I usually post my good things on Friday but I had vertigo/migraine on Friday and screens usually make it worse so I followed Friday with a screen-free, no internet day on Saturday. Today I’m feeling a lot better and even managed my long run which was good as I was feeling unwell last weekend and didn’t run at all. The week has been marred by frequent headaches. I’m hoping it’s hormonal and they settle down soon. Despite this, I still have a selection of good things to share.

Hanging with the Fam

I’ve had lots of time with my extended family over the last few weeks and it has been wonderful. Some have gone back to work and are spending the weekends here. My brother and his kids head home tonight. During this week it will just be my parents, the girls, my nephew and I here. Last night about twelve of us hung outside chatting until almost 10 pm. Although we see each other a bit during the year, summer is the time we spend more time just hanging out and doing nothing.

New Year’s Day Lunch

Dad took all of us, plus my auntie and uncle out for New Year’s Day lunch at 360Q in Queenscliff. It’s situated in the marina. It was a stunning blue-sky day and the food was excellent. It’s also been a while since I’ve caught up with my aunt and uncle too.

Toe Socks

These were a Christmas present and I like them. I’ve ordered some lightweight ones for hot running days.

Silvan Berry Picking

Dad, the girls, my nephew and I drove down to the Otways for our yearly Silvan berry-picking expedition. Each year the berries ripen at the start of the New Year and Dad and whoever is around pick the berries that will be made into jam for the year. Dad did not check the opening times before we left and when we arrived it was closed. We managed to load the website with our one bar of mobile reception and found that it would be open in 30 minutes. We drove back to the Dean’s Marsh Store and had some lunch to fill in the time.

Back at Gentle Annie’s the. berry picking was easy. We went to the row furthest from the shop to start picking and there were heaps of plump, black silvanberries ripe for the picking. It wasn’t long until we had filled our seven containers to overflowing. There may have been some eating happening too. Some of the berries were so ripe they disintegrated as I picked them, so of course, they couldn’t go into the container and I wasn’t going to waste them.

Evelyn Underhill’s Prayer Book

I think I mentioned that I fell into a lovely morning quiet time towards the end of the last year but I’ve shaken it up again. For most of last year the morning devotion from the Lectio365 app formed the backbone of my morning quiet time and I still really love it, but I wanted my mornings to be a bit more analog. Before Christmas, I found my copy of Evelyn Underhill’s Prayer Book. Each morning I journal, read my bible, pray and then read a prayer from this book. These prayers have been a rich addition to my routine.

Bonus Good Things

• I had a lot of library books on reserve and five came in this week. Hubby picked them up while he was back home working this week. Now I have a large pile of all sorts of books to keep me entertained.
• My beans are kicking goals. The girls had to go back to Melbourne during the week to give the painter a key to their apartment and they picked a big bag of beans which we ate on Thursday night for dinner. Hubby picked another big bag and bought them down Friday.
• My brother’s home gym next door. I’ve made use of the rower and the weights a couple of times since I’ve been down here. Hoping this will keep me from backsliding on my strength while I’m down here.

How has the first week of 2024 treated you?