Wednesday W’s #139.

What’s top of my mind: Getting back into gardening.

Look at what I bought! Now that my 3 years of Crazy Travel are coming to an end… though I still have Nepal/Bhutan and Egypt to go… my thoughts are turning to my neglected veggie garden.

Last week, my sister Kate and I sat down with my seeds and went through them all. Lots were well over 10 years old and were discarded, but there were enough to plant in lots of little punnets. It’s like growing free food, which as you know, is my favourite flavour.

Yesterday, I was thrilled to see that the mustard greens have already sprouted.

Where I’m going: to Bunnings again.

I need chook manure and mushroom compost to rev up the veggie patch again, so later today I’ll be heading in. I jumped on their website to see how much home delivery would be, and it was $55!!!

Not on my watch.

Where I’ve been: in the backyard.

Three years ago, David32 gave me a couple of punnets of spring onions. This is what happens when you simply let them grow.

I picked one and used it in a pasta sauce instead of using a regular onion, as a test. It was delicious. So I pulled out one patch and spent the morning listening to a podcast and chopping them up into little bags for the freezer.

I still have another patch to go.

What I’m reading: The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

This was hard going at times, with lots of Maths and Physics. I may have skimmed over some paragraphs that were too dense for my brain. However, the basic storyline kept me going, and I hear that the next 2 books in this series get better and better.

There’s a TV series on Netflix, so once I finish the novel, I’ll see how they treated it.

What I’m watching: Reality TV.

I’m leaving in 2 weeks, so I really can’t seem to settle down for a good, meaty drama. Instead, I’m watching Alone, Alone Australia, Love is Blind UK and Ru Paul’s Drag Race Down Under. And The Block.

Once I come back from Egypt, I think I’ll have the bandwidth to dive back into “proper” TV shows and movies. Today on breakfast television, I saw an interview with Simon Pegg about a spy show called “The Undeclared War” which looks good. I’ve popped it on my list on Stan so I don’t forget about it.

What I’m listening to: Joe Jackson.

He’s touring in February. I’ve seen him once, decades ago, on his ‘Big World’ tour. When I was a teenager, my cousin gave me a tape of his first album, with the song “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” on it.

So yes. I’m looking forward to this one.

What I’m eating: Lemon cake.

I gave Tom34 and Sophie some lemons from my tree, and last night she gave me a chunk of lemon cake that she’d made.

She and Tom34 have just bought a house, so I’m storing a lot of their things while they have Tom34’s unit up for sale.

What I’m planning: The next two weeks.

There are a lot of things I want to cross off the list, ranging from getting a haircut to sending the desk I inherited from Dad away to get dipped. It’s a dream to think I’ll get to all of them, but I’d like to leave the country feeling that at least some of the jobs have been tackled.

Who deserves a thumbs-up: NOT Hazel.

Last Saturday, I left the dogs at home for 7 hours while we had a family working bee at Tom34’s unit to get the garden ready for real estate photos.

Remember how I said Hazel suffers from separation anxiety?

She shredded a plant in the lounge room, but the big surprise was when I switched on the TV that night, dinner on a plate on my lap, and sat down to relax.

BANG! The TV went black, and the grim smell of burning wires filled the air.

The little bugger had chewed a tiny bit of the power cord to the TV, not enough to be noticeable, but enough to ruin my plans for the evening.

Luckily, Fortunate Frogdancer has another TV in the second living room, so all was not lost. A few days later, Tom34 brought around the power cord to his TV, and we tested it. All I need to replace is the actual power cord, not the whole TV.

Phew!

Since then, I’ve been putting the dogs in the second living room and closing the hall door when I leave the house without them. Touch wood… so far it’s working well.

What has made me smile: Having 6 months at home next year.

Don’t get me wrong – I’ll still be travelling! But the hectic pace of the last 3 years will be slowing down. I’ve booked Uganda for winter next year, and unless something irresistible turns up in the meantime, I’m not intending to go anywhere. After that? Who knows?

I’m looking forward to getting some things done around here, and simply puddling around, enjoying my quiet life.

Dad joke of the day: