What’s top of my mind: Getting over jet lag.

It’s been nearly a month since I posted on this blog, after arriving home from Nepal and Bhutan. As my crazy 3 years of travel come to an end, it seems to be taking me longer to bounce back from jet lag. I think I may be getting a little tired.

Not that I’m complaining. It’s a great problem to have, after all.

There’s only one more trip before I take an 8-month break from travel. Egypt with Davis33, Izzy and Evan30. It’ll be a fun one, I’m sure, especially travelling with a professional comedian.

Much as I’d like to continue taking MULTIPLE holidays every year, taking 20 trips in 3 years isn’t financially viable. I may be financially independent, but I’m not fabulously wealthy. This was always intended to be a little window where I could catch up on all the travel I missed when I was a struggling single parent. It was an achievement merely to keep our heads above water for the first decade or so.

I think I can safely say that going to all 7 continents, having 20 trips in 3 years and crossing off many “I wish I could see…” places has been an incredible turn-around. I think it was Lucinda, commenting on the other blog, who asked, “Could you have ever guessed, back in the early days, that your life could hve turned out like this?”

The answer is NO WAY. And I certainly don’t take it for granted. I’m one of the luckiest women to have ever lived.

The plan after November is to come home from Egypt, drive the 3-hour road trip to pick up Ivy (pictured above), the next day, then spend the next 8 months training her and getting things back to normal in the garden. In July, I’ll be off to Uganda to trek after gorillas and chimpanzees.

I still have to book something for my birthday in September. Maybe Easter Island???

I may be slowing down on the travel, but I’m not dead yet!

Where I’m going: Nowhere.

Excellent.

Where I’ve been: Nowhere.

Lots of naps have been had. Excellent.

What I’m reading: Some absolute bangers.

I read 7 or 8 books while I was away, and after a gap of a couple of weeks, I’m back into it again. In no particular order:

The Weight Of Angels- John Boyne. I cried when I finished this one, which doesn’t happen often. This is a re-imagining of Oscar Wilde’s life. What if he HADN’T fought the court case that absolutely destroyed his life? I finished this one wishing with all my heart that it was a biography instead.

Don’t Let Him In – Lisa Jewell. Couldn’t put it down. I also picked up a couple of new podcasts from the notes at the back.

Someone in the Attic and Such a Nice Girl by Andrea Mara.

Cul De Sac by Eleanor Limprecht.

The Shadow Friends – Tess Gerritson. The latest in the Martini Club series. Retired spies who haven’t quite lost it.

We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman. I prefer his Thursday Murder Club series, but this series is an enjoyable romp.

Hekate the Witch – Nikita Gill. A mix of poetry and prose.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Terrific book to take on holidays with you.

What I’m watching: some absolute bangers.

Slow Horses on AppleTV. It doesn’t get much better than this.

The Americans on SBS Catch up. I’m half way through. (As a side note, I saw on breakfast TV this morning that the female lead from this, and the male lead from The King in the High Tower are starring in The Diplomats on Netflix. OMG.)

Mobland on Paramount+. Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Tom Hardy. Enough said.

The Celebrity Traitors UK. Lovng it.

Apparently, The Other Bennet Sister is releasing a Christmas special!!!!!! Can’t wait.

I finished the lastest season of Ted Lasso last night. I think maybe they should have left well enough alone and kept it as a 3 season show. Not sure a lot was added to the Lasso universe in season 4.

So many shows are on my wait lists. We’re spoiled for chice nowadays.

What I’m listening to: Scout and Hazel having a tug-of-war over a toy.

So cute.

What I’m eating: Silverbeet leaves from the garden.

They’re choking out the onions, so of course that means I have to make pizza every second night with lots of greens on top. Such a shame. /s

What I’m planning: new routines for when we have 3 dogs again.

I won’t deny… having 2 dogs is often so much easier than having 3.

But there’s a lot to be said for getting the puppy stage over and done with, so you have years of trouble-free living when all the dogs know the rules, they’re all house-trained and life is cruisy. I may as well get it all done now, because I was always going to get 2 whole-colour Cavaliers for this next pack.

It’s a nice bonus that Hazel and Ivy are full sisters.

Who deserves a thumbs-up: Kate.

On my daily visit to Mum yesterday, it was clear that she wasn’t having a good day.

It was her 86th birthday on Monday, so all 3 of her kids, and a couple of her grandkids and the baby went in to spend morning tea with her. The staff made sure that she was made-up, with jewellery and a lovely scarf, so she looked great. I think it may have taken a lot out of her, though.

I just got a text saying that Kate’s going in to see Mum today. When anyone visits her, I take the day off. I’ll be running around behind a lawn mower, I think.

What has made me smile: seeing the seeds I planted turn into real plants.

Remember when I bought a greenhouse, planted some veggie seeds that I’ve had for years, then they all blew over on a windy day?

When I came back from Nepal, some had sprouted and were doing well.

Beans: 14 X Lazy Housewife, 6 X Pioneer and only 1 Sex Without Strings were doing well. Some are now in the wicking beds out the back, some have been gven to Kate and the rest are waiting for either Tom34 or Megan (from the Alaska and Canada trip) to pick them up.

Tomatoes: HUGE success with some unnamed massive cherry tomato seeds that I squeezed onto a paper towel 2 years ago and planted in a pot in August. I’ve planed around 20 of them and I still have about 200 left.

The Granny’s Throwing Tomatoes sprouted magnificently. I have around 8 in the wicking beds, Kate has some, and there are 4 more left for the others. I can’t wait to see what these tomatoes look like.

There were a few Tommy Toe plants that sprouted. I gave some to Kate, and there’s one left.

4 X Butternut pumpkins and 2 X tromboccino zucchinis. I still have a freezer drawer full og grated zucchini bags from last year, so I only kept one plant. I’ve put it in the front yard away from the pumpkins to hopefully avoid cross-pollination.

I’m hoping that I can plant some more seeds today. None of the lettuce or yellow squash plants germinated, so I need to try again.

Dad joke of the day: