Now that I don’t work, I come across people who are still working and hear some horror stories of what is happening in their place of work. A few have mentioned to me that they’re simply “going through the motions”. There has also been a couple who (once they found out what I used to […]
Clingy Cat
Meet Pud. He’s our cat and he’s about 10 years old (I don’t know what that is in cat years but I think he’d be middled aged.) I love him so much. He’s my little buddy who keeps me company and who follows me around. My constant companion. Unfortunately he’s been sick these last couple […]
There’s No Such Thing As Job Loyalty Anymore
I’ve lost track of how many times my friends and family have been talking about how “things have changed in the workplace since COVID”. All of them comment how work is now uncontrollable in the sense they cannot get on top of things due to constant change, technology issues or just keeping up with day […]
Pharoah Exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria
Last Friday a friend and I headed to the National Gallery of Victoria to see the Pharoah Exhibition which is on until October this year. After having an initial heart attack at the entry price of the ticket $34, we headed in and were in awe of what we saw. The exhibit was in two […]
Indoor Skydiving
This morning we headed off to Essendon Fields, an area near the airport that has airfield and various hangars that are now a bustling retail precinct. I had bought a voucher for Andrew to experience indoor skydiving but as he had a frozen shoulder for most of the year, he couldn’t use it. Now that […]
Visit to Cape Patterson
We headed off for home this morning from Inverloch and just about the time we were to leave, we saw the kangaroos outside our room! They’re cute to watch but I wouldn’t suggest going near them in case they kick and scratch you which could be lethal. A short four minute trip by car, we […]
Trip to Inverloch
Dinner was delicious and it was a chance to just chat, enjoy the meal and make plans for when Andrew will stop work and retire in exactly 82 weeks. (He’s counting down the days 🤣). Our plan then is to do more of these short trips around Victoria, also travel around Australia and the world […]
New Book Haul
I bought some new books that were on a sale at Dymocks which is a book seller here in Australia. As a member of their Book Club, there’s various events and discounts for their members at certain times of the year so it was time to stock up on some Shirley Jackson and John Williams […]
Visit to Bastille Day French 🇫🇷 Festivities at the Queen Victoria Market
What a glorious sunny Melbourne winter’s day! Today I decided to head into town to see the French 🇫🇷 Bastille Day winter markets at the Queen Victoria Market. I hadn’t been there in many years so I was keen to see how the place had evolved. It’s usually quite busy on market days with the […]
Visiting Monash University’s Ukrainian Exhibition
Today I went back to Monash University. I visited there recently for a bit of a walk around but this time around, I met up with my good friend of over 37 years, MK who used to study Geology while I studied Chemistry. Since then, she went into Education (while I had joined the Navy […]
Baking the Japanese Cotton Cheesecake
It’s fair to say that I’ve gone a bit “Crazy for Japan”. Train travel, capsule hotels, souffle pancakes you name it. It’s a place I’d like to visit but for now, I just have to contend with making my own learning experiences. Today was raining all day and I didn’t leave the house. Andrew was […]
Travelling Around Japan By Train
I love YouTube. When you can’t travel for real, there’s always a YouTuber who has travelled the journey you want to go on so you can travel in the comfort of your own home – an in your PJs. I stumbled upon the channel called Kuga Travel where he travels on trains. He doesn’t speak […]
Blocked Drains
I wrote a few posts back that it seemed everything was breaking down at our place. To be fair, it’s an age thing. As most equipment is over 20 or 30 years old, they’re all giving up the ghost 👻 and come at once. Not exactly the right time either when we are looking at […]
Visiting My Old University
We woke up to the radio announcer telling his listeners that it was the coldest day in Melbourne in years. In some parts, it was -5 but outside it was -2. No wonder my nose was so cold! The house was freezing and the only thing that was different to any other winter day was […]
Glendalough Revisit
I’m reading Edward Rutherford’s big novel of +800 pages called Dublin published in 2005. I’m a great fan of his writing and have most of his works which are all huge books that span many years all about the history of cities. It’s a great way to learn about history through fictional stories and characters […]
Everything Is Breaking Down
I could write about this to mean something about the world but no, I won’t. I’ll write about what’s happening at home instead. 🤣 Yesterday our CD player component broke down. To be fair, it was over 25 years old. Andrew had wanted to spend the afternoon listening to music and he chose the CD […]
Tasting Raclette
One of the things I love about my French school is that our teacher includes cultural experiences within the lesson. We speak in French and then we learn various cultural and traditional aspects of the country. Today was our last lesson for the semester before a three week break and she put on a “raclette”. […]
Love Affair with a Hot Water Bottle
The most underrated piece of kit any home to have is the hot water bottle. …and flannelette bed sheets …and flannelette pyjamas …and hand knitted woollen socks But mainly the hot water bottle. If I was a poet, I’d write a poem to my beloved hot water bottle. It’s THAT important in my life 🤣. […]
A Good Clean Feels Cathartic
As poor little Pud has been sick lately we monitor his health daily. It means unfortunately he’s not always using his litter. Stressful for him as it is for me. However, I’m not too fussed in all honesty. I keep a fairly tidy house but not “sterile clean” because that’s way too much work (and […]
Cafe Rando
Once a month on a Sunday, our French School has Café Rando, an informal and leisurely beach walk at the Rickett’s Point Marine Sanctuary followed by a coffee at the beachside cafe there. It’s an opportunity to meet other students and Francophiles and bavarder en français. 🤣 What a stunning day! We have been lucky […]