20/3/2026 Friday Again

Well this week has certainly flown by! In fact, time seems to be going rather fast now my return home is looming. I am actually getting quite anxious about going home, but that’s a few weeks away, and I’ve still got time to spend with my Morg and that’s the best thing for me right now. So along with updating and refreshing  my bee knowledge I’m working my way through puppy training cos I’m getting a puppy, Frank is going to be a big dog and will need his brain occupied or there is the potential to become destructive. A bit like me, I become self destructive if my brain isn’t occupied. 

I've been reading a book that describes his breed and I’ve laughed so hard, but the breed is a very good match for me for sure. I’ve researched the best training method for them and in doing so have discovered that despite their large size and immense loyalty and bravery, they are very sensitive and don’t respond well to raised voices,  they will take a long time to forgive you if you hurt their feelings. Telling a ridgeback no is a pointless task, even more pointless is telling it no in a louder voice, because it wants to know why it can’t do it, oh and by the way,  you’ve just raised your voice at me so piss off.  The book I enjoyed the most is titled ‘so you decided to get a ridgeback’ . The book explains them perfectly and lets you know in detail what you are potentially going to get  if you are interested. It’s free on kindle if you want a giggle. He also summarises other breeds so out of interest I read his book on springer spaniels and malamutes, yup he knows his onions! 

I walked down to Mission Bay, and stopped on the way back up at Kohi for my swim. There were one or two familiar faces there and they welcomed me with a ‘hey Mask girl’ which amused me,  and clearly them.  It’s good to make people laugh right? The swim went well,  it is actually getting a bit easier and I look forward to it to start my day now even though the pain is through the roof, it’s a way to block stuff out by pushing myself physically. Some might call in self sabotage, some people might be right but it’s a good tool for me at the moment.  

It’s been really hot today but with a really good breeze so drying out from the swim didn’t take long.  Sitting in the dry sand isn’t so pleasant on a windy day so I decided to go back to St Heliers as the sand is more compacted and doesn’t fly about so much. That proved be a good shout as the compacted sand is more comfortable on my back. Another few hours listening to an audio book passed the rest of the day. I can’t get on with audiobooks, this one is a Tom Clancy and was going ok right up until the narrator tried a female voice when narrating Cathy Ryan. That ruined it for me so I turned it off, it was downright creepy!!  Shame because I thought it might be a nice escape tool.  

I left the beach at 1600 and as I was packing up Morg rang to see where I was at. We arranged to meet at the front and after a hug we looked at each other and said “pub?” What a bloody good shout.  We walked down to Moretons and sunk two pints in the hot sunshine which went down very nicely. We discussed dinner and decided since I now have vast cooking facilities we’d go and get stuff from the four square rather than eat out.  

The shopping didn’t take long and we walked back to the car park to the truck. Some idiot had parked so close to Morgan’s truck I needed a tin opener to get in! Morg was particularly unimpressed because it made it quite difficult to get his tools from the front cab and into the back. I sat on a pallet eating a magnum ice cream and watched him as he cursed the driver. There was nothing I could do and I didn’t want my ice cream to melt did I?  

When it was done he pulled out and I hopped in and we drove home where we unloaded the shopping before he went home to shower and change. I made the fundamental error of sitting down and promptly nodded off ffs. Sleepless nights and a bit of self sabotage not to mention two pints will assist with that I think.  The funny part was,  an hour later I was woken up by a message from Morg saying sorry he'd sat down! I had a shower and by the time I’d finished with 5 mins to spare he was here for his dinner. I cooked us a chicken curry which was nice and also a one dish meal, a favourite of ours!  We sat and ate it outside on the balcony which was lovely as we listened to the Cicadas with the warm evening sunshine beating down on us . I bloody love the noise they make and will miss them greatly when I come home. 

It’s blissful in the evenings now it cools down to a really pleasant 18 degrees temperature wise, but there was no sunset tonight. As we ate we discussed Frank, and my other plans when I return. I find it beneficial to do that with Morg because he is a much clearer thinker than me and infinitely more sensible. That’s not something he gets from me!   

So another day done without Si, today hasn’t been a bad one and I’ve realised that since I’ve been here I’ve not had the urge to punch too many people. That’s a positive!  

Much Love 

Mrs Leonard 

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