We recently returned from a glorious trip to Australia where we visited relatives, cuddled marsupials, enjoyed western food and happily relied on finding clean public conveniences! It was a great opportunity to make the trip while we are only a mere seven hours away.
Since then we have been having a deeply personal time with the passing of a very close family member. Although as is often the case in the grand circle of life, we are pleased to announce that there will be a new arrival to the Fly South clan, expected middle of May 2014! So emotions have been running high and in fact I have been quite savagely homesick, finding for the first time that the heat is a burden rather than a pleasure, eschewing al fresco situations and the consequent mosquito bites due to a local outbreak of Japanese encephalitis for which I have not been vaccinated. So overall we feel more strongly that soon it will be time to return to our native country and be reunited with our family (and our warm clothes!). No idea yet when this might happen but possibly before Fly South Jr is crawling, making packing boxes even harder!
Now we are facing a quiet (and with Big Man covering work over the 25th - largely alcohol-free!) Bruneian Christmas in our house. Having scoured the usual suppliers for bacon and found them wanting, we were forced to use a long-distance delivery service to ensure that the pigs-in-blankets are not missing from the main feast and I can now happily reassure you that bacon is now safely secured in our freezer (power supply willing). Some seasonal customs cannot be forsaken!
As my previous post of 10th September explained, cards have not been sent to everyone this year; blame hormones, rising postage costs and grumpy over-heated souls, so this is our opportunity to say 'Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year' to all!
