Democracy Sausage in Magical Realism

I think the last time I wrote was on a Wednesday too. There is something about going into the office which is usually Tuesday for me, that makes me appreciate a leisurely morning, including a diary entry even more.

Since I last wrote, things have been good, calm, uneventful. I work, walk on the treadmill, eat reasonably healthy and have been drinking less wine. I caught up on my reading challenge but am now two behind, which is totally okay. We have a shutdown of like three weeks in December/January so I can make up for any delta at that time.

Weekend was uneventful. Sunday night A baked up a packet of chicken breasts we’d been meaning to use up, and I made a stir fry with slices of chicken, snow peas, and premade singapore noodles with a dash of soy sauce. I went to bed early, but woke up around 4am and was reading for a bit, thinking I’d fall back asleep. Then I looked out the window to see something flying towards me. At first I thought it was a bug in the house, but then I realised it was outside and much further away than I’d thought, about the size of my fist. (!)

It flew towards the glass then stopped, flew up, and then retreated. I was really freaked out. We had been sleeping with the balcony door open a bunch lately and I was so glad everything was shut. We are going to Bunnings (australian home depot/lowes) this weekend per [parliament]’s recommendation to get magnetic screen doors ASAP!

Everyone always talks about Bunnings’ sausages so I would also like to try a (veggie) one while I’m here. Sausages are very popular here, like a hot dog usually wrapped in a slice of white bread instead of a dedicated bun. During elections, schools or whatever public building is hosting the polling place host fundraisers selling “democracy sausages” which I think is so lovely. Voting is compulsory here, and while they seem really good about having mail in/phone options for people who cannot vote in person on a Saturday, people seem to really enjoy and make a day out of it. No system is perfect but this seems like a nice one and who wouldn’t want to purchase a tasty snack to support a good cause, especially with a variety of veggie and meat sausage options. I have heard there is also cake but that’s not really my thing. I wish I liked it more - for some reason it’s massive in the wild swimming community, tea and cake.

Tuesday in the office was okay. I never went back to sleep after the bug visitation, so kept reading, woke A up around 5am and then we both lay like vegetables until around 7am. Got ready and packed a lunch of the baked tofu I made last week, with the rest of the snow peas, a cut up tomato and quarter of sliced avocado. Put it in my nifty glass tupperware, packed up my work bag, and turned on Jackie our robot vacuum as we left the house. A was working from home because we had someone coming to look at installing an air conditioner before summer hits, but he was very sweet and dropped me off at the office in his car because it was raining. Got in a bit before 8:30am and had a pretty productive morning. I didn’t eat breakfast so ate lunch at 11:45am. No regrets! Calls and in-person meetings in the afternoon, then A came back and picked me up in the car (!) a bit around 5:30pm. He is just the best - I do think he likes a reason to drive, but it’s such a treat for me and he is always doing lovely things like that. I appreciate him so much.

We couldn’t decide what to do for dinner so we parked the car and sat down for a yummy cheeseboard and shared a bottle of shiraz at one of our locals. Went home and I was zonked and fell asleep with my makeup on until midnight when I randomly woke to brush/floss teeth and wash my face. It’s weird, going into the office and sitting all day makes me so much more tired than working at home even if I’m walking 2-4 hours a day. I am sure waking up at 4am and not going back to sleep didn’t help. Or the wine.

Woke up before our alarms as the sun rose, around 5:45am today as we head into summer. The light was really interesting because it was so foggy. Lay in bed until around 7am when A got up, showered, and made me an iced coffee in his aeropress. We chatted a while, said goodbye, then I got ready to ease into my day. Checked email, drank coffee and made breakfast. Two eggs over easy with black pepper, a sliced tomato and the last quarter of the avocado with pink himalayan salt, and a hearty slice of wholewheat miche sourdough. Ate breakfast, finished the coffee and poured some cold green tea over the remaining ice. Took 5k steps while typing this entry and mainlining water and iced green tea.

The fog and rain has cleared so I just turned out the lights and it looks like it will be another beautiful day.