2020 has been a year like no other! My lasting feeling from the last 12 months would have to be that of Gratitude as we have so much to be thankful for and much of that gratitude come down to where we live. We are so lucky to be able to call ourselves Australians and live in this wonderful country. While i still considered myself a Yorkshire girl, I am definitely an Aussie/Yorkshire girl and bless the day that Ray and Jan Mountney offered me the life changing proposition which brought me to Busselton 14 years ago.
We are not only lucky to live in Australia, I believe we are lucky to live in Western Australia and even more lucky to live in the beautiful southwest of the state. Thanks (to some extent) to the wonderful job our Premier and his team have done we have been pretty much insulated from the ravages of COVID and while it’s not over yet I think there is a confidence that the people of our state will do the right thing and obey the rules should there be an outbreak here in the west. I try not to listen to much in the way of news as it’s mostly bad but some of the stories about people in other countries breaking the rules and not taking precautions astound me, in fact there have been cases which absolutely beggar belief. I did have a warning that it would be the case back in April when I was talking to a friend who works in Bunnings; he often offers me words of wisdom and on this particular occasion told me that what he was about to say would prove to be correct time and time again over the coming months. He told me “there’s no cure for stupid” and there have been lots of examples this year.
2020 has had it’s moments health wise and both of us have had visits to A & E, thankfully nothing too serious. I continue to enjoy the most wonderful support from various people although there have been some changes recently. Mental health wise I can thankfully say I’m ending the year in a much better place than I was when it began. My visits to the psychologist are much less frequent but she is still there if I feel the need which is a comfort. Meditation and self care continue to play a big role in my life. I meditate every single day even if it is only a few minutes when I go to bed and definitely feel the benefit. I’ve also seen two hypnotherapists which has been quite a revelation especially the second one who I felt I had a better connection with. I still don’t remember the last 90 minutes of my 4 hour appointment, he assured me that I didn’t fall asleep but I don’t remember it at all which is kind of weird.
Work wise, apart from a few weeks during April/May I’ve been busy, not so much for the Real Estate company I spent most of 2019 working for but this year I have increased my number of private clients, mainly through referrals from happy customers passing on my details. Two in particular have been a real pleasure to work for and I already have jobs planned for 2021 for them. Denise has cut down to one day a week for her regular job, having started the transition towards retirement almost a year ago. She is retiring completely from that aspect of her work at the end of February but will continue to service her private bookkeeping clients.
In November we made the decision to spend more of our lives at our home in Nannup. Essentially we have swapped from spending 2 nights there and 5 in Busselton to 5 nights in Nannup and 2 in Busselton starting from the 23rd of December. We get so much pleasure from being in Nannup that it makes sense to spend more time there. We have absolutely transformed the front half of the block this year, pulled out all the 6-feet-high ferns/bracken and mulched the remaining leaf litter leaving a much tidier looking area. I’ve also done a similar job at the back of the block but the vegetation was much less than at the front. All in all it has really changed the look of the place and we have had numerous compliments on how it looks. There is such a positive energy there which is good for the mind, body and soul.
I had hoped that my book which has had a number of changes (including the title!) during the year, would have been published by now but we have had a number of hiccups which have slowed it down. Hopefully it will ready early in January so I will write more about it then. Needless to say I am very excited about it; hopefully it will be well received.
So on to 2021, most people I speak to say they will be very happy to see the back of 2020 but as I said earlier, I think we have had a much better year than most people. Yes we have had to change some of our plans; I would have travelled to the UK had it not been for COVID; as it is at the moment, I don’t know when I will get over but we will wait and see what 2021 brings.
Thank you for being part of my 2020 (even if I haven’t posted much!). I will endeavour to do more next year! Wishing you all a happy, safe and mindful 2021,
Lots of love
Stephanie xx