Today was a day I’ve been dreading for months, one of those days that quietly looms in the background while you hope and perhaps unrealistically, that it might somehow resolve itself. But today, there was no more putting it off. It was the day our website needed a serious round of updates to address a growing list of issues we’d been experiencing, along with many of you, our loyal and patient readers.

For a long time, minor glitches have been creeping in, based on the sheer volume of our site, after almost 5000 posts, which included pages loading slowly, comments not appearing as expected, and email notifications arriving late or not at all. Individually, none of these seemed catastrophic. Collectively, they began to weigh on me. Our website isn’t just a technical platform; it’s our home base, the place where we share our stories, reflections, and daily lives as we continue this journey around the world. Knowing that some of you were struggling to access that space was unsettling and, frankly, a little heartbreaking.

After several hours today working directly with our web hosting company, Hostinger, it appears we’ve addressed many of the issues you’ve been experiencing for quite a while. I’ll admit that going into this process, I felt overwhelmed and somewhat intimidated. Website management can feel like learning a foreign language, mainly when you’ve relied on others to handle it for years. The company we’d used in the past, despite a long-standing relationship, had fallen short in keeping our site properly updated and protected against these kinds of problems.

At some point, it became clear that hoping someone else would fix things wasn’t enough. Today, I decided to roll up my sleeves and work directly with Hostinger, and I’m genuinely grateful I did. They’ve done a fantastic job, not only resolving many of the immediate concerns but also patiently teaching me how to manage several facets of the website myself. Something is empowering about finally understanding what’s happening behind the scenes, even if it comes with a steep learning curve. I’ve always enjoyed writing the posts and sharing photos, but the background management aspect didn’t appeal to me.

Now, I want to be clear, this doesn’t guarantee that we won’t have issues in the future. As they say, “it’s the nature of the beast.” Technology is wonderful…until it isn’t. But what has changed is our ability to respond more quickly and effectively when issues arise.

If you experience any issues in the future, please email me directly rather than leaving a comment on the site. If the comment system itself is part of the issue, I may never even see your message. Once I’m aware of a problem, I’ll work with Hostinger to address it as quickly as possible, aiming to resolve it within 24 hours whenever feasible.

This also applies to those of you who have signed up to receive automatic email notifications for our daily posts. That system is proving to be the most challenging area, but please know it’s very much on my radar. We are actively working on it, and I appreciate your patience more than I can adequately express.

Over the next 30 days, I’ll be updating one plugin per day to improve stability, security, and ease of management. It’s a slow and deliberate process, but one that feels necessary to ensure the site remains a welcoming and reliable place for all of us.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience these issues may have caused you. Thank you for sticking with us, for reaching out when things didn’t work as expected, and for continuing to be part of this journey. Your support, kindness, and understanding mean more than you know, and they make even the most dreaded days feel worthwhile in the end.

On another note, Tom, the ever-practical former volunteer fireman back in his railroad days, asked me to clarify something from our previous post about the dead smoke detector in the bedroom. Rest assured, there are additional, fully functioning smoke detectors in every room of this property. Safety has not been compromised, even if the timing of that one failing felt dramatic in the moment. Dave, our landlord and now friend, is aware of the issue and will bring us a replacement detector for the bedroom next week when he returns from his weekend away. Until then, we’re well covered and sleeping soundly.

Today’s photos were taken during yesterday’s long drive to the supermarket in Whangarai. We’re thrilled we were able to take a few good shots.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, January 9, 2016: