I thought I would write about the weather. Tasmanians talk about the weather a lot. A lot! Usually, it’s either too cold or too hot, or too wet or too dry. The weather is very rarely “just right.”

This week the weather has been horrid. We have had low temperatures (12C) and rain. And snow. And wind! I’ve actually ended up a bit sick, possibly because I am run down, and I got so cold this week that I was chilled to the bone.

The wind has ripped a lot of cherries off our cherry trees. It has possibly ruined some other fruit trees, but they’re not as noticeable as the red cherry carpet under my favourite fruit trees.

The crows have pecked rubber seals off the roof of my car, and now my car leaks. This means that I’ll be driving in a wet car, and the carpet in my car will perish and stink. Why are the crows attacking the rubber seals on our cars, particularly the wind screen wipers?

Because of the design of our house, there is no sun coming in because it’s summer, and our house is possibly the coldest it has ever been. I have been wearing jumpers and scarves inside. Usually we walk around our house in t-shirts and shorts, even in winter, because our house is always so warm. This is very unusual for us! Because there is no sunshine, we don’t have hot water because our water is solar heated. We have to run the fire to heat the water.

Don’t even talk to me about getting the washing dry! I can’t dry the washing outside, and I can only hang one load inside at a time. It’s really challenging when you have a family of six who needs their washing done…

We have had two black outs this week, but we know people who lost power more often than that. I am grateful for our wood stove when the power goes out and I have to cook dinner.

It is depressing. I am tired of the cold. I feel cold a lot of the time. The wet, grey days are taking their toll. We are all longing for some sunshine!

The next two days are meant to be sunny and much warmer, with temperatures in the 20s. I plan to get a lot of washing done. If I feel well enough, I’d like to go for a walk. I will try not to complain about hayfever, or getting too warm, or even getting sunstroke because it’s over 25 degrees.