Linda Hall: Reality bites after frantic time

Linda Hall.

It's been a whirlwind few weeks for me.

At the beginning of the month it was my mother's 90th birthday.

We planned a surprise birthday party for her and invited relations from around the country.

My daughter and her three children came from Australia as did mum's youngest sister.

Trying to keep the secret was really hard.

Then my daughter said she really wanted to see her nana before the party as there would be loads of people there and she wouldn't get a lot of time with her.

Fair enough. So we did what all good Kiwi families do ... we made up an elaborate story about why she was in the Bay and hoped she would buy it.

She did but it was hard to make sure we didn't slip up.

When we went to the supermarket where my mother shops I said to my daughter "watch out for nana. If you see her duck."

When we came out she said there were so many people with white hair she was ducking and diving all over the place.

Anyway the week spent with my family before the party was fantastic.

We hired bikes with big buckets in the front to hold the kids from Fishbike on Marine Parade and biked to Westshore. We went to Clearview Estate Winery, ate delicious food and played petanque - the children loved it.

The birthday bash was the highlight of the week. It was a bit like a family reunion.

Then the day after the party I flew to Auckland and then - wait for it - to Los Angeles and then wait for it - Toulouse in France - yes France.

The trip was courtesy of Air New Zealand and I'll be writing about my travels and the main reason for the trip ... the handing over of a brand new plane to Air New Zealand.

It was nine days of travel that I'll never forget. Not even the long haul home (nearly 30 hours) put me off.

I loved every minute of it. France is such an incredible place.

It reminded me that we have to preserve our heritage so that generations to come can see how we lived and how our ancestors before us.

The fun wasn't over as this weekend my sister and I caught up with some cousins for lunch.

Yep . . food again and lots of it.

This week I managed to fit in one and a half hours of exercise.

That's the first for nearly three weeks and I'm really feeling it. So now it's back to reality - sensible eating and exercise - that is until June 3 when Winter F.A.W.C! begins and along with it come F.A.W.C! by 5.

I'll be trying some of the dishes offered by our wonderful cafes and restaurants and telling you all about them - I know it's a tough job but someone has to do it.

So all you foodies and wine lovers start planning your F.A.W.C! feasts.

- Linda Hall is assistant editor of Hawke's Bay Today.