Word of the Year – June Check-in

I almost wasn’t going to post this month – after all, my biggest achievement over the month was finally testing negative on a RAT. Yes, folks, I spent the middle two weeks of the month locked away in covid isolation.

According to the rules of where I live, I could have begun getting out and about after seven days but didn’t feel right about doing so until the second line had disappeared on that pesky little bit of plastic – and that took almost two weeks…which was about as long as it took for me to feel up to leaving the house.

It wasn’t even as if I was incredibly sick – it really was (thankfully) just like a heavy cold and because I’m asthmatic all heavy colds end up on my chest. And the virus did hang about much longer than it was welcome to do so. I’m still struggling to breathe at times and fatigue easily. Heigh-ho.

The time, however, wasn’t completely wasted. I took two days as sick leave from the day job and blessedly had no calls on my scheduled days off which left me free to loll about reading and catching up on binge-worthy telly. Luxury indeed. Anyways, I told you all about that last week. Aside from the occasional wave of tiredness that takes me by surprise, I am, however, feeling much better.

Weather-wise the nights have been cold and the days stunning. It really is the best time of the year here.

Also on the good news front, NZ has changed its pre-departure covid test requirements just in time for Sarah and my trip to Queenstown next week. I had been tying myself in knots stressing about:

• Testing negative and
• Because we’re flying out of Sydney, working out how to schedule a supervised RAT (no more than 24 hours before our scheduled flight) and lodge our NZ entry declaration between landing in Sydney on Monday afternoon and flying out on Tuesday morning.

Now that worry is gone it leaves room for worrying about more appropriate things – such as having a good time.

Okay, that aside, onto the round-up.

Moving

Yeah, about that. The month started great and then covid came to visit. For two weeks I scarcely got above 3000 steps a day – and found the effort of walking the 6 steps up to our bedroom and my office quite exhausting. It’s going to be a long road back – cardio-wise – which really peeves me given how hard I’d worked at that cardio fitness over the past year. Now it feels as though I’m back to square one.

Anyways, have been back doing my 5 at 5 this week (5kms at 5am). Because it’s the middle of winter the sun isn’t up until well after we’ve finished walking, but we’ve been treated to some beautiful pre-sunrise skies as a reward for getting up, rugging up, and moving.

Fun Stuff

We had a lovely day out on a Hinterland mystery picnic before both of us succumbed to the spicy cough just a day or so later. Other than that? 

We did, however, get out in the winter sun last weekend – winter really does look like this on the Sunny Coast. 

Authory Stuff

No new words were written this month – I blame covid brain fog.

The cover for Philly Barker Investigates has been signed off, the blurb written (oh how I hate writing blurbs) and it’s now up for pre-sales. The link is here.

When Chipwell antique dealer Philomena Barker spies a nineteenth century painting of Whitby peeking out of a box of odds and sods at a York auction centre, she knows there’s something special about it. What she doesn’t know is that the painting holds a deeper secret – one that someone else would prefer to stay hidden.

When her shop is broken into and an elderly customer violently assaulted in his own home, Philly joins forces with Inspector Robbie Dawkins to solve the mystery before anyone else is hurt.But does Philly have what it takes to uncover the truth – or will her amateur sleuthing put her in harm’s way?

Love Agatha Christie, Midsomer Murders and Antiques Roadshow? Then this brand-new cosy culinary crime series featuring Yorkshire antique dealer Philly Barker is just what you need!

It’s In The Stars is off being copy edited and will then be sent out to my little band of beta readers. 

I’ve also begun researching the new Philly Barker and will commence writing when I’m back from NZ. 

I had scheduled a free promotion with Hello Books for Happy Ever After, but Amazon wouldn’t come to the party and price-match as required in time, so I missed that slot.

On the Blogs

I wrote something about our mystery picnic, told you what I’d been reading, and this month’s edition of What’s on Your Plate was all about pimped-up instant noodles. 

On BKD I revisited Delia Smith’s Summer Collection, baked a chocolate banana and tahini loaf that’s an absolute winner, and made marmalade scones in honour of Her Maj. I did have a post ready to go about Ella Risbridger’s new cookbook that’s so much more than a cookbook but had to stop and make something else from it first. The pie below is from the book.

Me

As for a selfie of the month? Here you go…complete with hat hair and Grant in the background carrying the rest of the picnic things…

On the last Friday of each month (Southern Hemisphere), the co-hosts of What’s On Your Bookshelf hold a link-up for readers to share their reflections and actions inspired by their Words of the Year (or goals/intentions for 2022). Sue, Deb, Donna and, of course, myself are looking forward to you joining us and sharing how you have focused on your WOTY during the previous month. The linky is below.

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