oNe PhOtO a DaY JaNuArY 2023:

JANUARY 1st HELLO: Australia. I only really feel like I’m home once I get to the beach and see the ocean. Today we made it. First glimpse of St Vincent Gulf from Largs Bay Beach and we even had a long walk and a swim. Happy New Year 2023

 

JANUARY 2nd MY WORD FOR 2023: is friends. The many new ones, those who aren’t in the collage but are in my heart and many old ones that know me better than I know myself. I’m grateful to have all of them in my life and will focus more on maintaining the friendships and expressing the gratitude as the year progresses

 

JANUARY 3rd BREAKFAST: This prompt motivated me to have the Flower Power breakfast at nearby Cafe Troppo and the field mushrooms were to die for

 

JANUARY 4th SOMETHING NEW: is an Augmented Reality Contemporary Art Exhibition called “Seeing the Invisible” which is currently on in Adelaide Botanic Garden. It uses technology to enhance your experience of the world around you. In this shot neither the birds or piano physically exist and yet you discover it, interact with it and even photograph it via a downloadable app on your phone. The themes are of nature, the environment and sustainability and there were 13 different exhibits generated by different artists from all over the world. It was a lot of fun and we intend to go back and see those we didn’t have time for today

 

JANUARY 5th NO FILTER: Walking the streets of Adelaide and admiring the new to me wall art. Indigenous designs have enormous appeal

 

JANUARY 6th OUT & ABOUT: Since arriving just over a week ago I have drunk a lot of delicious Aussie wine but today we actually got out and about with my brother and went to a winery, which also happens to be a gin distillery. Chalk Hill was a great choice for a couple of chalkies and new to us so that’s brilliant

 

JANUARY 7th AM: After drinking and eating way too much yesterday we are having a very late but healthy breakfast on the balcony in the city before catching up with more friends in the afternoon. Just managed to get this and post it while it is still am

 

JANUARY 8th PM: Pretty crazy day really! By the time we got to be on the balcony, this was the view. Who could complain about that?

 

JANUARY 9th I ENJOY: rediscovering places we know and love and especially right now as we are discovering our old stomping ground in the city of Adelaide. This was today’s new find and although it was closed we will definitely return as we both really enjoy Japanese food having lived there for eight years

 

JANUARY 10th CURRENTLY READING: an article about the Trans Bhutan Trail and an epic poem by Chris De Rosa from a current exhibition at the Botanic Gardens. Both were given to us by friends in Adelaide because they know us well enough to know that we would be interested and couldn’t possibly have seen them

 

JANUARY 11th SUN: We spotted the blinding morning sun behind the incredible Triumphant Elephant sculpture by Salvador Dali currently standing  in Rundle Mall this morning while on a shopping run

JANUARY 12th I WENT HERE: Adelaide Central Market. I have been going to this market since I was in primary school and I absolutely love it. Today I had the joy of meeting a former international student, who I taught about 14 years ago and it was a delight to catch up with her life and meet her children

JANUARY 13th COLOUR: I enhanced a roasted pumpkin salad bought in the market by adding more based on colour, last night for dinner. Eat a rainbow is a food philosophy I have adhered to for over three decades

JANUARY 14th INSIDE MY HOME: This is actually inside my home. It’s just that we don’t live there anymore. This photo was taken with the permission of the tenant when we were doing an inspection just over a week ago. We hadn’t seen it for over 7 years and it’s looking loved again. Great tenant and excellent result for us

JANUARY 15th OUTSIDE MY HOME: First thing yesterday morning we did a walk by the outside of our home in the city and a stroll down memory lane along the paths we always walked to shops, friends and the market. It’s still somewhere I want to go back to someday but for now Phnom Penh is home. Today we make the long-awaited journey to see my big little sister in Mt Gambier, I am so excited that it’s finally going to happen…. Four and a half years is way too long apart

JANUARY 16th A RECOMMENDATION: Finally, in Mt Gambier visiting my sister so today we took her recommendation and went to the Di Giorgio Family Winery with a group six of family members for a wine tasting and a delicious tasting platter. Great first day of catching up

 

JANUARY 17th KINDNESS: Yesterday at the winery we had a wonderful time with family and were welcomed and treated to incredible service. As we were leaving I was gifted this wine cooler by the wait staff after having commented on how I was so impressed with it earlier in the tasting experience ….. “Take this back to Cambodia with you!” The kindness of strangers is in a category all its own and I love it already. Can’t wait to use it on the terrace

 

JANUARY 18th NICE: We are playing tourist in South Australia right now and so we visited Umpherston Sinkhole which is an historic sunken garden this morning. It really is very nice and although it’s cool for summer, it was still very popular

JANUARY 19th THE VIEW FROM HERE: Today we walked a part of the Mount Gambier Railway Lands Trail and there were many interesting views but this metallic rusted kangaroo really struck my fancy

 

JANUARY 20th I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT: education. As a teacher for over forty years you have to be passionate about it or you would never survive but one of THE most rewarding experiences was the volunteer teaching I did with the little monks of Kep. This is an archive shot taken on this day last year before we decided to completely retire but we will never sever the connection with these delightful young boys. Just this morning we were invited to be consultants in an exciting new educational venture so the passion continues

 

JANUARY 21st WATER: The stunning Southern Ocean views of the turquoise water at the southern-most point of South Australia, Cape Northumberland. We are playing tourist today and loving it

 

JANUARY 22nd SKYLINE: This skyline over the sand dunes and grasses was the first beach vista we stopped to enjoy when we were out exploring in Port McDonnell yesterday

 

JANUARY 23rd TODAY’S WEATHER: is mostly sunny and 26°C or at least it was when I took this shot as we were heading to Bordertown. At last we are getting summer weather again and will be able to swim. We are back on the bus returning to Adelaide and it’s perfect

 

JANUARY 24th SOMETHING I LOVE: Catching up with friends who we have known for over four decades but haven’t seen for about five years. Delicious food, good conversation, great memories and a perfect outing

 

JANUARY 25th FOOD: We are going to use the recreation area and do a BBQ of veggies and tempeh with a monster roasted and raw salad for a gathering of friends tonight, so I have spent a lot of the day buying and preparing this huge amount of food

 

JANUARY 26th MY DAY: involved visiting friends and eating delicious veggo food prepared specifically to accommodate us! Feeling loved

 

JANUARY 27th SOMETHING BLUE: The water in the spa bath this afternoon when I treated myself to a pedicure

 

JANUARY 28th I AM: home in Australia and having an incredibly social and fun time meeting friends and family, drinking too much wine and eating too much cheese but caution to the wind.That's what holidays are actually for

 

JANUARY 29th LUNCH: When breakfast looks like this lunch is not an option

 

JANUARY 30th FRESH: Tree Gardenias from the garden now beautifully scenting the back deck outdoor area

 

 JANUARY 31st THIS IMPROVES MY MOOD: spending time in the Botanic Gardens after strolling around the streets and university precinct admiring the architecture and reminiscing over the past. Nothing like shinrin-yoku to improve your mood

 

 

THE PROMPTS

2022 Year End Reflections

I had it in mind to write something as a reflection of 2022 as it was the year that some of our freedoms returned and I never got it together to write an end of year mail out as we often have done in the past. Then on New Year’s Day I saw this graphic and saved it to be my inspiration.

  

It’s going to be long and brutally honest so if you’re not up for that you’ll need to stop reading now.

 

10: HIGHLIGHTS

 

The positives are always easy so they will be short and sweet and with one photo a piece

 

1 Buying the Aerie with the help assistance and support of Dennis & Philip. and Madam Yary too of course

 

2 Taking the Crab Shuttle from Kep to Kampot with Yary

 

3 Buying a bike for Mr J’s son

 

4 Being blessed at evening Prayers by the Abbot after we had taught our last lesson.

5 Amyssie agreeing to teach the monks and all of us organising a trip to Kep Beach and to the Butterfly Farm so that she could get better better acquainted with the boys

 

6 Using the train system regularly

  

7 The neighbours and community in PP welcoming us and supporting and accepting us in their neighbourhood

 

8 Barry visiting twice

 

9 Taking the monks to Rabbit Island

 

10 Finally getting to Australia

 

Bonus highlights

 

Seeing Hornbills and fireworks regularly from our terrace

 

Continuing to see friends and the monks in Kep

 

Discovering Battambang 

 

5: Disappointments:

1: We left Kep in a slow, structured and systematic way and though many people said they would miss us, only a few actually stay in contact or answer when contacted.

2: Ian’s fall

3: Getting Covid

4: Not being able to repair the stairs YET 

 

NB How lucky am I that the only category I can’t complete is to not be able to think of enough disappointments? 

 

3: Game changers

1: Retiring completely and not feeling we must have a “project”. We can continue to do the things we want and not do those that have become stressful or onerous

 

2: The Asian Documentary Film Festival & other cultural events taught me that I need more creative arts and cultural activities in my life

 

2: Despite enjoying being able for the first time to spend all our time together as a couple and choosing to do so, we are still independent individuals. And being independent is healthy was one of the positives I I learned from Ian’s fall. I realised I was able to do everything while Ian was bed bound and we still have different interests as well as many that we share.

 

3: Areas of Focus

1 For me the focus of 2023 is going to be more on friends and family ensuring they know they are appreciated as that has been what got us through the difficult time and challenges 

 

2 Continue to focus on health, fitness and flexibility as they are more important than ever now as we age and deal with injuries

 

3 Writing more and more and continuing to take photographs as it is cathartic and helps with my perception of me.

 

3: Things you forgot

1: People often don’t treat you as you treat them. Their behaviour is not a reflection of your worth. As a result, I learned that when people you love don’t treat you right it’s pointless to think “What is wrong with you?” or “What did I do to you?” and always more useful to think “What happened to you to cause this?”

 

2: My mental health is fragile and many other people also have mental health issues that are not dissimilar but also can be quite different

 

3: Where my keys to the storage unit are?

 

 

Reflections

On many of the points above I have already included reflections so the two big standouts are: 

 

1 Slow, Simple, Sustainable and Safe is a lifestyle that we have elected to adopt and it is actually really working in terms of improving wellbeing

 

2 Ian and I are co-dependent. We operate better together than we ever did individually