Taking Stock

I’d like to tell you a bit about what’s been happening lately…are you comfy with a coffee or tea? 

I’ve got my black weak tea, so let’s chat…..

Blogging

It’s hard to believe we’ve been home from our 3 month Odyssey for almost a month now, it is something I still think about everyday.

I’m enjoying writing a few posts to share our recent travels, with my latest post a tongue in cheek 10 reasons why you definitely shouldn’t visit Iceland –  it was great fun to write! I’ve also written about some of the Numbers involved in such a big  trip overseas, my hairstyle history and I always enjoy sharing photos with minimal words on Wordless Wednesday.

I’m slowly getting back into blogging regularly and I’m enjoying a few linkups with a strong sense of community, especially Sue and Leanne’s weekly Midlife Share the Love on Wednesdays.

I really appreciated everyone’s support at the sudden death of my father in law. Being on the other side of the world when this news came through was very hard, especially coming so close on the heels of my father’s death in January.

I read a lot of blogs each week and I try to comment and share as much as I can.  I’m happy to share these three top posts from others I’ve enjoyed reading recently.  They are all different but all very interesting in their own way.

Thanks for all the declutter advice but I quite like my bulging house from Chris at Booming On.

Iceland tales – The Lava Tunnels  by Melanie (my daughter) at The Wandering Darlings

Leap of Faith by Lex at One Foot out the Door – This post reminded me of myself as I prepared to meet up with a blogging friend, Lucile in Amsterdam, having only her blog and comments to go on.  It’s such a leap of faith to do that but so much fun too!

Feeling

I’ll be honest with you and say I’m not sure how I’m feeling.  I’m constantly up and down. I’m grieving but yet I’m optimistic for the future, which I think is an OK way to be, given all that’s happened lately. This whole year has been a roller-coaster of emotions for us and I realise I’m still trying to adjust. I used this quote in a previous post but it just sums everything up so well for me, I thought I’d share it again with you.

Health

Unfortunately I’ve been a bit poorly since returning home from our trip, but I’ve been trying to do the right thing – I’ve been to the doctors, I’ve been resting and I’m catching up with the myriad of other medical checkups we seem to require as we get older. I don’t often talk about health on my blog, so this a rare occurrence but I’m happy to promote awareness of Women’s Health.

Did you know it’s Women’s Health Week from September 3? The hashtag to use and check out , is #myhealthfirst. I’m being proactive and getting everything checked out.    I hate feeling unhealthy and I must admit,  I have felt better.

In the past 10 days I’ve had:

• A top to toe full body mole check – I have a lot of moles and I am ashamed to admit it has been many years since my last checkup.  The skin specialist wasn’t worried about any of them thankfully and just reminded me to come back in a year’s time.
• A mammogram (which was the best ever) I have these every 2 years and I’m now just awaiting results.
• Fasting blood tests – the results of the blood tests were not very good and so I am currently trying to address raised cholesterol, iron and sugar levels with a change in my diet – a new challenge for me – as if I needed another one!
• My hearing checkup appointment has been made for next month – my family tell me my hearing has deteriorated over the past year, so it will be interesting to see what the results are. 
• I’ve yet to make an appointment for the dentist but it’s on my list.
• I aim to get back into regular exercise as soon as I feel better and have more energy.  I hate feeling lazy but I have needed to rest my body and let it recover.

Looking after yourself is very important so make sure you put yourself first!

Reading

I’ve read a lot of good books this year and I’m almost finished my Reading Challenge on Goodreads.  I set myself the challenge to read 50 books in 2018, but I will pass that number without any trouble.

Are you on Goodreads?  I love keeping track of what I’ve read and seeing what others are reading along with their ratings and reviews.  Feel free to join me.

At the moment I have a few books on the go – Coping with Grief by Mal McKissock and Dianne McKissock, is proving very beneficial and I’ve recommended it to other members of my family who may benefit from the sensible words. Father’s Day was a bit difficult yesterday, being the first one, but that was to be expected.

I have learnt that grief is dynamic and ever-changing. We all grieve as we have lived and everyone’s idea of coping is different.  When any of us are  newly bereaved, we are ‘coping’ if we can keep breathing, put one foot after the other, get out of bed , dress ourselves, and attend to essential tasks even if on automatic pilot.  We all just do our best to survive what initially feels unsurvivable, and often need to reassure ourselves that we do know what is best for us, that we are not going mad.

I’ve just finished Blood Sisters by Jane Corry, which was recommended by a UK friend who had also worked in a jail like me.  The inside knowledge and situations in the story were very familiar to me and took me back to my previous workplace. It was quite an intriguing story which I enjoyed.  I might even look for some more by this author.

My book club is reading Magda Szubanski’s book Reckoning this month and I just happened to start it on Father’s Day (my first without both my father and my father-in-law) and her opening paragraph is all about her father’s funeral and his last days alive. I decided to wait a while before continuing as it wasn’t good timing at all for me.

Are you reading any good books at the moment? Please leave me any suggestions, I’m always on the lookout for good reads.

Blogger Meetup….

I met another great midlife blogger this week – Christine from BoomingOn.  We met up in Canberra and had a lovely chat about blogging, travels and life in general! Here’s a photo of us, (complete with random photo bomber!)  I’ve already mentioned her recent decluttering post in my top three reads this week (above) and left the link for you if you’re interested in reading it.

Looking forward to….

Well that’s easy!! Our first grandchild is due any day now and we’re very excited – remember I said this year has been a roller coaster???  I’m currently staying with the parents-to-be and hope to have news sometime later this week.

It’s also turned into Spring down-under, so there are magnolia buds, flowers, growth, warmer weather, sunshine and the renewal of life to look forward to in the months ahead.

Taking stock is good for the soul sometimes and I’ve enjoyed our little chat.  Thanks for listening 🙂

How are you going? I’d love to hear from you.

Feel free to leave a comment below. I always enjoy hearing from you and try to answer all your comments 🙂

Deb xx

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I’m linking up with Denyse for #LifeThisWeek on Mondays.

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