I’ve been home for twelve days now, and my trip to South Africa already feels like a dream. It was a dream! Every little thing was perfect. When we arrived at the Johannesburg airport, the gentleman who was escorting us to the tiny airport that housed all the little bush planes said to me hopefully […]
I’ve Been To London To Look At The Queen
June 22, 2026 by 55 Comments
And by Queen, I mean the much-loved late QEII, in deference to my much-loved late Grandma Fern, who hated Camilla Parker-Bowles with the fire of a thousand suns. Not That Kind of Weed I am happy to report that, after seven solid mornings of work, I have finally got the weed situation under control. In […]
Five For Friday: The Packing List Edition
June 19, 2026 by 48 Comments
What I Packed. As always, my husband and I took carryon luggage only for our almost-three-week trip to London and South Africa. I also had a large shoulder bag in which I stashed my smaller crossbody bag, and he took a backpack. Everywhere we went, the luggage porter would look at us and say That’s […]
Out of (South) Africa
June 15, 2026 by 72 Comments
Fly High Free Bird On Saturday night at about 8:30, my husband and I arrived home from South Africa after a solid forty-five hours in transit, which included five flights, a jeep ride to an airstrip in Phinda forest, an epic seven hour stopover in London Heathrow, and, less dramatic but very nice, a half-hour […]
Scentsitive
May 4, 2026 by
Last week I channeled my inner teen and headed for the mall. As a side note, I mentally capitalize The Mall as there is but one in this city. Upon entering, I was immediately and pleasantly assaulted by the scent of Cinnzeo, which seems to be the modern answer to Cinnabon. It’s nice that, although […]
Nicole’s Favourite Things: The Southeast Asia Adventure Edition
February 26, 2026 by
I’ve been home for two and a half weeks, and it already feels like my trip to Southeast Asia was some kind of dream that happened ages ago. This month has just flown by, what with travel and then recovering from travel, with catching up on all the one million things that I was behind […]
My Southeast Asia Adventure
February 16, 2026 by
Happy Monday! For Valentine’s Day, I got a lot of sleep, and thank goodness. I think I underestimated how exhausted I was from travel, jetlag, and the busyness of our trip to Southeast Asia. It was well worth it but still I am glad to be, in the words of Spirit of the West, home […]
