Blogging
Friday, January 2, 2026 • 2 min read
Okay, so everyone hates writing lists like this because, let’s face it, none of us stick to them. It’s like the minute we even think about them we fail, whether we’ve listed 1 thing to achieve or thirty.
This time, however, after the year I’ve had and, let’s face it the fact I’m still here with you all, I’ve decided if ever there was a year to check off items on my list, it’s now, in 2026.
So, here we go:
- I want to read more (no number specified, anything past 1 will be an achievement in and of itself.)
- I want to take a walk every single day it’s not snowing! (Believe me when I say this will probably be the hardest resolution to achieve).
- I want to take more photos with my Pentax camera.
- I want to listen to a lot more music. (Suggestions welcome).
- I want to eat less junk food.
- I want to lose another 15 pounds in weight by the end of 2026.
- I want to visit at least 3 new places.
- I want a holiday abroad.
- I want to try a new food (nothing nasty like big fat white grubs). But maybe Afghan food, or Persian, or … well, you get the picture.
- I want to write every day in my new Hobonichi Techo diary.
- I want to live each and every day in the moment.
And you, did you make any resolutions for the New Year?
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Saturday, December 13, 2025 →
I would just like to say a BIG thank you to @Manton for facilitating my move onto Micro.One. Did anyone notice the packing boxes, what, no? Maybe that’s because Manton did all the heavy lifting and, as any good puppet master does, pulled all the right strings behind the scene.
So voila, no interruptions.
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 • 3 min read
Another question I got asked for the #WeblogPoMo AMA (Ask Me Anything) challenge was from Annie (yes, another Annie), she wanted to know:
What is a habit that’s either very long-standing or has had a big impact in your life, or both?
and
What’s your favourite time of day, and why?
First up, let’s start with the easier question, my favourite time of day has got to be mornings, early mornings. Especially as I have a habit of waking up somewhere around 5am for a pee. Which in and of itself you’d think would be annoying but … I’ve learnt to turn around what was once an annoyance to a positive. I now take the time to open the curtains and peak outside, and spend a couple of minutes marvelling at the world beyond. Sometimes I give up any thought of going back to bed and, instead, brew a cup of green tea, sit on the couch with a blanket, and either read or just stare out into the dark pondering life’s mysteries.
It’s funny what pops into your head when you stop thinking about anything specific.
As to Annie’s second question? Hmm … I’m not sure I have any long standing habits these days. I think I’ve broken myself of most of the annoying ones a long time since; like chewing my nails till I was 17, sucking my finger till I was 5 and started school, or carrying a stuffed bush baby plushy everywhere I went till the age of 3, till I threw it overboard on a boat.
There was also my habit of watching the news while eating breakfast. But watching the twin towers fall live on TV, one morning, broke me of that habit. In shock, like half the world, I couldn’t bring myself to watch the morning news for well over a decade.
I do, I suppose, have one new habit that stated in the spring of 2019, the year before covid hit. When my partner and I were planning a month long trip to Paris in the fall of 2020, and I needed to get in shape for the trip. It was walking. But, as we all know, covid locked down us and the entire planet, we didn’t go anywhere for 2 years. I did, however, walk with a vengeance. I started walked for at least 5 minutes of every hour every day, for that entire year. Not only did I gain muscle mass, but lost weight too. The upshot of that one year, which continued into 2021 and then, 2022, became my new habit.
Now I only walk about three and a half minutes every hour. But still, with everything else I do throughout the day. I walk over 7000 steps each and every day. It really has been one of the best habits and decisions I ever made.
And you, what’s your favourite time of day, and what long standing habits do you have, if any?
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Friday, December 5, 2025 • 1 min read
So the wonderful and so very talented Andy Carolan has created a new avatar for my blogs, and social media. Unofficially names Alex Rocket Dog. An homage to the year I was born, and that amazing kick ass little dog that first went into space, aboard Sputnik; Laika, the original little rocket dog.
Please give a warm welcome to little Alex as she readies herself for lift off!
Wednesday, November 26, 2025 • 2 min read
The first question I got asked for Annie’s #WeblogPoMo AMA (Ask Me Anything) challenge earlier this year, was from Lou Plummer in which he asks:
“If you could work as a tour guide in one of the places you’ve traveled to, where would you pick? And why?”
Of course, for me, there is only one place and that’s Singapore. An island that was a huge part of my impressionable childhood years, those years from 8 through to 11. As an adult I’ve dreamed of and yes schemed to get back there for a visit, though it’s true the island I remember has changed, vastly, in the intervening years. And what was once a place of idyll life for me, is now a roaring metropolis of the 21st century, a tech hub, a tourist mecca, but still … As a tour guide? Hmm …
All those flashy hot spot amid the history and splendour of a place I remember maybe gives me a different perspective to be a Tour Guide. One able to recount the history in a way others cannot. I remember the riots during the 60s, I remember the civil unrest, I remember people being shot at, the undeclared war going on in the shadows between super powers like the US and UK, pushing to influence a people who wanted nothing to do with the colonialism of the day.
It’s easy to be a tour guide taking people to the Botanic Gardens, or to the Raffles Hotel, or one of the latest landmarks … but what about the advance of the Japanese on Singapore during WWII, or what happened at Changi prison? Or that, as a child, my parents and I met the Prime Minster of the day, Lee Kuan Yew.
I wonder if I would be an interesting tour guide or not, given maybe the average tourist probably wouldn’t want to know any of the painful history of this tiny nation island.
But then again, who knows.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 →
I want to update and change the avatar on my m.b. account but, micro blog doesn’t seem to want to comply. I’ve tried three different logo/avatars but, m.b. just keeps showing the same 8 year old version of me, even after I deleted this particular image. Am I missing something?
Do I need to update the avatar somewhere different from the Account page, @manton can you please advise?
Friday, November 21, 2025 • 1 min read
Today I am honoured to be featured in Manuel Morale’s online series: People & Blogs.
If you would like to read my interview, pop on over to Manu’s blog, HERE, and find out what I have to say.
I would like to say a big thank you to Manu at being asked to join such a prestiges alumni, I am truly honoured. I’d also like to say a big thank you to Robert Birming for suggesting me.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Monday, November 17, 2025 →
Yay, look what just arrived by courier and, on time too.
My monthly supply of Stash TEA!
Yes, that’s 16 boxes and 300 teabags. What can I say, we drink a lot of tea in this household.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Friday, November 14, 2025 • 2 min read
Time I woke up: 5:05 a.m.
First thing I did upon waking: Go for a pee … no, seriously. I have a bladder the size of a thimble.
Today’s weather: Overcast with light snow.
Something I spent money on today: Groceries.
An out-of-the-ordinary thing that happened today: I had to drink old Earl Gray teabags as I’ve run out of my usual Moroccan mint.
Last thing I read (not on the Internet): The back of a box of teabags (Twinnings).
Last thing I read (on the Internet): Posts on Mastodon.
Last text I sent: Hey, beef bourguignon for dinner tonight? (sent to the OH)
Last text I received: Yep, that’ll do, pig! (from the OH)
Last website I visited: Purplelime’s photo blog
Last show I watched: Chuck Cooks on Turtle Island.
Last podcast I listened to: None …
Last thing I said: Eh, I’m too polite to repeat it here, in public.
Last thing I ate: Raisin cinnamon toast & a banana.
What I was doing an hour ago: Making a brew.
What I will be doing an hour from now: Probably taking a nap.
Current whereabouts of other members of my household: In our home office next door to me.
One thing I crossed off my to-do list today: Reading a number of blog posts I’m subscribed to.
And you …
Thursday, November 13, 2025 • 3 min read
It’s funny how we find these kinds of topics sometimes the most fascinating. I mean, who doesn’t love the smell of a good soap? Well, I don’t. I find most soap overly perfumed. Some even make me gag, their scent so strong.
So, just what are my 5 top and bottom smells? Well, I thought you would never ask:
TOP FIVE
- No. 4711 — My mother’s favourite cologne, is the original cologne made in Germany more than 228 years ago. As the name implies, this was the 4711th iteration of the scent that made it to market. My mum wore this scent almost exclusively her entire life.
- Bronnley Lemon Soap — This lemon shaped soap is another pioneering product that my mother loved, and whose scent I associate with her and a happy childhood of warmth and safety.
- Grass — For someone who suffers every year at spring time from tree pollen, I absolutely love the smell of fresh mown grass. I don’t know what memory it evokes but I always stop to breath in that scent whenever I encounter it.
- Freshly baked goods — I remember my mum baking nearly every day throughout my childhood. And so, when I catch a whiff of freshly baked goods, whether pie, cake, or other sugary delights, it always reminds me of home, my mum, and those happier moments of childhood.
- Jet Fuel — Okay, I know, this is going to sound weird, why would she like the smell of jet fuel? But again, it’s a smell I grew up with, and a smell that has a strong associate for me, of happier memories, and of the places my parents were posted to. The smell brings out a sense of excitement at travel and going places.
BOTTOM FIVE
- Sewage — There was, for a six month period between my father’s postings where we, as a family, we housed on what was called a Transit Camp, while my dad was off somewhere doing training prior to another trip abroad. The camp sat downwind of a sewage processing planet. And, let me tell you, we all knew about it every time the wind blew in the right direction.
- Meat — Specifically, braised liver or kidneys. My father loved to eat them and my mother duly cooked them for him … but the smell? Lingered for days, and days, and always made me feel nauseous.
- Rotting Seaweed — Have you ever gone down to the beach for the afternoon on a hot summer day and … there’s a long line of rotting seaweed stretching off into the distance, in either direction? That stuff gives off a hideous stench as bad as raw sewage.
- Decomposing Food — One year, when we were younger, my mum took us all up north for two months to visit my aunt, in Scotland, for summer holidays. It was fantastic. One of the most memorable summer breaks I remember. But, when we got home, there had been a power outage while we were away and, everything in the fridge had been slowly decomposing for TWO MONTHS. When my mother open the fridge door …
- Dead Skunk — Truly, there is nothing, and I mean, nothing in this world that smells as bad as a decomposing skunk within 100 yards (down wind) of your bedroom window on a succession of long, hot, summer nights, in New England.
And there you have it. My top and bottom 5 memorable smells. And you, what made it onto your list of good and bad smells?
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 →
You have to be careful screaming into the void once too often … it has a tendency to scream back. And believe me when I say, no one wants that!
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Monday, November 10, 2025 →
When I need a humour boost there’s nowhere on the planet that delivers better than over on McSweeny’s. Today I discovered the veritable laugh out loud list: Oxymorons for 2025. A list that will have you wetting your pants or, at the very least, shedding a tear or two, or even, a dull snigger.
Go forth ye peasant and rejoice.
— em dashes forever!
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Saturday, November 8, 2025 • 3 min read
I casually mentioned online the other day to Scott that my alter ego, 8 year old Alex, loves to pull pranks on people. This particular, some would say, unsavoury trait started early on in my life. And for good reason. It was more about revenge on my older brothers who, themselves, love to prank me, their younger sweet innocent sister. Was I ever sweet and innocent? Who knows.
The thing is, when we lived abroad, which was pretty much all my young life, we lived in countries prone to hosting a lot of creepy crawly insects and really BIG bugs. Never mind lizards, snakes, spiders, scorpions, and a million weird ass looking beetles … no, silly, not those Beetle.
The things is, they loved to collect said bugs and beasties and, well, hide them in my bedroom and worse, in my bed especially. So much so, it got to the point I stopped screaming and started insisting that I would not go to bed till my dad had cleared the room as if sweeping for mines and other explosive ordinance. It became a nightly ritual.
As a result, of course, I slowly became desensitised to said creepy crawlies to the point I could even handle them myself and, took to boxing bugs for release into my brother’s beds and worse, into their clothes draws and wardrobe.
Well, of course both parents took exception to the mini war of attrition taking place under their roof every time my dad was posted somewhere exotic. We were, at one point, all lined up like the Von Trapp children, lectured by both parents, and threatened to be grounded till we were all thirty!
Needless to say, I think I secretly had the last word in that war as I moved from bugs and creepy crawlies, which I then collected and stuck pins in (don’t @ me) to more nefarious and devious tricks and pranks. Like adding salt to the sugar bowl, sticking dead ants into strawberry tarts, or swapping out the raisins in those mini raising boxes for rabbit droppings. A friend had taught me that one.
Of course, I took this approach with every bully I’ve ever encountered over the years, in finding a way to prank them. In the military this extended to putting boot polish on the black toilet seats so that when guys sat down they got booted as we called it. We also did cling film over the toilet bowl and urinals.
Some of the best fun was filling condoms and medical gloves with, eh, solutions, and then placing (balancing) them in strategic places to cause the most damage to peoples dignity and self respect, never mind, clothes.
We, meaning me and my cohorts, could be ruthless. So, be warned, don’t cross me as I will figure out a way to prank you good and proper, and usually, in public.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Community Echoes:
Friday, November 7, 2025 →
I have adulted this morning …
I just paid my credit card!
Tuesday, November 4, 2025 • 2 min read
Just to let you know our flood of yesterday afternoon lasted about 15 minutes. However, it took maintenance over an hour to respond to our frantic call to the front desk. An hour! And then, when he knocked, he arrived with nothing. Not so much as a torch, helpful towel, or maintenance trolly.
He spent exactly a minute inspecting both bathrooms, pronounced he needed to go and … came back 30 minutes later with … his phone!
That was it. His phone. Which he then proceeded to use the flashlight feature to inspect the overhead fan in the guest bathroom. By this time all the dripping had stopped.
I should point out that this guy was happy to stand on all our wet towels and then, tramp big muddy footprints throughout on his way in and out.
To ask if I was furious is an understatement. I was nuclear.
The main reason? The flood was the supposed result of the person in the apartment above ours pouring a large bucket of dirty water into their toilet! Seriously? All bathrooms are tiled up to 3 inches up the wall. How did this idiot manage to cause so much trouble with a single bucket of water?
That aside. We got no apologies from the neighbour and, as far as the maintenance guy was concerned, it was our problem to clean up the mess never mind be left with peeling wallpaper.
Naturally the OH not only called the building manager’s office and left a message but also wrote an official complaint and emailed them. Not that I’m sure we’ll get any response.
As to the clean up? It took us over an hour dressed in our HazMat Suits — what? Oh, okay, in our masks and rubber gloves — to clean from the ceiling to floor. Thanks to the chemical gods for bleach and lysol.
Monday, November 3, 2025 →
We’re right in the middle of a flood happening right now in our guest bathroom. Water is literally cascading through the fan on the ceiling onto the toilet and floor below, pooling.
Oh, the OH just shouted through that it’s now coming into the main bathroom through the adjoining wall …
We phoned the front desk here, in the main building and, they told us the plumbing crew is on another job we’ll have to wait.
We’ll have to wait? Are they fucking kidding me? I’m sorely tempted to phone 911 and call the fire brigade in.
Jesus F. H. Christ …
Friday, October 31, 2025 →
Oh, look, my butt’s buzzing … it seems I forgot my phone was in my back pocket and, well, I sat on it.
No harm done, nothing seems to be broken or squished, including my butt.
Friday, October 17, 2025 →
You cannot become a Canadian Citizen unless you:
- love ice hockey
- drink a gallon of maple syrup a day
- know who scored the Stanley cup winning goal for the Montreal Canadiens
- know what the Grey Cup is
- wear a toque during winter
- drink Molson lite
- cheer for the Blue Jays no matter what province you live in
- eat poutine for breakfast every day
- finish every sentence with the word, eh
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 • 3 min read
Like, Jedda and David, who have rewritten introductory posts to share a little bit more about themselves. I thought I would too but I’m wondering, do I go bullet list like Jedda might do, or CV style like David did?
Do you really want to know where I’ve lived (37 countries and counting) and the kinds of jobs I’ve had (way too many). Or that I love marmite (yes, I’m one of those) or that I could eat porridge for breakfast every day, but don’t as there’s this thing called bacon, and oh do I love me a good bacon butty for breakfast now and then.
Or do I just tell you to go read my About Page. Or, should I simply write a series of random facts about myself? You know, like this:
FACT #1 : I was in the military.
Yeah, and I survived! Ha! Ha! I did 8 years in the Women’s Royal Air Force, to be exact, as an Air Traffic Controller. Does that fact scare you knowing I was in charge? Well, okay, maybe not in-charge and it was military fighter jets, not passenger flights, that we landed!
FACT #2 : I jumped out of a hovering helicopter over the sea.
Not once, or twice, but several times. No, really! See, this one ties in with being in the military. We got to do some really stupid things, like this. But it was all in the interest of teaching Search and Rescue techniques to SARs Crews, and survival (that would be me, bobbing around in frigid waters) — yes, we had survival suits on.
FACT #3 : I was an qualified All-England Netball Referee.
See, I bet you never saw that one coming either. Ha! Again, this is the kind of thing you get up to, while in the military. I had to go to London to train and then, had an exam and passed with flying colours. Yeah, for netball!
FACT #4 : I’ve been to, London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Montreal, Washington DC and New York.
Okay, now don’t laugh, as I kid I was fascinated by those glossy perfume ads in magazines that featured these seemingly, exotic cities. So I had this thing about wanting to visit them all, and I have. Now I only have Melbourne and Tokyo left on the bucket list.
FACT #5 : Growing up I wanted to be a marine biologist.
Yeah, I know, go figure. It was watching all those TV shows featuring one of my dad’s heroes, Jacque Cousteau, that started it, that and I love the ocean. I’m convinced I’m part mermaid or was a tardigrade in another life. The water and I are best buddies.
FACT #6 : I love to cook.
This one is in homage to my mother. And while I don’t know if I’m as good a cook as her, I know I learnt a great deal from her. I do all the cooking here, and I’m always trying new things and tweaking recipes to suit my taste buds. I do love me some spicy food and love my herbs. I cannot imagine life without bay leaves.
FACT #7 : I still have my childhood teddy bear.
It’s a small Steiff Bear and if the apartment was burning down, that would be the first thing I would grab and save. My dad bought it for me when he found out my mum was pregnant with me. There is nothing more precious to me than that little bear.
So, is that enough random facts about me and something of an(other) introduction to who I am? Well, probably not, but I’m sure you’ll get to know more about me the longer you read this blog. Go on, follow me via RSS, you know you want to.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Friday, October 10, 2025 • 2 min read
This post is a response to Robert’s post about blogging more, which was a response to BinaryDigit’s original post.
Anyone who writes, and writes a lot, will tell you, blogging is one of those things that, like writing (and maybe reading too) we have no control over. The compulsion to share our words is strong and so, we blog. We may not blog daily, though if we do, we may not share lengthy epic posts but rather a series of short, thoughtful posts about things that pop into our heads throughout the day that we need to put to paper or, in this case, onscreen. To share or just to remember.
Like we’re blogging post-it notes for later.
As Sylvia quotes:
I blog for an audience of one: me.
Which is true for most of us. We’re emptying our brains and, sometimes, as I know I have this last year, our heart and soul out onto the screen by way of understanding things that going on around us, or happening to us. Blogging is, for all intents and purposes, at various times, our therapy.
At least, for me, all this is true. Blogging has, at times, become my therapy and my release, my outlet for creativity, and well, just a place to record my thoughts on anything and everything.
So, as Robert wrote:
In the world of blogging, the www bit stands for: Write Whatever Whenever
Advice I, for one, intend listening to and following. 𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
Community Echoes:
Sunday, June 1, 2025 • 1 min read
I’m delighted to see Robert back blogging on micro blog again. And not only that, he’s once again hosting Junited 2025 in which he’s encouraging us to share links to our favourite blogs and post.
Check it out, and join in.
Check out my Junited 2025 page for more.