Finally I am confident I will get home in December. Covid numbers in Victoria have dropped to zero and very small in the rest of the country so I am hoping on the 22nd of November they will announce the opening of Melbourne to international flights.
A week ago I was perusing the real estate site in Melbourne as I have been doing for weeks and I saw it , I saw the studio apartment I had manifested minus sea views and lap pool but it was sunny and bright with not one but two balconies. There is talk of when travellers return they may have to do home quarantine with an ankle bracelet, so I dove in and applied for it , 24 hours later it was mine. I am so happy I took the plunge . I take it over on the 1st of December , even though I am not there, have a 12 month lease. Its in a suburb by the bay , StKilda . In a way covid has given me the chance to rent something there on my budget as supply is higher than demand . My darling sisters are rallying around supplying me with their extra household items. It is hard relying on others to help me but as I am 1,000’s of km’s away I have too. But thankfully family and friends will help me out .
My sisters are used to me moving here and there over the years. I would do the same for them but they have never required any help they are both independent strong women plus I am their baby sister I would be lost with out their help at times. When I fell down a deep hole 6 years ago they were there to give me shelter. I love my sisters .
Meanwhile in Cambodia we have had a covid scare. A visiting foreign minister who had received a negative result in his home country tested positive when he entered Thailand after his Cambodian visit. So all contacts where traced and are being tested. He had visited a few places so now schools and other venues have been closed for two weeks . The government jumped on this straight away closing vulnerable places and informing the people. Here in Kampot schools are still operating he didn’t visit here but some of his contacts may have. Lets hope it is contained.
Weather has become drier, you can feel it. My little place is a concrete structure with terracotta floor, you can feel the moisture during the wet but now you can’t . The mango trees are bursting with fruit . I am going to miss the laid back lifestyle here in Kampot but I am itching to get back to a busy place , a different lifestyle all together. My budget after rent and bills will allow me to perhaps have a coffee out every second day or a wine at happy hour. I am looking forward to my budgeting challenge. I may get a day or two work but I think I’ll be fine , finishing the edits on my novel , begin writing my next one and then the search for an agent plus catching up with people over the summer boredom will not set in . I may perhaps do some volunteer work if I find I want too.
The mushrooms have failed dismally since the first crop, Jean said his have too. Excited I have balcony to grow some herbs, my track record growing things in Melbourne is a lot better than my Kampot gardening attempts .
Until next time take care .
Rubber soles open roads 