this newsboys album will always have feelings attached.

whenever I listen to 'step up to the microphone' I think of hanging out with my sister, house sitting together, buying groceries, watching 'the goodies' with stu, aaron and the stealing sign post gang, shaun & steve, gaffa & mel, redbull, wooden floorboards, independence, internet chats and that red sportscar.

oh, and gary. that was one of the most memorable ad campaigns of my teens.

by the way, I had an incredible weekend in Eastbourne with the rest of the 'Life Course' crew. might take a few days to digest the experiences, conversations and prayers.

tonight I ordered groceries for the first time online.

looking forward to dishing a chickpea and spinach gratin.

received a card, coloured in pic and incredible photo of my neices yesterday when I arrived back home. Incredible, just incredible how much they've grown. I miss them and the rest of my family a great deal. somedays I feel that I could just drive over to their place and hang out. They seem really close, despite the distance.

I miss working for Ulv Press, and occasionally when I'm listening to Triple J, I imagine that I'm right back there, about to be made a brilliant cup of tea by Liz - to see Viv bounding in with a smile and some lovely things to say, Trev always poking his head up with a dry joke, Mark chuckling on the phone in the office, Jess waltzing in saying 'Hello...!', the boys out the back hanging out for Friday afternoon, and walking past Linda drinking a decent coffee and eating lunch with any given member of her family.

But reality is that they and so many of my friends are a long way away right now.
These memories are so vivid and fresh, I guess I've only been gone for six months after all. It doesn't really feel that long.

Despite this, and even though I miss them a lot, I'm not really homesick. I don't ache to be back in my comfortable space with the people I love.

I'm enjoying London with the new sights and sounds constantly, new opportunities to meet strangers and friends, time to be on my own and sort through all the things running through my head.

I miss the smell of the ocean, and don't welcome the smell and dirt of London streets. No matter how much it rains, the water doesn't wash away the grit like it does back home.
Tassie is such a special place, but I always knew that.

I miss the park I used to walk through at lunchtimes, (I also miss my black fluffy boots. They were the best, even if they did encourage shin splints) but there are some havens I can find here. Especially now the days are getting lighter and there's a little more sunshine. I feel the refreshment of Vitamin D being enacted through the sun on my skin.