Hello… is anyone still there? (The Sequel)

I returned very briefly to blogging in November 2023 with the best intentions to keep up with atleast one post a week going forward, but the busy December rush, followed by a kitchen renovation in January which literally took over the whole house, meant keeping up with the routine fell off almost immediately. Time has literally zapped by since, and I’ve had a few medical things at the start of the year, a few holidays and some personal commitments – and here we are it’s blooming October – and I’ve not even wished people Happy New Year, (I suspect I’ve missed the boat on that one!).

I feel like I can’t start regular* posting again until I’ve done a bit of a clear of the throat of everything that has been happening since we last spoke.
*attempt at regular

So, since we last caught up in November:

• I did Jury Duty for the SECOND TIME, the case was much more emotional than the first case I served on and it played on my mind for a long time, but it was an experience I was glad to be apart of. I was the foreperson on this jury, so I’m hoping that’s my jury bingo card full and I won’t be called back for a third round. Almost a year on since I did it, this case still plays on my mind particularly when I am in the city it happened in, and often have dreams that relate to it that can leave me in a cold sweat.
• My Mum turned 60, we spent a weekend away in Norfolk with my sister and Dad with her with some fun days out that included glass blowing, pitch and putt golf in the rain and lots of traipsing around any antique shop we could find
• We came home and our poorly cat had gone downhill very quickly in 24 hours and we had to make the difficult decision to have him put down at the start of December, I still think about him every day and my partner’s Aunty did a lovely portrait of him in felt which I say hello to most mornings.
• Christmas was wonderful, but also a strange one due to some family things going on. But it was lovely spending time with our nearest and dearest.
• I finally had the kitchen fully fitted out a project that started in 2019! I now have the pink and navy kitchen I’ve always wanted, new kitchen counters, new sinks, new extractor fan and fancy under-counter lights. The last part of the project is the floors and that is now kicking off in the new year.
• I turned 33, and spent the day in Cambridge with my partner which was lovely
• Lee turned 29 *ugh, so young*, and we had a lovely day at home
• I enjoyed a spa day with my oldest besties back in March which was lovely
• Pam, our previously pregnant cat, got pregnant again and the litter of kittens had been and gone
• I am continuing my absolute love of theatre and going as much as I can, ticking off so far this year Sylvia, The Heathers and To Kill a Mockingbird, Six, Evita, A Strange Loop, and The Pillowman from my list (I am sure I am missing something too…). Plus I have 3 more trips planned before the end of the year for Operation Mincemeat, Stranger Things, and The Phantom of the Opera.
• I finally ticked off visiting Shack Fuyu from my restaurant bucket list and I am obsessed and can’t stop thinking about it
• I went to Edinburgh with my family and Lee over Easter, a bucket list trip for all of us and so glad we did it, a really lovely city and we would love to go back again! We were blessed with really nice weather for Scotland in early April too, so can not complain.
• A few days later Lee and I went to Orlando, Florida for a week with my in-laws and had an amazing week we did a little bit of Disney, Universal and also went to see Alligators in Gatorland which is a day I will never forget
• I went on another spa day with my Mum and Sister in June which was long overdue and had to be rescheduled due to my Jury Duty.
• Lee and I had a nice day in London for the Highways Country Music Festival at the Royal Albert Hall
• We have been to three weddings this year, two of Lee’s Best friends got married one of which he was the best man for, and also his cousin – all were lovely days for lovely couples.
• We went to Silverstone for Formula One and I loved it, I hope that we can do another one next year in Europe
• My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at the end of July and had a big party for their family and friends, it’s always lovely to have so many of the people you love in one space and it was a really nice celebration of the most amazing people.
• Another one of our feral adopted cats became pregnant and had a litter
• Pam fell pregnant again before she was allowed to have the operation as she was still feeding others (she is now on house arrest!)
• Me, Lee, and the Dogs went on a well-needed break to Norfolk for a few days in August, a nice little reset for us in a little cottage on the farm. The weather was pretty bad while we were there but we made the most of our time
• We went for a few unusual days out in September, we drove old tanks round a field and went to the zoo and fed tigers before the zoo opened
• In October we went to Hamburg to see Luke Combs and had a really nice time exploring the city for a few days too.
• We had tickets in a box for free with DHL to see Luke Combs at the O2 in London
• We ticked off a lot of to-do list jobs in the house and garden, which has become a bigger and more ambitious list as we’ve been going along but hopefully, we’re edging closer to having new floors throughout the downstairs.

We have one more major trip before the end of the year, which maybe, I’ll bring back the travel blogs for as it’s a top 3 bucket list trip for us both and we’re so excited to be going to Iceland in November!

So there we are, a busy 11 months for us and I am sure I have missed a few things along the way too, the house is currently chaos with 2 pregnant cats and 13 cats living in it – but we’re all thriving and I feel, so magnificently happy and content in a way I never have.

Let me know in the comments what the highlights of your year have been, and I will be back very soon with some more content, I need something to keep me busy now the nights are drawing in. I have a few posts and reviews from summer ready to finish off and have been keeping up with things like my empties so I am hoping I can keep myself busy with content

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr

Email: helplesswhilstdrying@gmail.com

Follow: