Holiday Ends and Friendship Beginnings Continue

Chilled out and relaxed. Stretched and challenged. Books read. Days sitting in the sun. Tanned and burnt bodies. Sand between the toes. And one little dog with separation anxiety.

The excitement and thrill of going away on holiday is beginning to fade as thoughts of returning home begin to surface.

I’m luckier than most. I take my home on holiday with me because I live in my motorhome. But for two weeks I’ve been able to travel and explore with new friends Sharon and Adrienne. Two years ago we didn’t know each other.

What we have in common is a love of travel, and travel in motorhomes in particular. We each have our own motorhome and fix our own meals (or go out). We plan our tomorrow over a few wines.

We’ve had lots of laughs and a few honest tears. And in two days time we will go our separate ways again. But we’ll meet up again at the end of January. It turns out we’re all going to the same festival.

It’s so cool when begin a new friendship and find out what you have in common.

Writing
I took a break for a couple of days from writing, but the new year has begun with a new book.
I rolled over in that half sleep, half wake state, to hold my I hubby’s hand as we used to do in the night when we lay and listened to the surf.
He’d passed away in July 2020. And I realised a small book needed to be written.

Background Photo
The end of State Highway 67 is at the Kohaihai DOC Camp. The start/end of the Heaphy Track. Home of a pretty lagoon and beach with rolling sea.

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The Best Use of My Time

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot” – Michael Altshuler

The end of year is looming at break kneck speed. Smell the roses? Put up a Christmas tree? Hurrying past the people in our lives, all but yelling “get out of my way”. Don’t these people know how busy we are?

And yet…

Once it was important to make time for family and friends. Not to rush to the next place. The next job. The next…whatever has our attention.

At the start of each year, do you set goals? Possible covering all the important areas of life:

Career and business
Finances
Education
Relationships
Health and fitness
Personal growth
Spiritual growth

When was the last time these were reviewed?
How are these goals tracking?

What if we squeezed ten minutes to take a look, now.

Celebrate the wins.

What if the order of these goals were reversed?

My goals have been partially realised, but I’ve been wondering what the outcome would have been if I’d begun with spirituality, personal growth etc.

A long time ago, we decided to get ready for Christmas a week early. And go camping.
Hardly anyone else was wherever we went. They were jostling shoulders with the maddening crowds while we soaked in the sun, read a book, played board games and splashed in the water, enjoy a campfire. Carefree. No hustle. No hassle. We returned home relaxed and ready to enjoy Christmas and our Christmas traditions.

Take time to chill out and celebrate this year’s wins. Its been a tough one very few people would have known to plan for. That makes all you have achieved special.

Go you!

The Shelfie – Nanowrimo Instagram Challenge

The Shelfie is an author and reader thing. My current book shelf is on Audible, Kindle and in my basket is my notebooks, Motorhomes, Caravans and Destinations Magazine, and writing craft books, Fast Feast Repeat, by Gin Stephens, and a spiritual book for digging deep.

Quote for Today
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” – Saint Augustine

Writing
Even the possible threat of a COVID outbreak lockdown sent everyone in Christchurch into a spin and my intentions to write at the beach went out the window – I did visit the beach.

Nanowrimo – three days to go!. Look out for a celebration launch in your area (you can find your local people – even though Nano have said no physical meetings).
Christchurch writers can check out the ChristchurchNZwriters dot org for events in their area (because we’re online, anyone can join in).

The background photo is of my current bookshelf because I live in my campervan. When I move into my motorhome in a few weeks, I get a bookshelf again.

Writing Snacks – Nanowrimo Instagram Challenge

Todays challenge is writing snacks. Simple. I dont eat until later in the day on 16/8 or 19/5 intermittent fasting. That means my body fasts for 16 or 19 hours and I eat in an 8 or 5 hour window.
Check out Gin Stephens book Fast, Feast, Repeat or her inspirational podcast of Intermittent Fasting Stories.
Take the 28 Day Challenge and you’ll find this is an easy way to care for your body.
They say people come to intermittent fasting to loose weight, but stay for the health benefits. You just feel better. The body doesn’t ache so much.
And there’s no “diet” foods. There is no expense to eat this way. No marketing to follow. It’s free apart from your normal food costs.
If you choose this way of eating remember to fast clean. Black coffe/tea and water. Anything else triggers an insulin response.

Quote for Today
“Your diet is a bank account. Good food choices are good investments.” – Bethenny Frankel – TV personality and entrepreneur.

Meditation
Let food be your medicine and medicine your food – Hippocrates

Writing
Yesterday was a national holiday in New Zealand. I took it as a holiday too, hiring a motorhome while the one I call home is in for its annual service and deep clean.
I also caught up with my cousins and we all agreed we need to get together more frequently.

Nanowrimo is nearly here. It isn’t too late to decide to join in.

The background photo is the mile long jetty at Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia. Don’t you just love pelicans?

Pelican, Hervey Bay Jetty. Your diet is a bank account.

Nanowrimo Instagram Challenge Show Don’t Tell

Princess Honour threw off her mules and ran along the beach. Stopping every ten steps, crouching, she scrunched her hands into the sand six times. Her face beamed like a flower kissed by the sun.

The princess turned around and looked at her handiwork, “Dinosaur prints.”

Yesterday we visited New Brighton Beach on a perfect spring day. A light breeze held the temperature in the early twenties. A perfect day.

Quote for Today
“The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire”. ~ Pamela Hansford Johnson. What an awesome show dont tell quote.

Writing Today
Alas the children woke earlier and I didn’t quite meet my quota. But I wrote.

Todays background photo is of a little princess on New Brighton Beach, waiting to meet the waves.

Did I mention Nanowrimo is free? Of course your donation is appreciated to help cover costs if you can afford it.