OMG - where did January go??

Silvana Franze
Feb 10
4 min read

A family friend recently lamented that we get short changed here in Australia, with Christmas falling during our Summer holiday. Unlike our northern hemisphere relatives who get two separate breaks – a month long holiday season entirely free from anything related to Christmas. That's right. No gift shopping, no turkey prep, no annoying aunt or uncle to put up with. Well, you get the drift.

So by the time we get to truly unwind, we've packed in a lot of stuff. This is how it goes in my head:

"Hmm, four weeks off. Will I go to the beach (which I haven't seen since 2019)? Should I clean out the kitchen cupboards? The yard maintenance is more urgent. It would be great to invite friends over for a barbie. Or I could catch up on admin. I'd rather catch up on sleep. But what about a holiday somewhere? It doesn't have to be far. Or long. Just a holiday away ..."

Surprisingly I did get to go away on two back-to-back short breaks which saw me out of my routine for much of January. It even included beach time. That's one off the list, already. Admittedly by the middle of the second short break, I was ready to get back into "it". But it gave me an opportunity to sit down and make a list of goals for 2026. The "vision board" exercise we did as a family during this time helped :).

What did I want from the new year ahead? Was I going to do anything differently or just the same ol' same ol'? I'd had a wonderful 2025 so why did I want to change things up? Was it time to challenge myself again? In some ways, I had achieved a number of my goals and the year saw some of our best and biggest classes ever, with more corporate groups booking with us and many customers coming back for multiple classes.

It was time to take a step back and reassess why I run our Italian cooking classes and special events. What do they give to participants? Consistently receiving 5-Star reviews since 2017 shows me we are filling a need. And the best part is that we also get to relish in the company of like-minded people. It's a hard life but someone's got to do it.

So back to my list for 2026. It includes introducing new classes on the schedule such as desserts and personalised one-to-one classes, learning more of our everyday meals, encompassing a wider range of the traditional Mediterranean diet. Notably, it's not all carbs!

Tied in with this is my ongoing quest to make the property more self sufficient, organic and low maintenance. In my head (and on the vision board), are rows of herbs, edible weeds and flowers that are all perfectly trimmed, bees buzzing around them, and I'm relaxing in the shade of olive trees somewhere in Sardegna Italy ... In reality, there's a long way to go but breaking it down into achievable steps keeps the overwhelm in check.

Sometimes we need to look back in order to know how to proceed. There are days when this quest becomes too much and I am ready to quit! But on those cool mornings, if I take the time to look out over the yard, I am genuinely in awe of how much we have achieved in a short time.

A key part in a low maintenance yard is the use of companion planting, something I am very keen to delve into more. To date, all produce has been thanks to my mother, my sister and my late dad. Where I shine is in looking after all the fruit and nut trees. Not an easy task but having planted Mediterranean herbs and ground covers under these trees has seen an improvement in both tree and fruit, something I am extremely proud of. Because, although we've grown up with parents who grew their own food for the most part, I didn't pay too much attention when I had the chance. What I would give to go back in time ...

I've always been appreciative of the hard work that goes into producing food and there's usually zero waste in our households. When it comes to buying food, I now go beyond reading ingredients labels. I'm interested to know where the food is coming from, how it is being grown and who is selling it. I'm reading about "the invisible ingredient" glyphosate and its effects on the human body and the earth. An eye opener to say the least, and have even more admiration for organic and regenerative farming. A big goal is to support them when I can, because I'm selfish and want to live in a healthy body and healthy environment.

Speaking of which, in my notes I wrote down exercise yet forgot to include it on the vision board. As luck would have it, just as we were packing up, I spotted an illustration of someone doing stretches. So I made sure I added it to my board! With a milestone birthday coming up, I figure I’ve put it off for long enough. My excuse has been the hard yakka in the yard. Apparently that's not enough ... so I am now enrolled in Tai Chi and Reformer Pilates and walk on mornings I don't have to be somewhere before 10am.

With perseverance, I'll be fitter and stronger than ever, have more enthusiasm for life and keep challenging my brain. Creating opportunities for new collaborations is high on my list and I'm thrilled to be able to invite you to a wonderful new event in Sydney, with ideas for many more to come.