And now...2025

Welcome to 2025. I say this circumspectly, without an exclamation mark as not to stir up the sleeping spirits of the year ahead into an early state of agitation. Watching the news would have you believe this quarter mark through the century will be an eventful one. With this in mind, I've adopted a theme for 2025, call it my mantra: may we live in gloriously uneventful times.

Given the nature of the second half of my 2024, I hope for (manifest, if you will) some metaphorically grounding experiences. Flights, yes. Travel adventures, for sure. Visits with friends, old and new, definitely. Significant moves across the world, not so much. 

Over the past four months, we've both had several fortuitous reminders that the world is small and perhaps, there's a reason that Thailand chose us. Whether it's the semi-chance encounter Paul had with his British-Ghanaian old sixth form friend at the Gaelic Games Asia Edition (maybe read that again) or the fact that my friend, Jen, was called out of the London dugout to represent her organisation at a Bangkok humanitarian conference in December, we're relishing the encounters. 

And in an attempt to complete the calendar year on a slower pace, Paul and I closed the door on Term 1 in Thailand with visits from friends and a little trip to Southeast Asia's only landlocked country. Meanwhile Frank, having lost half a kilo of his 3.5kg body weight in the first four months, spent a week of holiday with Spey, our lovely Thai petsitter who achieved the ultimate Nonna goal: fattening Frank up again. One week later, we returned to a happy, chonkalicious sausage dog who had gained all .5kg back. This made the contrast from Frank's September weekend stay at the Pet Hotel ever the more sharp. The image of his sullen saunter across the flat, only to lock eyes and slowly empty his bladder on our brown glittery synthetic rug (jealous??) speaks volumes for a dachshund's capacity for revenge.

Progress all around, really. 

And so we stumble forward, having made it over the hurdle of the early days of life in a new city on a continent far, far away. Musings on a pre-Christmas trip down the Mekong, on BKK Christmas and on dog-friendly Rayong to come!