Recalibrating

The weather was absolutely glorious in Sydney over the weekend – I hope it was fab around your way too. I love the Indian summer that April brings.

I hadn’t planned on visiting DD on Good Friday, but I couldn’t help myself – the sun was shining, the sky was blue, the boyfriend was irresistible and the water was 24C. So I jumped in the car for a two-hour mini-break by the sea.

I still can’t get my ears wet, so I only stood in the surf to just above my knees. It was a bit cruel to not be able to submerge my whole body, but it was better than not being in the sea at all.

Saturday was equally joyful. I walked for a few hours around the circumference of Narrabeen Lake with my friend Emily. We stopped halfway to share a bacon and egg roll and sip coffee while gazing out at the beautiful view (pictured main).

In the afternoon, I frantically raced around getting the house ready for DD’s mum to visit. I didn’t enjoy the tidying part, but I get such a buzz when look around the living room and see everything in its place.

We popped a bottle of Angove Naturalis organic sparkling wine – which was very delicious – and sat on the deck chatting in the afternoon sun before DD and his mum continued on their way to a family dinner.

I was yearning for an old-fashioned prawn curry for my dinner, so I cracked out the Keen’s curry powder and made THE most delicious stir-fry. Totally yum and super easy. I just chopped up an onion, softened it in some rice bran oil, then tossed in some Keen’s, stirred that until it was a bit fragrant, chucked in the prawns, added a bag of stir-fry veggies and when they were cooked I added some lite coconut milk and voila, dinner for one was served.

It was very peaceful in the house on Saturday night because the youngest was away camping and the eldest was out socialising. I pondered writing more articles for Drinks Digest or applying for a few jobs, but decided to read a book on the sofa instead.

It’s been a looooong time between books on the sofa. My ex gave me “Honeybee” for Christmas and I immersed myself in that for a few hours – a pretty confronting read, but a compelling page turner.

It was such a great day. I finally feel like I’m getting back to my usual self again. I don’t have any work booked, eeeek, but I’m not feeling crushed by the weight of responsibility just yet. Plenty of time to fret about that after the Easter break. There simply wasn’t time to organise my next career move in between working full time and being sick and going to medical appointments and looking after two teenagers.

Sunday dawned with me placing Easter goodie bags outside the kids’ bedroom doors – a little tricky in the case of youngest, who doesn’t eat sugar. So she got some vastly expensive blocks of Pana sugar-free chocolate and a sausage roll maker … which may actually be a present for me.

I gave the eldest a Golden Gaytime egg … also a present for me. OMG so gooooooooooood. I’d never seen them before and grabbed one at Woolies a few weeks back. Golden Gaytimes are my all-time favourite ice-cream and the Easter egg version did not disappoint.

Then I hooned up to DD’s because the eldest was having lunch with his dad. The plan had been to catch the ferry to Ettalong, but there wasn’t a park to be found near the wharf, so we went to Palm Beach Golf Club, which has great water views, for lunch instead, followed by a swim.

It’s all been incredibly relaxing and just what I needed after the stresses of the past few months.

I hope your Easter weekend has been a happy one too.

Song of the day: Powderfinger “My happiness”