Hi ! Welcome back. (Another short(er) newsletter, as I take a half-break from writing). This week I am thinking and writing about long hikes, addictive games, dentists, cats and dogs, nostalgic songs and a great book- Eve D.❣️

Usually when I start to write this newsletter on a Thursday or Friday evening, I go through my phone (photos, screenshots and WhatsApp) to remind myself what I actually did, and what evidence I have 😃 . So this week I decided to let my phone tell the week’s story, in screenshots. (Yes, I removed people’s names to protect their privacy/dignity 😆) .

Week in review…

🌴 G was away, so I had the whole of last weekend to myself and nothing that I had to do. I ended up taking my friend’s advice and watched shows, wrote (a lot) and sunned. What I didn’t do: drive (did not get into the car once from Friday noon to Monday morning), cook (kids and takeout took care of that), get dressed (pyjamas all day, baby!).

🦒 G eventually came back from his trip, which was a hike in the Kruger. Not a willy nilly hike like we did together (exactly one year ago this weekend). When we hiked, I carried a small backpack with water and cashew nuts, and returned to a comfortable bed and a very well cooked meal. When G hiked this past week, he carried his life in his 20kg back, including all his food for 5 days and a stove on which to cook it, camped outside among the wildlife, had to poop in a self-dug hole, and filter all his water. And walk up to 18km a day in hot weather! This is not for sissies (also, not for me. Yet). (Yes, there were two rangers with guns accompanying the small hiking group). In exchange for all the very hard work, look at these photos!!! (Spot the animals in each).

I haven’t actually seen G since he got back (as I write this, that will happen tomorrow), but the few stories he shared over the phone since he got back are already riveting. Can’t wait to hear all of it.

🫤 There was huge drama in my neighbourhood (and hence my Whatsapp group) because an off-leash dog attacked a neighbour’s cat who then went missing. Everyone was very supportive and helpful (did you know you can hire a team of bloodhounds to sniff out a missing animal?) except for one woman who was just a nuisance. I called her out on her shit, and she sent me a TEN minute voice note in response. TEN!

My friends had lots of advice on this:

I actually did listen to it. I exaggerate not at all when I tell you I could take that voice note and turn into a book, and have this woman as the main character and just that alone would make it a bestseller 😆 .

📕 Speaking of books, I actually read one this week. It was absolutely and utterly delightful. Miss Benson’s Beetle is a story about two ladies who go off into the wild jungle to find a mythical golden beetle…but, of course, re-discover themselves first. It has strong Thelma and Louise vibes, and you will fall in love with the main characters. The whole time I was reading, I was imagining this a movie (I am sure someone will turn it into one) and it’s one of the few books that should be a movie. If they get the casting right, it will be hilarious, and brilliant and endearing. Highly recommend.

🦷 Zac went to the dentist, which he had been dreading for weeks, but the full consult took just over 30 minutes (and cost thousands. Multiple thousands!). It turns out that in addition to braces etc, he now also needs his wisdom teeth removed. Urgh. In a cute coincidence, as I was scrolling Facebook during the appointment, an adorable memory popped up.

🐶 🐱 My kids and I spend most of the days just WhatsApping each other photos of our gorgeous pets. My cat, who just months ago was a stray cat living in our garden, has stolen all of our hearts and is a full fledged member of the family. He is a very special creature, with the most remarkable temperament. I think he is half human. Even Lisa tolerates him now.

🎮️ I discovered a new mobile game that is addictive and completely pointless. It’s also very relaxing, but takes hours to complete and - I repeat - is a total waste of time. I’m addicted. Micole asked me if G plays it too, and I said “Even if I suggested it to him, he would play for a day and then would immediately delete it, because he is smart like that”. #TrueStory. For now, the game continues to live on my phone and if you want the same fate it’s called “Numbers Match”.

🎵 When I set up my new phone I took the opportunity to clean up my downloaded playlists, and actually consolidated them all into one. I now have 238 songs downloaded, and I love all of them. 95% of them are from the 80s and 90s. Now, when the phone plays through the car speakers, I am taken back to when I was listening to each song in then-time, back in the day. I remember the boyfriends, the friends, the holidays, meals, hopes, aspirations, locations and moods. I also remember my Walkman and then my Discman! 😆 I would never share this list with anyone because most of these songs are what others would describe as cringy, cheesy or just plain awful, but I adore them all and am grateful for the joy that music brings me. I’ll share some nostalgic ones with you, every once in a while. Here is today’s: Tiffany’s I think We’re Alone Now (1987 (!!!))

Food for thought:

I’ve been watching…

So my weekly movie plans with my movie-pal started like this:

Two and a half hours for a movie is asking a lot of me, because I rarely have the patience to sit around for that long. I find most movies (and theatre productions) are at least 30 minutes too long. Anyway, when Wednesday evening rolled around, we loaded the movie and watched it (my movie pal, who is also a very good friend, is 10,000 km away, so we watch it online, but together i.e we hit “play” at the same time).

Usually we will exchange our thoughts and reactions throughout the movie, but we were pretty quiet during this one. This is the only message I sent:

It was weird. We watched this movie when it first came out (a couple years ago) and although I remembered nothing about the story line, I did think I remembered the mood and setting of the movie, but apparently I was totally wrong. The one thing that I did know for sure is that the movie ends on a cliffhanger (obviously) which is why everyone was waiting for the next instalment to come out. So when the movie ended…the penny dropped…and I sent this:

Yep!!! Instead of watching Mission Impossible 7, I watched Mission Impossible 6!! For two and a half hours!!! So now I have to “catch up” the correct movie before this Wednesday. That final instalment better be flipping good because it’s going to cost me eight hours of watch time in total! 😆 🤦‍♀️ 

Looking ahead…

G is back, and I’m so excited to be spending the weekend with him. I am doing something I have never done for him before….cooking! Wish me luck.

In exchange, G has some crazy plans:

I don’t think he appreciated my sense of humour, because I got no response to that 😂 . I’ll let you know how it goes. Aside from that, I am very excited about the stuff I am working on, and although it’s taking longer than I thought I’ll probably share some of it next week. I also have tons and tons of links and thoughts I want to share with you when we return to the longer newsletter format next week. Have a great weekend and week!

Thanks for reading!

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P.S.

The rest of the world can just go ahead and thank us now. This word is utterly brilliant and apt for our times…