Happy Birthday to me

Just had the most wonderful birthday weekend. I decided this year I couldn't be bothered with the usual drinks party and I wanted Scarlett to be part of it for a change. I booked a house in Kangaroo Valley (about 2 hours' south of Sydney) and invited 4 lovely friends to join us. The house was set deep in the bush down a long track off a country road and had stunning views down the valley over a lake. We arrive on Friday afternoon to find Kangaroos grazing on the lawn and to watch the sun set behind the sand stone escarpment in the distance. Lara and Adam arrived soon after and set about preparing a memorable Madhur Jaffrey chicken curry while we started relieving wine bottles of their corks. Rob lit the fire and by the time Kendall and Brett arrived, quite exhilarated by their hairpin bend drive along the track in the dark, the house was perfectly lit with lamplight and filled with the smell of Lara's cooking. With Scarlett in bed we made light work of dinner and enjoyed a rowdy board game before falling into bed ourselves too late and quite worse for wear. I awoke on my birthday with quite a shocking hangover not aided by Scarlett waking at 6am - something she never does at home. Rob gave me my presents and cards. My main present from Rob was a fantastic Union Jack toilet seat. I have been complaining for some time that there is little in our house to indicate someone British lives there. No more. After a huge cooked breakfast outside overlooking the lake, we wondered down to the water for a stone skimming contest, then into Kangaroo Valley village for lunch in the Friendly Inn pub garden. The weather was spectacular. Short afternoon naps followed before more wine was uncorked and Kendall and Brett set about preparing another amazing dinner. Maria's bread and butter pudding made another appearance along with a chocolate birthday cake made by Rob. Sunday morning was all about lazing about eating breakfast before we all headed off to a detox facility for the week. Brilliant birthday and just what we needed to remind us how great it is to live here. We drove back to Sydney with Scarlett dozing in the back.
Back in Sydney, the next morning we met our lovely friends from NZ Glenys and Gerald for breakfast at bills cafe, followed by a walk around the Botanic Gardens. Hooray.