Last night Mum and I returned from a week in Tasmania with my sister Fiona. We stayed in her amazing house that she’s building on a hillside in the southern woods of Tassie, on the Huon River.

When the idea came last January in response to Mum’s plea that she really wanted to see this amazing house before she died, it seemed so simple. But the logistics plus the preparation of Mum have taken a lot of time since. Although Fiona and I found the whole experience really, really hard work, it was good to give Mum this, her last real holiday, amongst the builders and their worksite that will be the finest testament yet to Fi’s skills as a designer in tune with the earth.

I’ll always remember the morning, halfway through the week, when Mum was starting to feel tired and thought she would not go out that day. She shuffled off to her room and was quiet. Fi and I got ourselves a cup of tea each and were sitting chatting in the wide, windowed lounge room when Mum’s black hat came flying down the stars that led to her room! We turned and looked up. There she was, all dressed in her favourite clothes and bright pink scarf.

“Well, are you two ready to go out?” she demanded! So we took her out to lunch. Despite her diabetes, her blindness, her lameness and loss of hearing, she still wanted to have a good time.

That’s our Mum!