Burning Desire For FIRE

Financially Independent, Retired Early(ish) at 57.

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The top of the world tour: Iceland, Day 4.

September 1, 2025 / / 2 Comments

Here we are! The Antarctica 2022 crew (almost) all together again. Morgan, Baptiste, Corinna and I. The boys arrived in the middle of the night, while we swung by the airport after lunch and picked up Corinna.

The boys and I met at 9 for breakfast, but unknown to them, I’d already had Frogdancer’s sad breakie, so I joined them in a coffee. We walked to the rental car place, picked up the car we’ll be driving for the next few days, then off we went to the supermarket to pick up lunch. I was relieved that they didn’t want to go to town with lunches – you never know how precious people will be about food.

Then we headed off.

We stopped by a lake for a photo, and this group of bike riders swished by. Just like Beach Road on a Sunday morning!

It was beautiful.

Morgan was saying that outside of the cities, there’s only 1 person per square kilometre here.

Our next stop was a place where there was steam coming out of the ground, with pools of boiling water bubbling away.

It was so strange to think that all of this heat was being generated right under the walkways we were standing on. How could water be boiling hot without a kettle? It was crazy.

You can see the different minerals in the earth by the colours.

As we were driving towards the next thing, Morgan was telling us about how the first thing to grow on top of a lava flow is moss. “It’s very fragile”, he said.
Many of the roads we drove down today were roads that cut through lava flows. Some were old and the moss was busily working on them. Others were very recent and were still pitch black.

Morgan took this one as I was fighting for breath coming up the hill. It was the first of many uphill climbs that day. The top picture of us all was taken from the top of a lighthouse!
See the black in the background of the photo? This was from last year’s lava flow. Morgan, Baptiste and I were heading up to see another recent lava flow.

This one was a couple of years old. Iceland has lots of volcanic activity and the place is covered with lava in various stages of reclamation by nature. This was stark, black and very new.

Later that day, we drove through a town that was almost deserted. A swathe of house s were abandoned, with fences in front of them forbidding entry.

”What happened here?” Corinna asked.

”There was an earthquake, and the houses got damaged,” said Morgan.
First lava, then earthquakes. It’s risky to be a homeowner here!

It’s a strange, otherworldly landscape here sometimes.
“It’s like walking on the moon, “ said Baptiste.

The guys climbed a bit higher, while I turned back and walked down, almost making it back to the car before them. I had to be careful about where I put my right foot. All that walking in Copenhagen gave me a blister so bad that most of the skin had come off one of my toes. I had a bandaid around it today, which helped, but I won’t be going on any long hikes for a few days.

You can see that they’ve had to cut the road right through a lava flow.

I took this from the window as we were driving to pick up Corinna. It’s pretty thick. No wonder this country is one of the most expensive places in the world to live. Such a small population is paying for all these massive roadworks and infrastructure replacements all the time.

Though Morgan has a different theory. “It’s tourists,” he said over dinner. “ I was here in 2023 and every night I would buy a 3 course meal for 30 euros. Now, you can only get one course for that if you’re lucky.”

The lighthouse! Yes, we climbed all the way to the top. When we started, I looked at all of the flights of stairs winding up and thought, “If I could make it to the top of that fort in Japan and that island in Vietnam, I can do this!”
And of course I could.

It was very windy up there. It almost felt like I could be blown off the top. The wind wasn’t so bad earlier in the day, but it soon picked up. It wasn’t at all cold, at least, not for me. Corinna was regretting her choice of clothing that morning. But the wind was a THING.

See my scarf? I wore it on my huge 9 week Uk/Europe trip 10 years ago. And people wonder why other people knit. It’s so satisfying to make something and then have the benefit flow on for years to come.

Then we drove to America.

This is the bridge between continents. The tectonic plates of America and Europe are on either side. Isn’t that cool?

As we were walking back to the car, Morgan pointed out the tiny island out in the sea.

”Bjerknes lived there for a year or two and recorded an album there. She left when a fish told her to move out.

Our next stop was to a place that Morgan said was called “A nice beach.” As the others wandered towards the cliffs, I saw a sculpture of a huge bird. It was a Great Auk, once common here but is now extinct.
Imagine being the last one of your kind, like the Tasmanian Tiger in Adelaide zoo. So lonely.

Here’s Baptiste and I, lords of all we survey!

What a sparkling day!

Though the wind isn’t really kind to flared jeans!

Oops. A little bit askew.

Another drive. We were covering all of the peninsula below Reykjavik.

Can you believe this? It was incredible. The air was thick with sulphur as the steam poured out in an unending flow. We walked right through it on the boardwalk. At one stage, I had to stop as I literally couldn’t see anything at all in front of me.

Morgan caught Corinna emerging from the mist. What a great shot.

We then went to “ another nice beach “ where, if we wanted, we could go for a swim in this little pool beside the sea. In a country full of geothermal swimming pools, this one was not.
We asked Morgan if he was planning to swim there. “Oh no!” he said. “It’s far too cold. But you can, if you like.”
um… no thanks Morgan, all the same! But it was very pretty.

On the way back to Reykjavik we stopped to take a couple of pictures.

Look at how impossibly blue the water is.

We swung by the main church in Reykjavik, with a statue of Leif Ericsson at the front. It’s a very impressive structure, though according to Morgan, they were scammed when they bought the concrete and twenty years after it was built, the never ending restorations began. Sure enough, as we drove up to it, the back end was covered with scaffolding.

It was beautiful inside though. I loved the simplicity. Corinna and Baptiste are feeling the vibe.

It’s a funny thing, but many of the buildings here are corrugated steel. I wouldn’t have thought it would be insulated enough against the cold, but clearly I’m wrong.

Colours!

And to finish the day…

… swans at the edge of the huge lake in the centre of town.

Dad joke of the day:

The top of the world tour: Reykjavik, Iceland, Day 3.

August 31, 2025 / / 2 Comments

My last morning in Copenhagen, I went down to breakfast, then went back to my room and lay in bed and read a book. I know, it seems like such a waste, but the night before the girls from the WhatsApp Africa group got chatty. Every time I got to sleep my watch would buzz when a new message came through.

I’d wake with a start each time. Finally, I completely turned off my phone, but by then, like MacBeth, they’d murdered sleep. I needed a lazy morning reading a good book, so I took the chance to get it.

Later, at the airport, I spent serious dough on a new travel bag. Not something I wanted to do, but yesterday, when I was galloping around the streets of Copenhagen, I felt an odd ‘twang’ at my shoulder and this happened:

My Borneo bag didn’t even last for one holiday. I was at the airport and I saw a shop that was “By appointment to Her Majesty The Queen.”

Now, the queen of Denmark is Australian, so I’m sure she wouldn’t steer a fellow Aussie wrong.

The new bag. I’ll let you know how it goes.

It was 14C and sunny when the plane touched down in Reykjavik. I drove into town with a very nice taxi driver from Poland who told me lots about Iceland. Did you know that there’s only 400,000 people who live here?
He also pointed out the lava flows from a year ago. They broke the water pipes of a town nearby and the people had no heat or hot water for 3 weeks in the middle of winter. The government was supplying free electric heaters to keep people alive.

He seemed very nonchalant about the volcanoes. “They happen every year,” he said. “Two years ago the lava nearly covered the Blue Lagoon.”

Oof. I guess you can get used to anything…

I arrived at the place Morgan booked, only to discover that it was unmanned and I didn’t have a way to get in. Bloody Morgan forgot to send me the key code for the door. Fortunate Frogdancer struck again. I frantically messaged him and he was on the way to the airport. If he was already in the air I would have been stuck outside until he landed in the middle of the night.

With that little problem sorted, I went up four flights of stairs to the room – thanking all the gods that I brought a tiny suitcase with me – and then took myself out to dinner.

It’s lucky I was warned about Icelandic prices. This is the first time in my life I’ve spent $50 AUD for soup and bread. Ok, it was delicious, but I’m still reeling from the sticker shock. A chicken Caesar salad was on the menu for $65 AUD.

After dinner, I went through the streets to walk along the harbour. It was stunning. Sunny, with just a slight wind, with music coming from the bars. Never thought I’d hear Barry White in Reykjavik, that’s for sure!

I was going to walk around to this big green pimple, but after a few minutes I realised it was too far away.

I stood looking one way and took this photo…

… then turned 90 degrees and snapped this.

It appears that Iceland has the same muscle-bound seagulls that Canada has!

Dad joke of the day:

The top of the world tour: Denmark, Day 2.

August 30, 2025 / / 1 Comment

Today was a day that was totally unplanned. If I wasn’t flat chat with Mum’s stuff before I went, I might have researched and worked out an itinerary, but after breakfast this morning, I grabbed the map I was given yesterday and had a look.

I decided to walk to see the changing of the guard, the botanical gardens and the David Collection. This last one was a museum which was free. How bad could it be??

So I set off, after finishing a really good book. Breakfast at the hotel was great, but expensive, so I didn’t feel bad about making a cheese and ham roll for lunch. I jumped on the train, and my walking adventure started.

This is such a beautiful city.

Full of cobblestones though. They’re everywhere.

I ducked into a gift shop and bought a magnet with the Little Mermaid on it, so when I realised I had over an hour to wait for the changing of the guard and I was nearly at the edge of the map where she was, I threw caution to the wind and went to see her.

I’ll be back in a couple of weeks when I’m on the tour.

Remember last year when Meg and I were in Vancouver and we saw The Little Diver. She was modelled on the Little Mermaid, but the good matrons of the city didn’t want naked boobies on show where the kiddies might see. Hence she’s wearing a wetsuit.

After visiting the mermaid, and promising her I’d be back, it was time to hotfoot it to the palace square. Thank goodness I wasn’t here in high season. There were plenty of tourists as it was.

The changing of the guard ceremony happens 4 times, so I filmed the first one, then raced around to simply watch the others. These videos are in 20 second increments to make them easier for wifi to upload.

The new lot march in, watched by most of the old group that are ready for some R & R.

They then march around to all the stations in turn, to swap over. The soldiers have a quick debrief.

The leader then rummages around, making sure that all the equipment that is meant to be there is there.

The swap is made.

And off they go to the next doorway.

I headed off to the Botanic Gardens to have a picnic. Copenhagen was really turning the weather on. It was 21C and I knew I was probably getting sunburned. On the way, I saw another park, so I ditched the Botanic park, found a nice tree and plopped down underneath.

The park was full of people enjoying the day. It was lovely. While I was there, Liga messaged to say that she’s booked the Michelin Star restaurant for the Latvia part of this trip. James and I are very excited. It’s all happening, baby!

After I’d relaxed, I looked to see where the David Collection was. Turns out it was across the street from, just 3 minutes walk away.

I’ve seen some cracking little museums in London, so I was keen to see what this one had to offer.
Not a great deal, as it turned out. It was dry, stodgy, and dull.

It had two floors of Islamic art. I quite liked this helmet. It’d scare the shit out of anyone on the battlefield.

Unfortunately, 99% of the labels on everything were in Danish, so I whipped through this museum pretty quickly.

This reminded me of all the stuff we’ve been sorting through at Mum’s house. I had a bit of PTSD when I looked at all of the cabinets full of knick-knacks.

What a boring place. Give this one a miss if you have some time to kill in Copenhagen.

But the Royal Chapel made up for it. Just lovely.

This place certainly loves its bikes.

I’m proud of myself. As you know, I’ve been on many tours over the last few years. You get very used to being shepherded through things.
With this small leg of the tour, I was on my own. Any mistakes I made, such as not booking enough nights’ rooms, had to be solved by me.

I’ve spent two wonderful days wandering around the streets of a city where I know no one. I’ve worked everything out, without asking anyone for a single direction. It’s good to know I can do that.

Tomorrow I fly to Iceland where I’ll be meeting up with Morgan and Baptiste from the 2022 Antarctica trip. Corinna (Antarctica 2022 and England 2023) and James ( North Korea 2018 and Ireland 2023) will be joining us in a day or two.

What fun we’re going to have!

Dad joke of the day:

The top of the world tour. Day 1: Copenhagen.

August 29, 2025 / / 0 Comments

It happened again! I had hours of flat sleep in economy between Melbourne and Bangkok. While I was in Bangkok airport, 5 minutes from boarding the plane to Copenhagen, something made me double-check my booking for the hotel. Instead of 2 nights, I’d only booked 1.
omg.

As soon as I was on the ground in Copenhagen, I fixed it. Phew! Honestly, sometimes I think I shouldn’t be allowed out by myself.

I dumped my bags at the hotel and took the train to the centre of town. My goal for these two days in Copenhagen is to keep as busy as possible to minimise jet lag. Currently I’m now 8 hours behind Melbourne time. It’s going to slide back even further when I get to Iceland.

In Copenhagen’s City Hall is an amazing clock. Read the photo above. What a mechanism to make- and in the middle of a world war, too!

I thought of Dad. He loved clocks and watches, and he would have loved to have seen this.

Outside, Hans Christian Anderson.

I have no idea what he was looking at so intently.

A girl at the info desk in city hall recommended that I go to this museum. What a fantastic recommendation! I spent 4 happy hours here.

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek was founded by brewer Carl Jacobsen (1842-1914), one of the great industrial magnates of the 19th century and to date the largest Danish art patron.

Carl Jacobsen was a passionate collector. With the earnings from his brewery, Ny Carlsberg, he created a unique collection of art and cultural objects.

In 1888, Carl Jacobsen donated his art collection to the public and began construction of the Glyptoteket. Another donation, this time of the brewer’s rich collection of art from antiquity, followed in 1899. He also financed THe Little Mermaid, which I’ll be seeing when I’m back here in September with the TripaDeal tour.

Here’s a portrait of his wife. Honestly, you’d swear this was a photo.

The museum is built around a massive indoor garden. Imagine what an oasis this would be in the middle of winter?

Look at this poor woman.

A roomful of Rodin? Don’t mind if I do. Scott and I went to the Rodin museum in Paris, so this was a lovely throwback to 10 years ago.

Look at his treatment of the clouds around them. Just beautiful. I can see Wanda the water bottle photobombed them. Yes, she’s along for this trip.

The Prodigal Son. Really, if all you had to go on was art, you’d swear that everyone walked around naked in the olden days.

It took a long time between it being modelled to when in was finally finished.

This one was sad. It’s called Captive Mother.

Pieces are placed to perfectly catch your eye.

There was a whole section devoted to this painting. The exhibition
Degas’ Obsession delves into this one painting and tries to understand the history of the painting and how it relates to Degas’s artistic practice.
This isn’t the actual painting. It’s behind glass and I kept getting tourists reflecting in it.
In all his house moves throughout his life, he kept this one painting with him. This exhibition goes into everything that they’ve discovered that he painted over, altered and reworked. Interesting.

There were lots of his little models, all with such prosaic names. ‘Girl scratching left underarm.’ ‘Dancer examining bottom of left foot.’

Again, another throwback to Paris in 2015. This room was devoted to the restoration of her tutu. See the screen in the background? It’s a 4 minute video.

This was what it looked like before they started. There are a few of ‘The Little Fourteen Year Old Dancer’ sculptures around, and they all have different tutus. Here, they decided to go with what the original dancer of the time probably wore.

Can’t let you go without seeing the back! It’s just as beautiful as the front.

Egyptian mummies.

In the Egyptian section, there was a small group of sculptures and reliefs of Akhenaten and his daughter. I was thrilled. ‘Akhenaten’ by Dorothy Porter is a verse novel that tells his story. I absolutely love it. If you’ve heard of Queen Nefertiti, the most beautiful woman in the world, he’s her husband.
He tried to do away with the multiple gods of Egypt and just have one god, built around the sun, with himself intricately connected to him, of course. He established a new capital city and banned worship of any other gods. When he died, they tried to cover up all evidence of his reign as they went back to the old ways.

This was particularly poignant to see. Poor Meritaten. When her brother died, her father needed a new male heir. There was no one else available to try for another one except her, due to the incestuous rules of the Egyptian pharaohs.
She died in childbirth, and so did her son/brother.

Look! The Thinker! There’s a garden out here somewhere…

When I left the museum, I rounded a corner and found it.

It was beautiful, filled with flowers, lawns for people to picnic and children to play, and sculptures. I sat a

on a seat and ate some rice crackers from the plane and rested my feet. It was nearly 4 pm, my feet were starting to hurt and I was tired.
I made my way back to the hotel, grabbed a burger and climbed into bed at 4:30.

Woke up fresh as a daisy 12.5 hours later. I have one more full day here. Now I have to find out where I’m going on the tour in September, and then see different things. Time for breakfast!

Dad Joke of the Day:

Intense travel blogging will resume next week.

August 21, 2025 / / 2 Comments

I told Scout that I’m flying out in 6 days to see Iceland, Greenland, Scandinavia and the Baltics.

She looks sad.

Dad Joke of the day:

Little Adventures #23: Harold Holt’s beach.

July 26, 2025 / / 5 Comments

Back in 1967, just before Christmas, Australia’s Prime Minister walked into the waves of Cheviot Beach on the Mornington Peninsula for a swim and was never seen again.

Typically for Australia, he has a swimming pool named after him in Glen Iris. Why not?

I decided to get July’s Little Adventure done yesterday, because the weather forecast for the rest of the month was looking very wet and brisk. I googled ‘tourist destinations near me’ and saw that the place where Harold Holt disappeared was an hour’s drive away. Perfect! I’ll knock over a few podcasts and see something new.

He was originally the Treasurer before becoming Prime Minister, and was only 59 when he died.

OR DID HE DIE?????????

Apparently, there were many conspiracy theories, including that the Chinese picked him up in a submarine.

Fortunate Frogdancer arrived at the car park just in time to take a shuttle bus, saving me a long walk. The bus driver stopped, said, “The lady who wanted the Harold Holt memorial? It’s down there, and the rocks where he went missing are to your left.”

Here they are.

I decided not to hop over the gate and go exploring…

I was going to stay longer, even though it was cold and windy. There are a few short walks, the fort at the mouth of Port Phillip Bay, and the old quarantine station. But Kate rang, concerned that she was getting a few weird messages from Mum. I decided to head straight back and see what, if anything, was going on.

Spoiler: there wasn’t.

This is such a narrow spit of land. You can see the beach on both sides. The wind was moaning through the trees, but my fleecy jacket I bought for Antarctica was keeping me toasty warm. That’s a relief, because now I know I’ll probably be ok wearing this, a hat and cowl in Iceland etc and I’ll be fine.

I stopped at Rye and bought some chips to eat on the way home. They were bright yellow, which put me off a bit, but most of them mysteriously vanished before I got home.

A bit like Harold Holt…

Dad joke of the day:

Wednesday W’s #127.

July 23, 2025 / / 0 Comments

What’s top of my mind: winter is bloody cold.

I’m sitting with the heater on, but my hands are stll cold. The sky is grey and just looking out of the window brings chills. I know for a fact that right now, there are tourists in Borneo walking around in shorts and t-shirts, laughing at the warm weather.

Where I’m going: The bank.

Mum and I are going on a road trip tomorrow. All of the banks that I visited with Dad to get me attached to his accounts, now have to be visited with Mum.

Where I’ve been: Coles.

I’m a devoted Aldi shopper, but every now and then I get an offer from Flybuys to spend $50 for 4 weeks at Coles, in return for a $50 voucher. I use it to get free meat.

It’s ok. I wander around, phone in hand with the calculator open, totting up how much my shopping costs. The game is to get it as close to $50 as pobble. Today’s total? $50.32c.

Yeah, baby!

Every time they offer the same deal, but for a higher spend each week, I simply ignore it. Eventually it comes down to the $50 for 4 weeks offer again.

What I’m reading: The latest Jackson Brodie book.

Kate Atkinson is a fantastic writer, and her Jackson Brodie series is a cracker. I’ve been reading this series over the last few weeks and I’ve been having a terrific time.

What I’m watching: Sister Wives.

Ok, I don’t know how this happened, but I’ve been sucked into this ridiculous reality show about a mormon family with 4 wives and 18 chilren between them. To see supposedly intelligent women make such STUPID financial decisions because their husband drags them from pillar to post is like watching a train crash happen in slow motion.

What I’m listening to: Scout chewing her ball.

She’s obsessed.

What I’m eating: a roast chook from Costco.

You can’t go past a Costco chook. Connor has to get his own dinner tonight – Georgia and i are having a roast dinner!

What I’m planning: getting furniture for Mum’s room.

Mum’s legs are swelling with fluid, so Kate and I have decided that we need to get her armchairs from the house. They are recliners, so she can watch tv with her legs up. Tom33 and David32 are going to be loading up a trailer with some odds and sods from the house, which will make Mum’s room much more ‘homey’ and comfortable.

Who deserves a thumbs-up: Stephen Colbert.

More people should tell Trump to go fuck himself.

What has made me smile: The photo at the top of this post.

I have two long flowerpots at either side of my front door, and I buy small ‘potted colour’ pots to have flowers there. Last year I bought 4 gerberas, and when they finished flowering I decided to see if they’s flower next year if I planeted them in the garden.

Look!

Dad joke of the day:

Wednesday W’s #126

July 16, 2025 / / 2 Comments

What’s top of my mind: wondering how cold it’s going to be in Iceland, etc.

I’m so used to travelling with carry-on luggage, but I’m starting to wonder if I might need more space for more clothes. It’ll be autumn when I’m there, so it won’t be as cold as it can get, but I’m pretty sure it’ll seem pretty darned cold to me. My dependence is on my merino tops. Layering.

Where I’m going: The Motley Bauhaus.

Evan28 and his friends have a one night only show tonight. I’m going to go along and surprise him. It’s a sketch show, so who knows what it’ll be like? It’s part of the fun to find out. Evan28 is a very funny person, so I’m pretty sure I’ll have a laugh.

Where I’ve been: Bonbeach and my parents’ old place.

We’re beginning to clear out Mum’s place and either take things to the op shop, or bring them back to her room. The photo shows an orchid that’s just beginning to bud. Mum wanted it brought back to stand outside her window, where she can see it.

My sister-in-law loves orchids, so she’s taking the other ones Mum had in pots in her backyard. I’ve got a maple Dad bonsai-ed years ago, and a daphne in a pot that used to belong to Auntie Doris, Mum’s cousin. They’re now sittting on either side of my front verandah steps. My Mum and Dad pots, if you will.

I dug up some white irises from the front yard. These came from some that my grandmother gave Mum, decades ago. Now they are under the bottlebrush tree in my front yard. Kate didn’t want any; they’re too messy for her. But I like the history.

What I’m reading:

Some fabulous short stories. I’ve had this tab open for about 3 weeks, and I’ve been making my way down the list whenever I’ve had a spare snippet of time. Most of these stories are very. very good. The only one I didn’t bother with is the J D Salinger one. I can’t stand ‘Catcher in the Rye’ – I wanted to slap Holden Caulfield.

Some of the links don’t work, but just take the title and author’s name and put pdf after them. Only one story (‘God Bless America’) didn’t come up, but the others all did.

‘Daisy Jones and The Six’ by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I’ve come late to the party wth this one – even Kate has read it before me, and she’s not an all-devouring reader like I am. It’s loosely based on Fleetwood Mac in the ‘Rumours’ era, and the way she’s told this story is unusual, but very effective.

What I’m watching: Dept Q on Netflix.

Just like when I saw ‘The Boys’, this one had me n the first 5 minutes.

What I’m listening to: Birds.

One of the things that makes living here in The Best House in Melbourne is the birdsong. When we were kids, we’d spend our school holidays in Inverloch, where Mum’s parents lived after they retired. The birds were different there to anywhere else I’ve lived. Except now.

Every now and then a bird will cry out and I’m instantly back in Inverloch. It’s lovely.

What I’m eating: ham and cheese scrolls.

Well, I haven’t made them yet. But I have a hankering, and I’m sure Georgia won’t object.

What I’m planning: a Little Adventure.

Oof. Remember those?

When I retired, I decided that every month that I wasn’t travelling, I should go and do or see something new to me. A day trip. I’ve been doing so much travel over the last 2 years that the Little Adventures have been few and far between.

But I’m not going anywhere this month. 🙁

So I have to start thinking about where this month’s Little Adventure will be.

Who deserves a thumbs-up: Scout.

It makes Mum so happy when Scout trots into her room, wagging her tail. Mum’s missing Dad so much, so anything that brings her happiness is a very good thing.

What has made me smile: Procrastination.

My poor veggie garden looks AWFUL. After I harvested last summer’s crops, it has been left to rack and ruin while I gallivanted all over Asia and Africa. I’d be happy to leave it be, but I have 3 different sorts of garlic to plant. They go in at the winter solstice, and they are harvested at the summer solstice. If I was going to have free garlic for another year, they had to get into the ground.

I got up on Monday morning, and when my feet hit the ground I said, “That garlic will be planted by Friday!”

By 2 PM that day, every clove was in the ground. Just as well, because when I opened up the paper bags I’d put them in last year, they were already starting to sprout.

In my head, the job was so much larger than it ended up being. That gave me heart. Yesterday I cleared out 3 more garden beds, which will be all fertilised up and will then lay fallow until I get back from the Iceland/Greenland/Scandinavia/Baltics trip in October.

I’m also thinking about how I want my back yard to look on Christmas Day. It’s my turn to host.

Dad joke of the day:

We are the luckiest people to have ever lived (so far.)

July 14, 2025 / / 5 Comments

Yesterday I had all the kids (except Izzy) over for lunch. Ideally, I like to catch up with them in between trips, but it’s like herding cats now that they’re all adults with their own lives. Last week on the ‘Wednesday W’s’ post, I showed a photo of 4 generations of engagement rings, from my great-grandmother, grandmother, my mother and me. Yesterday Sophie was there with Tom 33, so we lined the rings up again and took another photo.

5 generations!

My great-grandmother’s ring is a crystal. It’s cracked, as I found out when I recently had it cleaned and the claws fixed. I left it as it was. She was very poor – she was a washerwoman, I believe.

The next generation was slightly better off. If you look closely, you can see that my grandmother’s ring has tiny diamond chips. Fancy.

Mum’s ring is next. It’s an actual diamond, though, “We had no money, so the ring is more setting than diamond!”

Mine is next. We used to call it “The Rock.” Personally, I wanted an emerald with two little diamonds either side (which was a ring I eventually bought for myself when I took the kids to Thailand, years after my divorce.) My fiancé was a first-gen immigrant from a desperately poor family. He was running a fruit shop. He wanted a statement ring. The Rock is certainly that.

Sophie’s ring is another diamond, but this time it’s a black diamond. She is an avid skier, and Tom33 bought a black diamond for her, as they are the most prized of the ski slopes.

In the photo above, Sophie’s ring has caught the sunlight. Here’s what it looks like normally:

What I find fascinating about these rings is that it shows the definite improvement in the fortunes of a VERY working class family. I was the first person to finish secondary school and get a uni degree in my Mum’s family. We were certainly not rubbing shoulders with the Vanderbilts and the Rothschilds! And yet, a luxury item like an engagement ring slowly became more and more valuable over time, to the extent that the last one in the line – Sophie’s – is now chosen not for actually having a diamond, but is now chosen for the TYPE of diamond.

Every time I hear that living conditions are sliding and that things have never been worse, I know that’s absolute bull5hit. Every student of history knows that life for the common person has never been better than it is today.

For example, who in their right mind would want to go back to live in medieval conditions? Nowadays, our standard of living is better than kings in that era. Every time we reach out and casually switch the heater or the aircon on, we’re winning. Putting the foot down on the accelerator, instead of riding on horseback or worse – being jolted around in a carriage with little suspension and dirt roads. Streaming practically any show we can think of, instead of waiting for a minstrel or travelling players to come and provide entertainment.

Try living in the squalor of life in the tenements in the Victorian era. All throughout history, imagine walking across the street with horseshit all over the roads, chimney sweeps as young as 4 being forced down chimneys, the Black Death killing between 30% and 60% of Europe… yikes. Obviously, the list goes on, but I have gardening to do and those garlic bulbs aren’t going to plant themselves.

This really hit home to me when I was in my early forties. I had been single for a decade or so and I was wondering if Mr Right was ever going to come along. (Strangely, men weren’t queueing up to be with a broke single mother of four boys. God knows why!) I was watering my front yard, having a quiet whinge to myself, when the thought suddenly occurred to me that I was an ungrateful idiot. I thought of the MILLIONS of women from the past who would have killed for the chance to live the life I had.

I was independent, with total control of my finances, where I lived, and how I chose to support my family. I was freely able to divorce my ex-husband AND keep custody of our kids. I wasn’t tied to someone else’s choices with money and life decisions. I was captain of our own boat.

I was educated and so I was able to support my family by teaching, instead of farm work, cleaning or lying on my back. My children were also being educated and they’d have opportunities far beyond what the ordinary women of the past could have dreamed of for their children.

We were vaccinated, could vote, and cook with the flick of a switch, instead of building up a fire every day. I was free to travel as widely as my time and finances could allow. (I had no idea what amount of crazy travel waited me though!) I had total freedom at home to do, say and be whatever I wanted.

Tell me when in the history of humankind have ordinary women ever had this much freedom and autonomy?

That very moment was when my life changed and I realised that I’m one of the luckiest people on the face of the earth. My life was immeasurably better than any generation of women before me.

The engagement rings are a tiny example of this. Over time, society is slowly getting better and better. Hell, in my travels in even the poorest of countries, every single vendor of every single tiny roadside shop selling fruit, veggies, and clothing all have a mobile phone. It’s universal… everyone scrolling through their mobiles while they wait for customers.

Are things perfect now?

Haha, of course not. There’s still so far we have to go in so many areas. Please don’t troll me in the comments by saying, “Oh yeah??? Well what about blah blah blah.” We’re living in 2025, not in Utopia. But looking back and comparing, things are not so bad.

Even a cursory look at history will show that slowly but surely, we’re crawling out of the mud to stand up and gaze at the stars. We’re the luckiest people to have ever lived. I’m not sure that we take the time to appreciate that enough.

Dad joke of the day:

Wednesday W’s #125.

July 9, 2025 / / 6 Comments

What’s top of my mind: Engagement rings.

We’re clearing out things from my parents’ place, and a few days ago we retrieved some jewellery. This row of rings are 4 generations of engagement rings from Mum’s side of the family.

The kids are all coming to my place on Saturday, so I’ll get Sophie to put her engagement ring next to the others. Then there’ll be 5 generations. How cool is this?

Where I’m going: Bonbeach.

As soon as I hit publish on this post, I’ll take Scout and we’ll go and take Mum for a walk. She’s losing mobility and she needs to build up her strength again. Her 2025 was pretty much sitting and watching Dad.

Where I’ve been: to the library.

I haven’t bought a book for the last 5 years or so. Instead, I use the local library, and for a bit of fun, I keep track of how much money I save by doing this. (At a rate of $30/book.) See the side bar…

A lot of the books I had on hold have come up, so presently I have about 10 books piled up beside my bed, ready to go. So far this year, I’ve read 62 books.

What I’m reading: some great books!

The Book of Guilt – Catherine Chidgey. This was sensational. It’s a slow burn and I don’t want to gve anything away. It’s set in an alternate future, where WW2 ended in 1943 in a draw, after that assassination attempt on Hitler’s life actually succeeded.

Caro Ramsay’s DCI Christine Caplan series. These are terrific. Set in modern-day Scotland, I’m loving them. I just finished the third in the series, then when I was getting the link for you, I discovered that number 4 has just been released. EXCITED! I raced across and put a hold on it at the library.

What I’m watching: The Buccaneers on AppleTV.

I’ve always meant to read the novel by Edith Wharton but I’ve never got around to it. This series is pretty darned good.

Also on AppleTV is Murderbot. I love the novellas and this show is wonderful.

What I’m listening to: the kids next door playing happily.

Aparently it’s school holidays. This is the first holidays that I didn’t realise. I’ve finally got the retired teacher mindset!

What I’m eating: nothing noteworthy.

What I’m planning: lunch for the family on Saturday.

Now that the kids are leading their own lives, getting us all together is like herding cats. I like to touch base with them in between my holidays, so this is the first one since Borneo. Sadly, Izzy won’t be coming, but everyone else will be there.

Evan28 will be moving back home in a couple of weeks, so this will mean a massive switch in the menu to vegetarian meals. Georgia and I will no doubt be having meat/cheat meals whenever Evan28 is busy at dinner times. 🙂

Who deserves a thumbs-up: the locksmith.

Mum and Dad had a safe in the house that, by the end of his life, not even Dad could get into. It had a dial on the top that was impossible for Kate and I to manipulate. We tried for at least half an hour, until I lost patience and said, “Fuck it! We’re calling a locksmith!!”

Naturally, he got it open on the first try.

The “family jewels” were there. Nothing is worth anything – it’s all sentimental value. There was also a huge bag full of every key that had ever passed through my father’s hands. Yes, I don’t know why this was so precious, either.

Mum and I had a lovely time looking at the jewellery and she told me all the stories behind who owned each one. The plan is for Kate, Mum and I to go through and we’ll take what we’d like, then we’ll have a meeting with Mum and all of her granddaughters and they can select what they’d like. Kate has two daughters and my brother has one.

I asked Mum if Georgia would be considered a granddaughter. Mum looked startled for a second, then said, “Yes. I think she is.” How wonderful for my trans daughter to have such acceptance..

What has made me smile: Seeing Megan (from Alaska/Canada) so excited about her new carpet.

At work, there’s a saying around a select few people about working deliberately towards early retirement. It’s called “doing a Frogdancer”, but with my IRL name, of course. Megan is being very strategic about how she deploys her finances. This year, she’s finishing off the last of the major house renovations by installing carpet throughout her unit. She’s done all her renos using cash and she’s been using her head when it comes to her long-term plans. I’m very proud of her.

Dad joke of the day:

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