Hi ! Welcome back. Another Saturday! You do know we are now closer to 2050 than 2000, right? This week I am thinking and writing about weird weather, busy schedules, adulting, saying yes, long walks, con artists, and big hats. - Eve D.❣️

Week in review…

❄️ I still feel as if winter has slowed life down, even though if I have to be perfectly honest, “winter” is very subjective if you live in South Africa. This morning I was working at my desk and I was literally wearing a turtleneck, a neck buff, fingerless gloves and a beanie. Indoors. That’s because our houses are not designed to keep in heat, and some (like mine) are designed to keep heat out. I gave up on my desk and on the cold, and went to work in the garden. Within minutes, I had stripped down to a simple vest, because the sun on my back was so hot. It’s a bit bipolar, this weather.

🍳 I started off my week with an impromptu breakfast with G, where we did the responsible thing and ate while working. If I have to work on a Monday morning, that’s probably the best way to do it. Then I repeated on Wednesday, sans G unfortunately.

🥾 Finally went hiking, again. Totally copped out and did the shortest hike possible, but still felt so good afterwards. Going to get back into my routine. Also continued with gym. To be honest, if my gym and my medical insurance did not incentivise me to go to the gym, I probably would opt out most days. But that gamification works! I need to reach those goals (and get all the surprise rewards in exchange). 

📕 The highlight of my week was probably a book launch that I attended at my local bookshop. More on that below.  

🤣 Micole went out for lunch with a friend who graduated last year and is now working for one of the top companies, as an actuary. Her main comment to Micole? “Adulting is hard”. I had to laugh 🤣 .

🦷 I took Zac for a routine dentist check up, hoping I was going to get two thumbs up. Instead I got: x-rays, cleaning, 3 small cavities, narrowed palette, appointment with ENT, potential tonsillectomy, braces. WTF?

Free Therapy

Working 9-5…

I don’t know how people do 9-5pm jobs. I really don’t. I have a perpetual struggle to find 4hr blocks of uninterrupted time. This below is my non-work schedule for the past week, obligations that required me to be somewhere other than work. I didn’t include the obvious stuff like “make dinner”, and this is an extremely light week due to school holidays etc. And yes, I know a lot of it is “frivilous” and “fun”, but also all of it is necessary. In fact, it’s very light on social get-togethers. I guess if I had a regular, strict 9-5 I would be doing a lot of the stuff after hours (which is when I actually work now!), but that sounds exhausting. (Not that I’m not exhausted regardless!).

Monday:
9am-11am: Breakfast with G
4pm: Boxing
5pm: Grocery shop

Tuesday:
11am: Dentist appointment (Zac)
2pm: hike
3:30pm: coffee

Wednesday:
10am-12pm: Micole/stuff
3pm: Tennis (Zac)
4:30: Gym

Thursday:
10am: Social date with friend
2pm: Admin for Micole
3pm: Gym
6pm: Book launch

Friday:
3pm: Gym
5pm: Grocery shop

Time moves fast

This past Wednesday was exactly a year that G called me to invite me to go to Kruger with him. The cool thing about writing a weekly newsletter is that I have a permanent record of my reaction to this:

(G and I were not dating at the time…we had known each other for about 15 years, but hadn’t actually seen each other for most of those at all. About six months prior to the Kruger invite I called and invited him out to a friendly lunch (brave me!) and then we saw each other maybe twice more.)

So. A year. That means that just a year and a week ago I hadn’t voluntarily walked past my driveway… ever. I was unfit, unhealthy, still recovering from chemo, and literally did not have the stamina to climb two flights of stairs. Then, the Kruger invite spurred me into action. Now, not only have I hiked the Kruger, I walk/hike multiple times per week, go to gym 3-4 times a week, drink green smoothies happily and am planning an 800km walk in Spain. All in a year. Which is to say: change happens slowly, and then very fast. (Top tip: Having a fun and supportive man in the background helps. 😍 ) 

Onwards and upwards. I hope I keep on saying yes to things.

Walking in the Wild:

Speaking of Kruger, how apt is this! In the week of the above mentioned one-year mark, my local bookstore hosted a launch of Walking in the Wild, which is a memoir of a South African hiker who walked the full North-South Kruger trail (620km), in six stages over 3 years. G wasn’t interested in the book (he can write his own soon…he’s doing the first stage of a similar hike next month! 😄 ) so I went alone and I am so glad I did. I met new people, heard inspiring stories, learnt new things and reminded myself (again!) that I have to step out of my comfort zone and do things. Say “yes!”.

And as a bonus, I can now look forward to actually reading the book and finding out what it takes to walk for a week at a time with 20kg on your back, pitch tents, dig holes to poop, and watch out for lions and crocodiles while you do so! (Fun fact: did you know that if you step on and squeeze out elephant’s fresh dung, you can get 500ml of drinkable water?)

Good reads 

✅ Why I don’t want a boyfriend. This is written by a woman who has been dating for 20+ years and has realised that dating men is hard work and emotionally draining. She laments men who refuse to self reflect: “Currently, I see multiple generations of men who haven’t done any inner work, and generations of women who have done all of it. Men can barely look at themselves, and women are taught to look too much.” True, true. But…one day, hopefully, she will realise that she can simply be more discerning. because honestly, it’s dating the wrong men that is hard work. It takes us women decades to figure this out, but once we do it’s worth the wait.

✅ Have you heard about the Salt Path scandal? If you enjoy long form exposes, you’ll love this one published by The Observer. It details the incredible depth that Raynor and Moth Winn went to to defraud the public and sell millions of books. Honestly, the audacity and blatant disregard for human decency never fails to astonish me. Would you have the guts to tell millions of people that you lost your house to a bad investment decision, when in fact you lost it because you stole $60,000 from your employer?? Especially if you knew that the chances of someone coming out with the truth is very, very high? And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Fascinating read. (Fun fact: I had the opportunity to read a memoir of someone I knew very well, and even there the blatant dishonesty was astonishing. So maybe all memoirs suffer from this? Pump the story, so it’s dramatic enough to get people to buy?)

Ummm…

I have 2 questions:

• Why would a woman do this?* and

• How can a man be attracted to that level of fake?

*Yes, I know she “snagged” a billionaire, so maybe that’s why. But, see Question 2.

I’ve been watching…

This week we watched Enough Said. I enjoyed this movie and recommend it…I’d love to discuss it here, but I can’t talk about it without giving away spoilers. But do know this: it has Julia Louis-Dryfus and James Gandolfini (from Sopranos), it’s a middle age love story ie it has real issues that need to be resolved and it’s very much character driven. The acting is great, the dialogue is funny and there is a lot to think about when the movie is done. 

I also finished watching Nine Perfect Strangers, and it just got worse with each episode. Friends who are watching it are Whatsapping me to say “I hope this goes somewhere fast…”, and I have to tell them that no, it does not. Pity, because the cast was stellar. 

I haven’t started watching The Bear yet, but everyone is raving about it, so that’s on the list. Also, absolutely need to watch the latest season of Just Like That. I have been avoiding all spoilers (people seem to be very vocal about this season, so I am eager to find out why), but I have seen this screenshot on social media, and I think you should too:

Looking ahead…

It’s a very sport intense week, even for someone who does not watch sport much (me!). Rugby, Wimbledon, and Tour de France. (Fun Fact: G has volunteered to explain to me how the Tour de France works. He’s not the most patient person, and I’m not the quickest study so this might be akin to the “put together an Ikea bookshelf” couple test. I’ll let you know.) G is hosting friends over for the rugby, and I am excited to hang out with them. We are also going plant shopping for his garden. Hanging out in plant nurseries is one of my favourite things to do 🎉 . So all in all, a fun weekend, and another busy week ahead.  Hope you have a great one!

Thanks for reading!

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