Hello dear readers!

Welcome back to my monthly reviews where, as per regular scheduled programming, last month’s is perilously late.

May started off as a really quiet month but descended into grief and chaos by the end. Let’s start at the beginning though.

We had Mother’s Day at the start of the month, along with WrestleMania Backlash (#obligatory wrestling reference) and Eurovision (I absolutely LOVE Eurovision! I’m a new fan having watched for the first time last year, but it’s now a yearly tradition of mine).

Social stuff:

I went to a haunted forest with my friend Elle, which was truly so creepy. We didn’t experience anything paranormal but the atmosphere was horrifying. Just look at these photos:

Elle and I also went on another adventure at the end of the month, this time considerably less spooky. We explored pine plantations, spotted cool fungi & native animals, visited a crystal clear lake and stopped off in the last town in Victoria before hitting the South Australia border!

On the home front, with the end of fire restrictions we were able to light our big bonfire at the bottom of the block! Jack and I hung out down there for a couple hours. I made a flask of tea and sat in the open boot of my car, sheltered from the rain and wind. It was a really delightful evening.

Favourite Internet Finds:

I wheezed so hard I nearly busted a lung over these images. The internet is both a blessing and a curse.

Pet Updates:

Ollie (my housemate Bilv’s chihuahua) has been settling in really well since his arrival in April. He’s grown a fair bit (thank goodness, because he is SO small omg) and has been socialising well with people and other animals!

Meanwhile, Mikasa continued to suffer through an ear infection (although I am pleased to say that by the end of May it had cleared up almost entirely) and was less than pleased with the arrival of a dog.

She now will put up with his presence, as long as he doesn’t get too close. It probably also helps that as much as I love Ollie, she’s my absolutely baby and nothing will ever change that.

Books I Read:

• The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor – ⭐⭐
• Scattered Minds by Lenard A. Adler – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Sins as Scarlet by Nicolás Obregón – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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I mentioned at the start of this blog that May ended in grief.

On the 31st of May (Aus time), my Aunt Robin who lives in the US passed away tragically & unexpectedly.

I won’t go into details, but I want to dedicate this blog post to her.

We had reconnected over the last couple years thanks to social media. I hadn’t seen her in person since I was 14 and I’m quite devastated I never got the chance to visit her as an adult.

I’m hoping to make a trip to the US soon to visit my Uncle, as obviously he’s feeling shattered by everything that’s happened.

I’m thinking I’d really like to paint the songbird Robin, as a tribute to my aunt.

My closing words to you are; if you’re thinking of visiting a loved one you haven’t seen in a while, do it.

You never know when the chance to do so will be taken away from you.

Love,

Zita

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