What’s top of my mind: Packing for Taiwan!
I’m writing this on Tuesday, as Wednesday is a travel day, Melbourne to Taiwan, with a 3-hour stopover in Hong Kong. I’m excited – I’ve wanted to visit Taiwan for a while now, and this kicks off 2026’s travels.
Blogless Sandy is on the same tour. She saw that I’d booked, checked it out and asked if she could come along, so this time we’ll have separate rooms. You can see by the diagram that we’ll see quite a bit of the island.
Where I’m going: to buy dog food.
Scout doesn’t have quite enough food to last until I get home, so I’ll be jumping in the car to get a bag of kibble. Scout is sensing that something’s up. She saw me put my carry-on case on the table, and she’s keeping an eye on me. Hazel, meanwhile, is in blissful ignorance.
Where I’ve been: Hospital appointments with Mum.
It’s quite shocking how quickly Mum’s health has deteriorated over the past year.
She’s gone from happily walking around with her walker, to being immobile, relying on being in a wheelchair to get around. She is still in a brace for her broken humerus. On Friday, she was diagnosed with kidney cancer.
She’s too frail for any surgery etc. Fortunately, kidney cancers are incredibly slow-moving, which means that she’s likely to die of something else before her kidney gets around to becoming lethal. She chose to “let nature take its course”, to use her own words.
It all makes me more determined to get out and see the world while I can.
What I’m reading:
I can recommend both.
What I’m watching: The Dinosaurs on Netflix.
They’re so realistic that Hazel LOST HER MIND.
What I’m listening to: The Rest is History and The Book Club.
I saw a post on Twitter about a new pod about literature, with the first one being about Wuthering Heights. I listened, enjoyed it very much and saw that one of the presenters has a history podcast. I selected which topics I was interested in… it’s been going for about 6 years and I am but one woman, after all.
What I’m eating: I’m using up things from the cupboards.
I’ve bought a few things for Georgia31 to use while she’s here looking after Scout and Hazel, but I think I want to eat the cheese and crackers myself…
What I’m planning: what to do if our Balkans trip in May gets cancelled.
Yeah, thanks very much, Trump.
Our trip has a stopover in Doha, which obviously isn’t a great place to visit right now. Thanks, Trump.
Our tour is booked with TripaDeal, and they’re offering refunds or credits for any tours that they have to cancel, which is awesome. I’ll just grab a credit if the trip is cancelled, and go somewhere else.
Who deserves a thumbs-up: my kids.
They’ve all come together to promise that they’ll share the load to make sure the dogs are looked after here in their own home while I go travelling this year. The short trips will probably be just one person, but my 5-week South America/Galapagos holiday will require a bit of baton-changing.
What has made me smile: Retirement.
When I’m travelling, I’m happy. I love to see new things.
When I’m at home, I’m happy. My dogs, my gardens, my people… what’s there not to like?
Being able to choose exactly how I spend my time is a wonderful thing. I don’t take it for granted.
Dad joke of the day:
I was in the UAE for 3 weeks in February. Glad I was gone before the bully started.
Loved your retirement comment because it is so true! Can’t wait to get the Taiwan posts as I’ve never been.