When we moved in, our house was already kitted out with solar panels on the roof. I’ll admit that I didn’t realise there was a difference. I thought our solar panels simply generated electricity – so heating the water and everything else. But apparently you need a special kind for that. Something called Photovoltaic. I don’t get the science behind it, but earlier this year we installed these special panels on the roof, which now means, that we generate electricity, not just heat water.
Continue readingUncategorized
Anyone else have trouble making it through a full movie these days?
Maybe it’s my age, and that I get tired. Maybe it’s the ease with which shows can be stopped and started these days. Maybe it’s the number of short, easy to digest series available. Maybe it’s that our attention spans are getting worse. Maybe the movies just aren’t as good anymore. Who knows, but what I know is, it seems like making it through a full movie in one go is not like it used to be.
Continue readingMario Kart – when will I get sick of it?
We have a tradition. Friday night is date night. We like to head out early – less crowds and more time to relax when we get home. But before we go, we convene on the couch at around 5pm to play a couple of rounds of Mario Kart.
Continue readingThings with wings
There are many people out there who have phobias about spiders… or heights… or flying… but not me. My phobia is about ‘things with wings’. And look, it’s probably not a true phobia in the real sense of the word. It’s more that I just don’t like them; they make me nervous, and squirmy, and want to run away.
Continue readingOy – the robot lawnmower dog
Last year we invested in a robot lawnmower. I have to admit I wasn’t initially certain that outsourcing the mowing to a robot was a wise investment, but then again, I am not the one who has to mow every week (back problems gets you out of that permanently).
We named him Oy, after the Billy Bumbler in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, because… well… he needed a name and he’s kind of like a dog. It’s almost like he craves human interaction.
Continue readingThe 15 minute movie rule
Choosing a movie or new series can be a difficult choice when there’s more than one of you involved. Whether it’s between friends, family or couples, there’s usually an element of trying to make sure everyone’s happy. Hubby and I have an extensive list of movies and series we want to watch on Netflix, yet somehow when it comes to actually watching one, we still struggle to make a clear cut decision.
So we invented the 15 minute rule.
Continue readingWhy do sad movies make me happy?
Like many others in this world, I’m a sucker for a romance movie. I’m a sucker for a rom-com. I’m a sucker for a drama. To be fair I’ll give just about anything a go.
Whether or not it’s embarrassing to admit, I’m going to say that the romance movie is probably on the top of my list of favourite things to watch. A great romance movie is worth its weight in gold. But when you add heartbreak into that movie, then I’m all the more in. I don’t live for happy endings, I live for the drama. I live for the guy walking away in the end because he knows it’s the right thing to do, even if it breaks his heart. I like movies where people die, goddamn it!
Continue readingComing out of Covid
Many countries in the last months have been dealing with the rocky ride of transitioning out of hard lockdown into something a bit more normal. In Austria, the official date was May 19th. And yes, I took the afternoon off work to go to the pool… and yes, it was freezing but I went anyway.
With the opening of the restaurants and so on, they introduced the 3G rule. That is… Getestet, Geimpft oder Gesund. Basically if you want to eat at a restaurant, have a haircut, visit a pool or lake etc. you have to be able prove that you have either a valid negative Covid test, have been vaccinated (3+ weeks) or have recovered from Covid (in the last 6 months).
Continue readingMy best dream ever – and a big shout out to Uma Thurman

I know what it’s like when someone opens with: I must tell you about my dream! It was soooo funny. Because let’s be honest, for the most part, other people’s dreams tend to be pretty uninteresting. Of course your own dreams are… amazing… mostly because they are… well… dreamy and often shrouded in that mystical light that makes them seem more meaningful.
I don’t believe my dreams are at all meaningful. And I am a frequent and avid dreamer. My dreams are at best odd, and at their most extreme, completely wacky.
I do try to resist the urge to tell people about my peculiar dreams… but sometimes I feel the need to share.
And this is one of those times.
Because recently I had what I feel is the best dream ever.
Continue readingTurning back time – coming home from a night out smelling of cigarettes
There is one difference between Austria and Australia I haven’t mentioned yet, and while it’s certainly becoming less and less noticeable… noticeable it still is. In Australia, after years of campaigning, hiking up cigarette prices and banning of smoking pretty much everywhere, it seems these days that barely anyone smokes. But in Austria, it is much more widespread – you can smoke almost everywhere and cigarettes are cheap (and if you want cheaper ones just cross the border to Slovenia).







