It was so good to be back here today!
I have been missing our regular Wednesday brunch spot during the holidays, so it felt really good to be back with Hubbie today, doing what we do best… drinking coffee, eating good food, and talking life. 😁💖
And to think… today may have been the last Wednesday we are there as a duo… next time, there might be an extra one under our wings! 🤰🙏🥰💞
So when I said a while back that shit’s getting real, well now shit is really getting REAL.
So, apart from our little ‘babymoon’ now over…
Apart from my half-packed hospital bag…
Apart from the one adjustment the baby room needs (happening Friday)…
Today, I finished work.
😲😲😲😲
Another big thing, DONE!
It just keeps going on. Tick, tick, tick. Things are happening, finishing, progressing, completing, and it’s all bringing me closer to meeting baby. 🥰🥰
I like to use the beach as celebration, and just as I took baby girl on her last day of school in December, so too did we go again this afternoon as my little celebration.
My fave thing to do at the moment? Because it’s a bay beach and there are plenty of shallow waters, I like to sit in the shallow water and just relax, with the belly I have, lounging around like a beached whale because that is most comfortable to me right now. 🤣
The countdown is most definitely on! If only I knew what number to start at… 😬🤔
Just some water-side snapshots from this evening… because wherever we go, the ocean calls us. 🥰💦
We’ve gone away for a couple of nights.
We were feeling a little unsure about it all, because firstly it’s been freaking cold. You kinda wanna save your leave and your getaway times for when it’s warm, and frankly it’s just been shithouse.
But as soon as we got here this afternoon, through the traffic, the gloom, the wet gravel-y roads, we kinda gasped and immediately didn’t wanna leave.
I think I can safely say that any property you hire via the dayget portal is going to be amazing. From my first experience holidaying here with some friends way back in the day, to then 7 years ago now when we first took baby girl (😲), to now, every single time we have been here in one of their different properties, we’ve been super impressed.
We want to take all the furniture and styling ideas home. It’s truly a beautiful place, and the greenery outside is so peaceful and stunning.
We can’t wait to properly sightsee amongst the sunshine tomorrow. 🌞
I don’t even care that I have to work tomorrow.
It doesn’t bother me in the slightest.
Beyond that I have 3 DAYS OFF… with Hubbie and baby girl!
WOO HOO!
This feels like a mini holiday. This feels like a version of summer holidays all over again, what with the temps in the 20s, and seeing as I have revisited my summer photos recently, I really am feeling those holiday vibes…
3 days off. There’ll be a whole lot of home-making, home-decorating, baking, and Easter eating going on…!
I love going with the flow.
It’s easy in summer. Holidays, warmth, everything is EASY.
Going with the flow imitates the waves of the bay, and that is a great segue because we met up with one of my oldest friends and her fam at the beach today 🤣
We gotta live life in the moment, and that means making the most of opportunities that pop up last minute, like a last-minute event or a friend coming to town. 😉
And if we keep life light, interesting, entertaining, and full of love and beautiful people, these are the things that will make our souls light and keep us fulfilled. 💖💖
A part of me feels like I’m not allowed to write about my uncle, because I had only spent two periods of my life with him.
But today, having learned of his passing, I feel a tremendous amount of sadness for my Mum’s family, while also realising that I am more than qualified to speak about him, because he inhabited some of the most meaningful and memorable parts of my life.
When I was 13 I travelled with my parents overseas. Being a fresh teenager, the thought of meeting family that I hadn’t met before was not exactly thrilling stuff.
And yet those 3 months ended up being the best of my life.
Our home base was at my uncle and aunty’s house, and so we would return there often for days at a time, sometimes weeks, in between our travels around Croatia and the neighbouring countries where our relatives lived.
I remember how much he and my Dad seemed to click. Both fond of drinking the hard stuff at 40%, they loved their grapes, their gardens, and their gadgets. Both natural handymen. It was never too early to ‘cheers,’ and they were often caught having a good ol’ chat.
I remember the garden, the vines above providing ample cover as good as a ceiling. I remember the swing there too, and the kittens that crawled along the roof of these vines, and how I looked up at them.
I remember the ‘bunker’ at the bottom of the house, and I remember the random spa-type apparatus that sat on top of the garage! Me and one of my cousins sat in the empty pool as it were, on a hot Summer’s day.
I remember them taking us out to ice cream in the main centre. I remember us walking the streets, and them telling us where the bombs had fallen, showing us the concrete scars they had left on the road. They showed us where their son had gone to high school and proudly pointed out the court he played basketball in.
I remember more vividly the second time I visited my uncle and aunty, because it was more recent… it was when Hubbie and I were on our honeymoon.
Although it wasn’t yesterday, the memories are far fresher. I had the opportunity to spend time with them, now as an adult, out of the wings of my parents, 12 years on. Hubbie and I sat with them. There was still the bunker, the 40% alcohol, and the cherished garden. And of course, the cats.
I think he had a soft spot for cats.
On the few days we were in town, he kindly played tourist guide, driving us around to see other family members. We saw his favourite fishing hole, and he spoke fondly of his own family, and of his memories with them.
I often found myself staring at him and being amazed at the likeness between him and his son.
But what I remember most, is the day he took us to the train station, as we set to depart from Croatia.
We waved goodbye, and I said we would see him again one day. I watched as he turned, his head bobbing down in a sign of resignation as he walked away.
But that day never came.
I think of all of this, and I send so much love out to my family tonight.
I hope they too hold their own special memories of him that they’re replaying in their minds.
It’s just another sombre reminder that we must grasp each and every day with all our might and all our love.
RIP, M.G.
Ahh, it’s good to be back.
We are HOME. Finally. And in no small part is it due to a kind person we had only ever met over the phone up ’til this morning, who quite literally saved the day for us.
Our car had actually been fixed, lo and behold, late yesterday afternoon. But both last night, and this morning, when I tried repeatedly for almost 2 hours, Hubbie couldn’t get an uber to pick up his car from a mechanic’s only 15 minutes away.
It was so frustrating. I called taxi services that didn’t answer, and then uber just kept saying –
“Sorry, we couldn’t find a ride for you.”
🤦♀️
A word of caution for us and anyone else when booking a holiday: regional trips can come with its share of issues if shit hits the fan. Just sayin’.
Anyway, we were due out of the apartment at 10am. Hubbie called the mechanic in desperation to explain the situation, and this guy that we’d never met, that we’d been hassling for a day and a half to get our car fixed in time, so very kindly offered to drop the car off to us.
OMG. Praise the Lord. Can you hear the angels sing?
AHHHHH!
We lugged bags and bags and bags worth of stuff to the foyer, checked out, and then some time later, our car pulled up to the reception!
What a sight!
This mechanic was the nicest guy… he had gone out of his way to help us, and we couldn’t say thank you enough.
But once we did, pedal hit the metal, and we zoomed home for an hour and 10 minutes.
We’re all going to sleep soooo well tonight.
Home sweet home. 💖💖💖💖
Ahhh.
This is the sound one makes when they get away from it all.
Sigh.
This is the breath one makes when they can start to let go.
SPLASH!
This is the sound one makes when you want to dive head-first into the fun!
We are having fun in a different place, and we can’t wait to keep breathing deeply, keep exhaling fully, and jumping into every new experience with vigour and excitement.
It’s great to be back, to island time. 😉
One of the great things that will come out of this coronavirus isolation period (and I guarantee there will be many things that people will come to really appreciate) is that people will be much more connected to nature.
It’s all there is really. Walking, exercising. It’s the one saving grace.
And it’s become ours too.
I think we’ll all realise just how simple and beautiful our lives can be, by just going outside. By going back to nature, enjoying the free and natural parts of life, that are all accessible just by stepping out the front door.
I’ve come to really rely on our end of day walks. And the photo I snapped above?
That part of the walk is my favourite.
WHY?
Because there’s a house off the path there somewhere, with a real fireplace. And the smell of firewood burning as we walk past…
MMMM.
It smells amazing.
It makes me feel like we’re on holiday.
It makes me feel the way we used to feel, back when we lived on the other side of town, and would travel down here, to our now sea change house, back then our getaway sea change destination of choice… (PHEW).
And I love it. I love feeling like we’re away, if only a moment, especially when we can’t go further than out our front door, or at the very most, around the block.
And isn’t that amazing? How nature can make us feel? ♥♥♥
carcrashgratitude 