Phuket Seashell - WorldWideWaftage

At times, over these past 46 months we’ve posted photos of “small things” we’ve spotted along the way, mostly tiny creatures and plants. Not every environment is the ideal in finding such miniature items of interest inspiring us to take photos to post here under a “small things” category.

Please click here to see one of our “small things” posts.

We haven’t been out enough here in Phuket to search for “small things” nor have they been readily available in the tiny gated yard of this property.

Small things are most prevalent in wildlife rich areas which of late hasn’t been the basis of our travels. Of course, as all of our regular readers are aware, I have a one track mind about wildlife rich areas, looking forward to the upcoming countries we’ll be visiting in the next few years which undoubtedly will provide such opportunities.

For now and over the next few months, the only “wild” life we’ll see are barnyard animals, which we do enjoy, including chickens, cows, goats and of course, buffaloes.

These are also determined to be 400 million year old fossils.

These are 400 million year old fossils.

In three and a half months we’ll arrive in Tasmania where we’ll spend three months living in two distinct areas; in the town of Penguin, across the street from the ocean not too far from Hobart and the other, in the Huon Valley directly on the river.

Certainly these two locations will once again provide us with plenty of scenery, wildlife and vegetation photo ops we anticipate with enthusiasm. Hopefully, by that time, I’ll be feeling like my “old self” once again and we’ll easily be able to get out and explore.

We’ll be renting a car as soon as we arrive in Tasmania (after a flight from Sydney) to begin the drive from the airport to the first of our two properties where we’ll spend six weeks at each location, each diverse and interesting in its own way.

For now, we focus on the small things that don’t include nature-like curiosities, those small things that make life special each day, regardless of where we may be living at any given time; communication with family and friends; the laughter and playfulness we experience together; and a good meal we’ve prepared and appreciated as we dine each evening. and a good movie or series.

Its the small things that bring us joy during these somewhat restricted circumstances we find ourselves at the moment including a hesitancy to venture out to popular tourist areas with the recent bombings. Even the upcoming grocery shopping trip in the next few days gives us pause.

We read in the local news that many tourists decided to cut their trips short and head back to their home base rather than finish their remaining booked vacations/holidays they’d planned in Thailand, uncomfortable with the prospect of more attacks.

For us, without a home base, we stay put feeling fortunate to be staying in a private home as opposed to a resort or hotel where it seems the risks are greater.

Shall we go out on a weekday or a weekend day, we ask ourselves? Is there a specific day of the week that would be considered safer? There seems to be no rhyme or reason to such horrific events other than the fact that they generally occur where many tourists gather.

Today, as everyday, we focus on the “small things” that matter in our daily lives, while looking forward to some of the “big things” that await us on the horizon.

Have a day filled with “small things” that bring you joy.

Photo from one year ago today, August 17, 2015:

We’ve never used the hot tub in Trinity Beach, Australia for a few reasons; one neither of us cares to use hot tubs especially in a hot climate and secondly, the cost to heat the hot tub and to keep it heated would be outrageous for the owner who pays all the utilities. For more details, please click here.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this vacation home. It’s clean, well organized, properly managed, secure, in excellent condition and has most of the amenities we find useful when we’re staying for a month or more.

For any travelers preferring a home as opposed to a hotel, this villa is ideal. Although it’s a short drive to the beach, it has a lovely pool kept meticulous, cleaned three-times-a-week by the pool staff.

The owner whom we’ve yet to meet remains quietly in the background answering any questions we may have in a prompt and efficient manner. The four person cleaning crew arriving Wednesdays and Saturdays are equally helpful with one speaking good English.

But, I’m anxious to continue on, a feeling I’ve only had a few times in our world travels. Why is that? Tom says it’s been due to the fact that I haven’t been feeling like myself and I’m associating it with this location.

I suppose, in part, I agree with him. In carefully analyzing other possible reasons I’m looking forward to moving on, I can only add that I’m feeling a bit like a caged animal when I don’t have access to views of scenery and wildlife from inside the house. There’s literally no view behind the stone walls of our “compound.”

Tom is perfectly content as he often is when he’ll easily entertain himself on his laptop for an entire day. Once I’ve completed the daily post, worked with our photos, completed any necessary research, record keeping and banking, I can easily put down my laptop except perhaps for watching a few favorite shows we’ve downloaded.

Lately, I’ve even downloaded a few shows Tom may not care to watch to entertain myself during the day, something I’ve never done in these past 46 months. Oh, I guess it sounds as if I’m a bit bored.

It’s a rare occasion for me to be bored. As a generally active person with many interests its always been easy to entertain myself. Take away my ability to be flitting about the house engaged in a wide array of activities, unable to stop and enjoy the view, unable to go out whenever I’d like and in this case to explore the area to take endless photos, I find myself at a loss.

How many books can I read? As a speed reader, I can easily consume a book in a day. But, over these past years I’ve reserved my reading for bedtime or for mornings when I awake too early to get up, reading becomes my go-to activity.

During the day, I have little interest in reading a book, a habit I never took time to develop after I retired. I’ve always kept myself so busy during daylight hours I rarely considered sitting down with a book.

Another important aspect affecting my sense of boredom is my inability to go out for a walk in the neighborhood. The dirt road to the right is uneven, with many potholes making walking too much of a risk at this point.

The dirt road to the left has a huge hole covering the entire roadway which is always completely filled with water from frequent rains. Also, I’m not sure I’m ready for long walks quite yet.

I must clarify that by no means am I feeling sad or depressed. That’s not me. Even with my recent injury, now heading into the third month, I still remain my “overly bubbly” self, hopeful for the future and optimistic that in time I will fully recover.

However, a sense of boredom doesn’t necessarily connote sadness or a feeling of malcontent. For me, its almost as if a few times a day, I find myself in a room, asking myself with a flippant air, “What shall I do now?”

Pestering Tom in hopes of him alleviating my peculiar-to-me feeling is not something I’d do. It’s my own thing. He’s perfectly content managing our investments, reading online, checking Facebook, watching short videos and researching for the future.

I’ve never seen Tom exhibit a moment of boredom, not in the past 46 months nor at anytime in the 25 years we’ve been together. In our old lives, he could spend an entire Sunday reading the newspaper from cover to cover. I often teased him that he even read the page numbers!

Why will Bali be any different than here if I’m still recovering when we arrive? A few things come to mind; one, the ocean view; two, the smooth level road outside the door where I’ll be able to begin taking walks; three, the daily flurry of activity at the house with the wonderful staff in and out; four, the ability to go out and about with a driver whenever we’d like; five, the endless interesting activity on the beach with the buffaloes, the dogs, the colorful boats, and the fascinating array of people.

Never once, was I bored in Bali even after I’d injured myself. Somehow, I was distracted enough to remain engaged in our daily lives even though we didn’t cook, clean or grocery shop.

Of course, prior to Bali we lived on the alpaca farm in New Zealand and I’d only need to walk outdoors or look out the window for a dose of paradise. We’ve learned a valuable lesson for future bookings, I need a view, plain and simple. Or, at least the ability to walk outside and find myself in somewhat of a wonderland of one sort or another.

As we continue on, there’s absolutely no reason why we can’t accomplish this as we book future vacation homes. It’s ironic that after all this time we’re still learning what matters the most. Of course, good health and safety will always be at the top of our list. Might a great view follow?