Yesterday, we made the final and heartbreaking decision to euthanize our two much-loved companions, our fur babies, Spook and Ebony. It was a sad conclusion to many months of careful monitoring as their physical health declined due to old age and worn out bodies.

Ebony, my little street fighter with the softest ears had the ability to both infuriate and melt your heart within the space of fifteen minutes. She made her permanent home with us in December 2008. She came from the local dog shelter, having been rescued from the side of the road with a litter of puppies. Her pups had been easily homed, but Ebby had some ingrained bad-girl behaviour which led to several failed adoptions. She was an escape artist, destroyed property, and fought with other dogs. People fell in love with her sweet face and affectionate nature, but couldn’t cope with her demonic behaviour. We fostered her for a short time when there was no room for her at the dog shelter. Another failed adoption later, she was returned and we decided her best chance was to remain with us. We learned her triggers, applied much patience and eventually the good far outweighed the bad. There were occasional mis-steps but these grew few and far between. She loved her people and her best friend was Spook.

Spooky came to us as a young, floppy-eared and mischevious puppy in February 2010. She instantly bonded with H and over the years, they became inseparable. H was her Dad, and she followed him everywhere she could. Spook also loved Ebony, despite those occasions when Ebby turned nasty. Always more traumatic for us than Spook. She always bounced back, resilient and playful as ever.

They will both be sadly missed.

Such an exciting moment when I finished the last assessment task for the semester a little before 6 pm today, a full day ahead of the deadline. It was like a weight was lifted from me, and I bounced around the house with whoops and hallelujahs.

Essays are not easy for me, I labour over them painstakingly in my effort to string the right words together (I just read an interesting post on the science of why introverts struggle to put their thoughts into words). I am a good summarizer but for essays you need to explore and question ideas. I am trying to break myself of the habit of accepting ideas at face value – it’s called critical thinking. But, I’m pleased with my effort for this one.

The topic was human resource management, and we were asked to choose a policy area and consider how a medium- to large-sized organisation would implement the policy. I chose workforce diversity and Qantas. I’ve developed an interest in the airline company, but I’m not sure it is entirely related to my love of travel. It is a fascinating business case study. Plus, the CEO, Alan Joyce, reminds me a tiny bit of Paul Brew, a lovely boss I once had. They look slightly alike and are both from Ireland. However, I think that’s probably where the similarity ends.

Aside from all that, I am now on study break for seven weeks, and next week I’ll be up in Bundaberg with Mum and Jo. It is like I am just entering a beautiful, big room full of wonderful objects to explore and more importantly, no deadlines to meet.

Flamingo floatie photo by Vicko Mozara on Unsplash

I officially finished up with the nursing agency on Wednesday, although it has been a few weeks since I did any work. I had committed to remain available until the end of the month in case any questions came up, but the handover seems to have gone smoothly. I sent Blessing a quick email on my last day, thanking her for the opportunity to learn about the NDIS and the intake role, and wishing her well.

I was surprised to get a phone call from Blessing the next day, in which she thanked me for the work I did and hoped we’d see each other again. She also mentioned Jo, and how the nurses had celebrated when her legs had shown clear signs of improvement. It was a really lovely call, confirming the good opinion I have of Blessing. Knowing how busy she is, the call was a nice, personal gesture and made me feel good!

Chau! photo by Greta Schölderle Møller on Unsplash

Since I’m not working right now, I haven’t been part of the Christmas traditions that usually happen at a workplace, like decorating the office, having an end-of-year party, giving Secret Santa gifts, and so on. And Christmas is normally low-key for us at home, but this year I am feeling a little bit excited about it. Perhaps it is the prospect of the Christmas-themed events during our stay at Moore Park Beach. I think it will be fun!

I may even do some Christmas baking when I get back from our holiday. Here are some yummy ideas:

50 g dried and unsweetened cranberry
50 g currants
190 g prunes, diced
50 g mixed citrus peel
0.5 lemon, zest and juice
130 g wholemeal plain flour
30 g almonds, chopped
30 g Brazil nuts, roughly chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
200 g zucchini, grated
80 g butter, melted
2 large free range eggs, whisked
1 tsp mixed spice

Mix everything together except the butter and eggs.
Once the flour and spices coat all the fruit and zucchini, add the eggs – mix well. Then add the butter – mix well.
Pour mix into a well oiled or buttered bowl that is safe to steam (this could be a metal bowl or ceramic pudding dish with a lip) and will fit in a large pot.
Cover the pudding directly with two pieces of baking paper, cut into circles to cover the top, so it’s nice and neat. Then cover the dish with foil – making sure it’s quite tight around the edges. You may need to use some kitchen string around the outside.
Place the pudding dish in a large pot of boiling water – the water should be about halfway up the pudding dish.
Steam for 2 hours, or until a skewer comes out clean. During cooking, keep topping up with boiling water so it stays at the halfway point. Adjust the heat as needed to ensure the water is continuously simmering.
Remove bowl from the pot and allow to cool before sliding a knife/spatula down the side and turning out to serve. Alternatively, cover the pudding dish in cling film and store in the fridge for a few days before serving.
To reheat: place in the microwave on high for 2-3 minutes, or put back into the pudding bowl and steam again for 20-30 minutes.
Serve with a dollop of thickened cream.

Cookie jar photo by Anna Peipina on Unsplash