I’ve reached that stage where weekdays and weekends run into each other. “What day is it?” I ask my husband. “Unfortunately not the weekend,” he groans getting out of bed to get ready for work (He’s on the countdown towards retirement and cannot wait for that day he stops work). Guess I shouldn’t be complaining […]
Virtual Tour Day 6: Not Nice, France but…Salisbury, UK
I’m supposed to be continuing my virtual journey through France and I was ready to go to Nice. However the town strikes me as “too flash, too touristy” and I didn’t feel like going there although it’s on my virtual route. Instead I made a note to find places in Nice where there aren’t too […]
French Markets in Melbourne
Our weather in Melbourne has been wet, cold and miserable. As an indication, I’m wearing a scarf and beanie at the moment – unheard of at this time of the year. The constant grey dampness is affecting my mood. I don’t mind cold weather – it’s when it just constantly rains for days that affects […]
Virtual Tour Day 5: Annecy
Today I take to my car (I hired a 1955 Citröen DS – don’t ask about the cost because as it’s a virtual tour – money is no object so I splurged) and decided to drive around Lake Annecy in the French Alps. The reason is that it seemed that Annecy had SO MANY PEOPLE […]
Virtual Tour Day 4: Heading for the Hills at Chamonix
Strap on those skis and let’s get ready to hit the slopes…. Well, not exactly. It hadn’t started snowing but as I went further up into the mountains, the weather started to get cooler but I saw that around me was the grandeur of the mountains. I couldn’t wait to get up to Mont Blanc […]
Virtual Tour Day 3: Dijon…the City of Mustard and a Stop at the Beaune Wine Auction
So I’ve left the Champagne region and headed over to Dijon for my next stop. It’s the 19th November and my aim is to also try to get to the Beaune Wine Auction which is on this weekend. But first, Dijon. Imagine my delight to find out that there are owls all over the town. […]
Virtual Tour Day 2: Onwards to Rimes
I decided to head to Rimes today. There’s 6 direct trains every day at a cost of 27 Euros and the trip lasts for an hour and a half. Of course, as it’s a virtual tour, I’m going first class. Really, there’s no need for train travel on this virtual tour in all honesty, so […]
Some Thoughts About The Writing of Annie Ernaux
Here’s the latest video I shared on YouTube about some thoughts of the writing of Annie Ernaux. I pontificate about her style of writing, her openness sharing her entire life to the public. Why does the written word evoke so much “rawness” rather than say, watching some vlogger online share their world to the public?
Virtual Tour Day 1: Arrive in Paris
Today I arrived in Paris. It was a beautiful, sunny day. (My imagination means that every day will be a sunny day). There’s no need to book any accommodation but hell, it’s Paris and you may as well stay in the best it has to offer. So I headed to Place Vendome by a personal […]
Heading Off To France…Ummm, Virtually
I haven’t been on an overseas trip since…well 2019, before COVID. Since that time, the only time I’ve been away from home has been a weekend away in country Victoria in 2022 and an overnight golf trip this year. I’m not saying that for pity, it’s what we have decided to do save money. It’s […]
Dreams About Flying
Last night I had a dream that I was flying through the air. I love these dreams when they happen. This time, I was above the crystal blue ocean and I could see small rippling waves beneath me. I was directly above a motor boat and I remember at one stage being dropped quickly towards […]
Changing Behaviours
My husband wanted to help out with the housework and I was surprised. “I’ll help with the vacuuming,” he said. Here I was thinking that he could help me lug that heavy Dyson vacuum cleaner around the house until he showed me a Robo Vac on sale in some advertising material he removed from the […]
A Dialogue with Bank Staff
Today I had a bit of an adventure. I had to break a $100 note (yes, I still use cash as back up emergency and as it’s still legal tender even though some shops refuse to take it). I was walking by my bank and walked in. I asked if I could get 10 $10 […]
Lazy Days
Now that I have so much time on my hands, one of the things I love to do on sunny days is sit out in our back garden for the entire day. After a morning walk, I come home to breakfast and take it outside. I move everything out there, my yarns, my craft projects, […]
Reflections Of The Year Post-Work: What I’d Like to Do Next
It’s been a little over a year now of not working. At the time of resigning from my previous employer, Rapid Circle, I had been planning to take the year off and then decide what it is I wanted to do. However, truth be told, the plan was never to return to the kind of […]
Three Tawny Frogmouths Sitting In Our Tree…
There was a lot of bird shite on our lawn and I looked up to see a couple of Tawny Frogmouths sitting in our tree. I think it was Mother and Baby while the Father looked on in the next tree. (These birds mate for life and share the feeding of their chicks). They look […]
Reflections About Social Life
While I’m not working now and waiting for the next 2.5 years for my husband to retire as well, I’m using this time to learn and play golf and continue with my French studies to occupy my time. I’m also reading a lot and improving my knitting and crochet skills (self-taught). Over the weekend I […]
The Crappy 2020s
I’m calling it out that the 2020s can go back into their box. I’m struggling to think of another time that has seen so much fear, anger, arguments, conflict, lies, power plays and more in situations that are not just playing out on the world stage but are also impacting relationships between family members. I’m […]
I’m Eligible for the YouTube Partner Program
So after a little while (it’s taken over two years of creating short book review content), I get this notification from YouTube that I’ve reached enough to monetise my channel. They invite you to join the YouTube Partner Program which entitles you to receive resources and monetisation features which allow you to have a share […]
Playing Pitch ‘N Putt: A Nice Finish to a Great Week
Today for a couple of hours, Andrew and I played 18 holes at the Waverley Pitch N Putt. It was the first golfing event we had played together in a year. It’s because he has his golf club – and I have mine – and we play on separate days so we never actually end […]