I have had a lovely week this week, and managed to tick off a favourite thing to do… something that is always a bonus!

Friday night I introduced my new friend to Karaoke at my local pub. He was a bit nervous that I would make him get up and sing, but once he got over that we had a really nice time. He got to meet some of my people and spend some time in a setting that always brings me joy, and He returned the favour a couple of days later and I got to meet some of his friends, spending a fun afternoon at his local watering hole.

The other fun thing that I did this weekend, was to go to the Kalbar Sunflower festival with a couple of girlfriends. It is an event that has been running for about 5 years now, that started during a drought when country towns were struggling. It was a way to encourage ‘city folk’ to head out into the countryside and spend some money in local communities. Sunflowers actually use very little water to grow and look spectacular, especially when planted en mass. It has grown into a pretty big event that runs over the May-Day long weekend and brings in huge crowds. It’s an awesome fundraiser for several cancer care charities and it is just a fun (and beautiful) thing to do.

It was a picture perfect South-East Queensland, day strolling among 1million sunflowers – and yes, I bought a whole lot home with me. Loads of market stalls and food and one of my very very favourite things – highland cows! For a very manageable $10 I got to spend some quality time with Georgia, a 3year old cow, who tolerated my fawning over her… although I was advised against giving her a kiss – apparently the horns are not just for decoration! I am a little bit obsessed and in love with cows, so this was a definite highlight for me.

Work is also going well. I’m starting to feel like I am getting the hang of things, although now that I have said that out loud, I’ll probably make all kinds of mistakes! … I’m enjoying the role I am in currently in the Minor procedures unit. It’s a little bit of all kinds of things, including face to face interactions with patients, and it’s a really nice team to be part of.

At the moment I feel like I am in a pretty good place in my life. The boys are all doing super well, and I’m pretty content too. Missing Claytie is always going to be part of our world, but I said to a widowed friend the other day that the rawness of the initial grief seems to have eased a bit. The scar will always be there, but the wound is less inflamed now (for want of a better analogy). I know that I am going to have moments and days that take me right back, but I feel like I am more able to process them when they happen. And just like my comment about work, now that I have said that, something will happen to knock me right back down!… but we will see!

I’ve had several questions about where my next trip will be – it seems people like to share the adventure! I don’t have anything booked in yet, but I’m pretty keen to see some more of Australia this year – if you have any must see suggestions, let me know! I have some friends who are currently doing a lap with their van, and I am quite envious of them. I would love to have that kind of adventure… it’s a definite bucket list thing for me!

For now tho, I’ll just keep plodding along and seeing what comes next. The world is an exciting place and right now I’m enjoying it.