An odd assortment of updates

Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
― George Bernard Shaw

Hey, Lovelies!

Here’s my odd assortment of updates for you this early Friday morning, with a heatwave bearing down on us…

1. Our new stove has been installed. Finally. Sort of. It is connected to gas and electricity, but the cabinetmaker still needs to house it properly (because, yeah, as you can see from the pics it is 10cm smaller than the old beast it is replacing. I’m so excited to begin using it, and to resume cooking posts once it is all set up. We still need the new rangehood to be installed too. But we’re getting closer to a functional kitchen, and I won’t have to plan all of my meals around one gas burner that worked and one that sometimes worked… Plus this oven has a grill for making toasties and other yummies, two ovens and a bread proving drawer. Hooray!!!!
2. The barbeque on our deck has almost finished being installed. We’re just waiting for the whole thing to be glued in, and for the finishing touches on the housing and cabinetry. So, I can’t use it yet either, but at least the empty hole has been filled with this handsome new appliance, and I am sure that by Easter I will be grilling! (But do keep your fingers crossed for me!) Too hot to be grilling right now anyway…
3. Our Wedding Anniversary unplugged day was terrific, thanks very much! We had a coffee and croissant picnic in the morning, and a delectable alfresco Lebanese food feast for early dinner with brooding skies above us from an impending thunderstorm which we managed to avoid and get home safely. It was a lovely day of being together, and reflecting on the crazy, wonderful awful, and amazing memories of the past 27 years (23 married – as Ben points our he would have got less time for murder – ah, the hopeless romantic!)
4. I head from Anna’s sister – Anna and her young children finally touched down in Australia yesterday, after fleeing domestic violence in London (you can read about that here). They escaped with only their passports, Anna’s handbag, a nappy bag and warm winter coats, but they are safe, have been given medical attention, the authorities have all been alerted, and they are being well looked after. I was so relieved to hear the news. So often when I work with clients in distress I don’t get to know the immediate outcome, and it brought me an immense amount of peace to know that there was a happy ending to a very difficult situation. I slept so much better last night.
5. All our family experiencing medical crises are stable for now, and that’s a relief for us all as well – although the situations remain fluid due to complex illnesses.

Okay, that’s about it for me. It’s time for me to go pick up a family member and take them for early morning blood tests. Then it’s a day of course development and working on the 2024 Planner. With this heatwave at least I can crank the aircon, and then a swim reward for later today.
Love, hugs and the anticipation of cooking up a feast of delights, Nicole xx