How is it already 2025?
It's been more than a hot minute since I last opened up a post and rambled. In the last... nearly 2 years!, I've had some ups and downs. Firstly, I had a few health issues that were finally diagnosed in 2023. No cures, but treatments and other dos and don'ts that help keep the worst of the symptoms at bay. Then at the beginning of 2024 I got a casual job. This was a big step in my life after so many years suffering from chronic pain. I've been working in the records departments (well, I am the records department), and it's been a real sharp learning curve, but I'm enjoying getting out of the house and earning some extra money.
On the reading front I have been diligently reading every day. While I dislike a lot about e-reading, it does a wonderful job of keeping track of my reading. I'm not terribly active on Goodreads anymore. I post my reviews (when I bother to write one), and just go with the flow on that front. Amazon is still my go-to bookstore of choice. Unfortunately there is still no bookshop in my nearby big town. It closed in 2015, and there has been nothing to take it's place. Big W has been steadily getting worse for books and book selections, so I'm left online shopping and, well, beggars can't be too choosy as books in Australia are still rather expensive.
Thankfully, being quasi-employed has meant that I now have a little bit more disposable income to treat myself to the occasional book haul. I've been rather enjoying my UF Cozies, or Cozy Mysteries in recent months. Am currently rereading the Chronicles of an Urban Druid series by Tempest & Anderle. I discovered this series during the pandemic, and it kept me sane during some of my loneliest points (well, this and other series). Love the characters, love that it is NOT set in the US - like a lot of other people I'm kinda mad about what's going on in the US at the moment, and what it means on a global scale. The series is longish, but not overly long, and if you want more they authors did a spin-off series that deals with the world after the big secret is out.
On the home front, well, things are just as they were. The biggest change, after the job, was that my old Ford Focus (22yo) finally had to go. It was hard to find parts for the old girl, and a lot of them had to come from the wreckers as Ford no longer made new parts for a car of her vintage. Unfortunately, thanks to the pandemic, the used car market in my part of QLD was almost extortionate when it came to prices. When I worked at a newspaper in the mid 2000s a brand new Ford Focus was about $20k, and I was typing ads (worked in pre-press) for Suzuki Swifts and Nissan Micras that were $12-16k brand new! Now a used sedan with over 100k on the clock was getting over $20k! Ridiculous. So, we waited and waited. Finally we ended up getting a car where my aunt bought her car, and got a better deal than in a rural location which has minimal stock. Miss that old Ford though as the new car just isn't as powerful, nor is it as convenient. PS I do not like keyless entry. I like it when I can get in and out of a car without wondering if the battery will crap out that day!
Now for the fun bit... my fur-babies. I still have the four cats. I love them dearly, and I think they got me through the four years of COVID crap that had us quarantined for so long in the beginning of the pandemic. It was inconvenient, but closing the QLD border, and having a stay-at-home order was probably the best thing as it kept a lot of people safe. Then the borders opened up, people rushed up from NSW & VIC, and the number of COVID cases in QLD skyrocketed. Anyway, I digress. My cats kept me entertained when I couldn't see family for months on end, and they were a reason to get up and moving when I did feel down. Thankfully that happened rarely, but they were a source of comfort and companionship. My beautiful EvieNyxx is now classed as a senior cat. She has just turned 12. I got her at 12 weeks and 4 days from the RSPCA QLD, and she has been with me for just about every day since then. I may have left her for a total of 4-5 nights in the 12 years I've had her. She is my little shadow, and such a personality. The others are lovely in their own ways, but there is often an animal in your life that is just so special that they carve out a place in your heart, and I think that EvieNyxx is one of those.
Okaaaay... I think I've blabbed enough for now. Hopefully I can get myself back into the swing of things and start blogging, or making my little video updates, in the near future. I get the urge to film a review, or haul, or something book related all the time, but it's having the motivation to edit it, and upload it that is my sticking point. Finger's crossed that I can get a new computer in the next couple of weeks (this old girl is 10 now and getting rather sloooow), so it won't be such a tedious process.
So on that note, thanks for popping in, and until I see you next time,
