbow! Such a cute dog.

If you want your heart melted with more photos of beautiful rescue dogs available for adoption in Tasmania, take a look at the blog A Thing For Sewing. Melinda volunteers for Dogs' Homes of Tasmania and helps to find new owners for so many lovely dogs. Or sign up to the Brightside Farm Sanctuary page on Facebook and read more about the great work they do. I hope many more dogs found happy new homes this Christmas.

Camp Coningham

Not far off the Channel Highway about 30 minutes south of Hobart lies the little 70s time warp seaside township of Coningham. You'll see the turnoff after passing through Snug. On the weekend, a friend hired the former Mission Afloat church camp (now called Montgomery Park) for her weekend of 40th birthday celebrations. Cocktails and dinner around the fire outside were followed by partying indoors. Almost everyone stayed the night, either in the dorm rooms with bunk beds or a tent pitched outside. Such a great idea. Many of the guests were from interstate, some brought kids or dogs, some brought games, locals pitched in with catering, everyone helped to clean up afterwards.

In the morning, I managed to squeeze in a short stroll to Little Coningham Beach, which has excellent views of Cathedral Rock and Mount Wellington, then along the clifftop path heading south before the rain set in. I'd like to go back to do more walking in the bushland recreation area nearby.

Daisy

In yesterday's post came a birthday card from my Nan in the UK.

Earlier in the morning my Dad had called to say she had died. Sometimes living so far away sucks.

It was more than eight years ago that I last saw my Nan. The lovely photos taken at her 90th birthday a few months ago made me wish it was more often, but still I feel lucky to have been able to spend lots of time with her as a child. Thanks to my Dad's job with an airline, we were able to travel to England regularly and see our family. I am thinking of Dad, his brother and sisters and all my cousins today.

A few of the memories I have of my dear Nan:

• The smell of toast cooking under a gas grill (and putting coins in the gas meter under the stairs)
• Her love of word puzzles 
• Riding the double decker bus to Staines 
• Wading in the stream near Nan's home in gumboots with a fishing net
• Buying special treats (like chocolate mint sticks) at Marks and Spencer
• While staying with her one cold January, she told all the shopkeepers that it would snow tomorrow, so her granddaughter from Australia could see it. And it did
• Nan riding to work on a yellow moped... not sure, but I think she was about 60 then
• The letters she wrote on blue aerogramme paper. I still have them
• Nan cooing over my baby cousin Joseph (Jojo) as he lay on the lounge room floor. He's now a grown man
• Playing housie at the local club with her friends
• The tune that Nan hummed. When we asked, she didn't know what song it was
• Nan's visits to stay with us in Sydney. She loved the sun and warm weather and it did her good
• The hug at Heathrow airport when she didn't want to let go for fear we would not see each other again

RIP Daisy. xxx

Peachy

Yes, we've been to the Cane's orchard in Franklin again. They sell fantastic stone fruit direct to the public from the top of their steep driveway. They even do a 'mixed box' of peaches and nectarines. Now I'm looking forward to a box of their apricots. I enjoyed them so much last year.