I’m really enjoying this newly established tradition of a seasonal blog post celebrating some of the joyful things that have happened over the previous three months.

Goodness knows the world is throwing enough distressing and difficult news at us all – not just seasonally, but on a near-daily basis at the moment – so actively taking a little bit of time to look at the brighter side of life feels like a really important way of resisting the descent into doom.

Summer always seems to arrive quite late in Lutruwita/Tasmania. December and even January were still a bit miserable weather-wise, and it’s only now that schools are back (of course) that we’ve had a really consistent run of warmer, brighter days.

However, summer officially ends and autumn officially begins today, so without further ado here are my moments of joy from Summer 2025-2026.

1. Our Aotearoa New Zealand travels: hard to believe it, but this time four weeks ago we were enjoying a Mexican meal with friends in Wellington. I won’t go into detail on that here, because I dedicated a whole blog post to it just last week – but suffice to say we had a fabulous trip, and it reminded us how important it is to spend time together as a family having fun. DorkySon likely only has one, perhaps two more summers at home before he heads off into the world, so I’m hopeful we can do something similar next year.

2. Family WhatsApp: this may seem like a flippant one, but it’s really not. I’ve used WhatsApp messaging fairly constantly since moving to Australia, because it’s an easy (free!) way of keeping in touch with people. There are lots of friends in the UK that I have a weekly check-in with, just to stay on top of each other’s news without having to worry about scheduling calls around our time differences. Until a couple of years ago, I also chatted with my brothers on there – individually, but never at the same time. We finally got our act together and created a family chat group with all three of us siblings in there and it’s an absolute delight. We may only see each other very briefly once every three or four years, but there’s no substitute for people who have literally known you your whole life. It is by turns hilarious, educational, and infuriating – and also a lovely way of sharing pics of the various nieces and nephews without needing to share them more widely on social media.

3. DorkySon’s photography website: DorkySon had a very busy summer of photography, volunteering at several events, taking some staff portraits at a local business, working on his own projects and even running a photography workshop for other young people at the local youth arts centre. As well as his Insta page, he has now launched a proper photography website (and unlike his aviation blog he did it with no help at all from me!). He is on the lookout for any opportunities to help him keep building experience – and while the lovely testimonials up on his site are proof enough that he can now start charging for his work, his rates will definitely reflect that he is still very much an emerging photographer rather than a full professional. If you’re local to us and have anything coming up that might be a good fit, please feel free to get in touch with him directly.

4. Sunshine: short and sweet, this inclusion on the list. I am LOVING the sunny days that we are finally enjoying. I love being able to head out the door in a tshirt and jeans instead of being wrapped in six layers of merino and fleece. I wish there was a way to bottle up the cosy warm feeling of sitting on our front porch in the morning sunshine – coffee in hand, and the dog on her bed watching the birds – and then uncorking that feeling in the middle of a Tasmanian winter. Keep coming, sunshine, get in ma bones…

5. Platypus: as part of DorkyDad’s Christmas present, I bought him tickets for the guided platypus walk along the South Hobart Rivulet, run by local naturalist and all-round good egg Pete Walsh. Ermagahhhhd. Having never seen one before, we saw three platypus in one evening! It was an absolutely delightful experience – Pete is very generous about sharing his knowledge and expertise – so we now feel much better equipped to undertake our own adventures looking for these quirky little dudes. It’s no exaggeration to say that we left feeling much more hopeful about the world, simply because we’d shared an evening with other people who were as curious and delighted about nature as we are.

6. Omotenashi: talking of evenings out… our other major gift from us to us, and another tradition that we try to do as an annual treat is a meal at Omotenashi. It’s a beautiful 10-seat kaiseki restaurant combining the best of Japanese tradition with the best of Tasmanian produce – and it’s tucked away in the back of the Hobart Lexus showroom. Owners Sophie and Lachlan are beautiful humans, and the food they serve is always next-level good. I never remember to take many photos because I’m always too busy enjoying the many (many) courses, all served on wonderful Japanese tableware that Sophie and Lachlan bring back from their regular trips over there.

7. From high school to college: not a huge amount to say here either, except that it has been a joy to watch DorkySon take this transition in his stride with ease (minus one or two bus route hiccups that were more down to Metro than him…). The Tasmanian system of a four-year high school and then a two-year college, instead of high school all the way through, is a bit of an anomaly even in Australia, and I can see why it definitely doesn’t work for everyone, but so far the increased independence has felt like a good fit for this family, and getting some extra time with DorkySon with his one late start and two early finishes each week has been an unexpected bonus.

8. Ma wee Dog: we found a fabulous dogsitter to stay in the house and look after DorkyDog while we were away – but even on a trip that was less than a fortnight we missed her terribly! I can’t quite believe that she turns 5 later this month; nor can I believe what love, fun, and joy she has brought to all of our lives. So grateful for the walks, the naps, and even the judgemental side eye that she adds to our days.

9. Committing to exercise: Pre-covid I did a weekly pilates session and loved it. But when the world shut down for a year, my instructor stopped practicing – and when everything opened back up again, she chose not to return to it. So for the last five years I have been muddling along – doing daily dog walks, a bit of targeted strength training with a physio when I stuffed up my shoulder, and occasionally doing a week or two of home yoga sessions led by Queen Adriene. But I haven’t built it properly into my routine, which means as soon as I get busy it’s the first thing to fall off the list. With my mid-forties fast-approaching, now feels like the time to futureproof. And with EVERYTHING needing work – balance, flexibility, strength and cardio – I need a bit of accountability and guidance so I don’t do more harm than good. I had my first appointment with Hobart Exercise Physiology last week, and look forward to it becoming a permanent part of life from now on. As someone said to me last week, feeling sore because you’ve been moving your body is a privilege, and ain’t that the truth.

10. Christmas, obvs! You didn’t think I was going to let that go by unremarked upon, did you? I love our Australian Christmases – they couldn’t be more chill. Just the three of us and the doggo, warm weather, easy-peasy food, and a long summer holiday stretching ahead. We had a beautiful tree from Richmond Christmas Tree Farm, covered with our slightly batshit assortment of decorations, and our Christmas dinner dessert this year was a magnificent double cherry pie baked by Toni at Honey Child’s Creole. It was delicious, and a big step up from our usual cherries and ice cream; and as I hadn’t had to spend an hour pitting cherries, it also saved my fingers from the purple staining I usually end up with in all our Christmas pics!

To my Southern pals, I hope you have a beautiful autumn ahead. And to my Northern pals, I hope you welcome the days of growing warmth and light – it feels like you have earned them in spades. May you all have many moments of joy and gratitude in the coming months.