Hello readers! Welcome to the September recap. My September has been basically pleasant. Main downside has been ongoing side effects from zolodex implant, but not as bad as the first month, re sleep and headaches. I've been trying to exercise properly more regularly, because I'm less tired, and my tummy is getting fat, and I'm renewing my motivation to eat low sugar. Many sugar treats were creeping in, so I went to the library and second hand book shops and grabbed all the low inflammation diet books I could find. The one I bought is That Sugar Book and it's been helpful motivation. Sometimes you just need a good doco or book to brainwash you to do something.
September was peak garden beauty. October is starting to wilt already. The poppies were overall a disappointment possibly due to the nutrients in the soil, but maybe they were weird plants. However the sweet peas had a good year, and cornflower also grew, and I've got paper daisies. Enough happening to pick small fragrant bunches for the house.
I anticipate the jasmine should this summer hopefully meet up over the fence in the corner, turning the bottom of the yard into a green box!
I've got seedlings for summer garden, similar to last year with eggplant and zinnia, with a few other experiments, some of which have not germinated.
Office update: farewell to the map cabinet, hello new table and cupboards.
I also bought some plants to line the door ramp, so it's slowly coming together. The important thing is I see this nice table and cupboards when I look out my office now. The rest is out of my eyeline, so I can ignore it.
We also won an award at work, which was a nice buzz for the team. This was the live streamed award ceremony.
Loyal blog-reader Bei-En and I have been doing some zoom+netflix parties.
One of the main events was my week in Mudgee. There is a new silo art at Merriwa which you should stop at, you can't miss it, it is huge and amazing. I treated myself to a squashed sausage roll with cheese and bacon on it. It was wonderful. THat was probably the start of a week less than ideal eating which had its effect on me but you know, holidays.
Pretty chooks and cute lambs and everything green this time.
My main activity was reading rom-com books, and sometimes walking around the shops in town. Last year I spent heaps of money on things like a nice clock, this year I only bought some hair clips and lemon butter and a brush pen.
I set myself a creative project to do a little painting each day and was very happy with my experiments with the new brush pen.
Our trip to one of the lovely restaurants where I ate too much and really completed the damage to my stomach.
Oh the hair clips, my big purchase lol, are like rainbow tortoishell and I'm very happy with them. I usually pin my hair to the side with bobby pins. These are happy.
I purchased egg-cups for my boiled-egg-loving friend Denise when she visited. Another grown-up achievement.
She came with a car load of craft projects and I set her up and she taught herself what she needed to do from the shirt pattern with occasional confirmation from me, while I read my book. It was a delightful weekend.
She took this photo of me.
I've been making a lot of pancakes from my own recipe, it has banana, oats, chia and a lot of healthy things, and I try to eat them without honey on them now but they almost don't need it (but honey makes everything better).
I've been feeling like I should read more, and I think the reason I don't is my discomfort living solo with a silent house. I always like the noise of a podcast, audiobook or TV show, more so when I live alone. However I have a wonderful pile of books I want to read so I need to get used to it. I just much prefer reading with other people around. Anyway I have just started a habit of "quiet reading time", just little bits after work or before bed. Currently I'm reading The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy, borrowed from my pastor who loved it, and I have to say I love the atmosphere and life detail of people who cut wood 150 years ago and worry about who to marry and what will happen when John South dies. Fascinating things like the shoes they wear to walk in the snow (pattens) and how they plant trees and how they have bells on horses so they can hear someone coming along the narrow lanes and not have to reverse their cart and the bells are tuned to the notes of the octave. I recommend it.
And that is about all I can think of to reflect on this month!
