November full.

November was marked by tiredness. I have been going really well with my pilates on top of everything else, but there was one very intense class with a new keen instructor, and I did not recover from it - when I’m wiped out by something I need a weekend of lying down, and until I get that weekend, I have to drag myself around tired and achy, so that was my vibe for November. Lesson learned, next time I’m wiped, at least cancel the next class! But i’m loving pilates. 

Work has been good, I’ve been able to start wrapping up projects for the end of the year, and then catching up on things that I leave until I’ve got time. I finished 18 powtoon videos about food inspectors, and got a large publication off to print. So now I’m working on ebooks and I forget what else I never have time for.

This was Foundation Day, where one of my books was launched.

I now have a standing desk! When I've got the energy, it's really great to stand for an hour or two.

I got a call from a marketing agency asking me to apply for a job with them, which was very exciting! They have the same niche as I currently work in, so it is really good to know there are other fun places to work, because I tend to think, I’m a generalist and not good enough at anything to stand out. 

Reflecting on my year of living with a housemate again, I think I’ve finally adjusted. Obviously it was an awful circumstance that brought us together, and that trauma was a shadow that slowly lifted as the year went on. I’ve lived with a lot of housemates but not with a close friend before, and that was a new dynamic to get used to, because it’s more of an emotional thing to navigate.  Things like, its harder to have a D+M conversation when you then have to go back to living normally with each other, and in fact you tend to spend a lot of time together not having conversations because you’re watching TV on the couch. We went to Newcastle for a voucher dinner and ate big steaks and ice cream, and it felt like a reconnection. Things are going really well now.

The garden has peaked! A strange, late spring and summer, but so much greenery and blossom. Amazing to compare even with a year ago just before the jasmine completed the fence.

We put up JK Christmas tree.

Chocolate mug cake which we made in the microwave! I've never succeeded at this before. Now I can do it, very dangerous.

Other friends have been going through tough times, so we made a care package / birthday box for Denise.

AM almost couldn't come but was able to in the end, she came up for a weekend so that we could see The Corrs at Hope Estate! We napped, went to Morpeth, napped, and then headed out to Broke Road. 

We got there for the start so we got a great car spot, we heard all the local opening acts, and ate from the food trucks, and kept up our energy for the Corrs at 9pm. Highlights were singing Love is all around, with Wet Wet Wet, and then the Corrs encore set, singing Runaway and 2 other songs with a drone show. And the final highlight was getting out of the carpark and back home smoothly.

The Corrs were fantastic: good musicians, so many hits, and very Irish and charming.

Some other miscellaneous things: Lucy turned 3, 

the parents house continues in renovation, the ancient screens have been replaced and Banjo now has a doggy door!

My microwaved died :( it was very old, 2nd hand from 2006. I use a microwave nearly every day, because I’m a food prepper and reheater. So the next day after work I shot to the good guys and bought one. Fortunately it was still the black friday sale thing. Because decisions are hard, I just bought the one I liked the most that had everything. It was of course the most expensive one. 

The handle sold me at first glance - a soft close door with a big handle, no button to pop it open and no slam when you shut it. It is one of those combination oven and air fryer ones. We have been testing various functions. The oven function is slower than the actual oven based on my frozen croissant tests. The melting butter and chocolate functions are great, GAME CHANGERS. It runs very quietly and beeps politely when finished. It’s just… classy. It was on sale for $630 or something, from $800. It’s nice to sometimes splurge extra on something mundane. 

I also bought this plastic bag storage I had been eyeing on Amazon for months. It's not cheap for a basic bit of plastic, but you know, it's really functional. The old Australia post box was reused for Denise's care/present, and interestingly, the box was originally sent to me by Bei En, a care package when I was sick in 2018! So satisfying that it was used for the same purpose again.