There was no overseas travel as we used that budget to make some home improvements and do some essential property maintenance.
We had a couple of trips north to Sydney and one to the Hunter Valley in what was, for us, a very low mileage year.
The co driver officially became an Australian citizen and the daughter and her husband moved to New York to live and work.
I made it to the big seven-o.
Vintage 2016 was a bit of a disaster wine quality wise. I decided in the end not to bottle any. Sad to see a few hundred liters poured into the ground but life is too short to drink sub standard wine.
This was a result of being away at a crucial growth stage during the latter end of 2015. The resultant grapes at harvest were in poor condition so no amount of chemistry (or alchemy) could make good wine from them.
The saying "good wine starts in the vineyard" was once again proven to be true.
This time around, with a 100% care, we are expecting a much better result for vintage 2017. Already things are looking good.
Politically, we went to the federal polls again and the incumbent government was returned with a much reduced but still a one seat majority and a hostile senate despite their cynically changing voting procedures in a effort to thwart such an occurrence. So the dithering, indecision. inertia, factional infighting and back flipping will continue for another three years. Sometimes you have to wonder about the IQ of the electorate. But then again, look what happened across the Pacific. Unbelievable!
But, despite all this, life goes on in our quiet piece of paradise on the south coast of NSW.
So 2017 sees plans already made for a USA trip and a tentative one on the drawing board for a week or so in Tasmania.
Other than that, life will be beach sitting, fishing, grape tending, yoga/meditation, quilting and farm duties.
To all my readers, have a successful, prosperous and happy New Year.
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