The third quarter of 2025: Belated, but here it is!

November 03, 2025

Well, I see in my previous quarterly post (in July) that I had intended in my mental schedule to do this a month ago, but what can I say - life has been busy! This self-appointed Monday off before a public holiday seemed like a good opportunity to catch up.

This quarter, which now extends til 30 October, has been packed for everyone in my household. There haven't been any disasters, but there have certainly been stressors, sad things, and irritations. Overall it's been pretty good though.

I personally have been well for the quarter, although two of my daughters had pretty dreary bouts of flu. My gallbladder recovery is complete, which is helpful, and my dietary capacity has returned to normal, with the caveat that I still need to be careful with dairy food. Interestingly, I have not gained any weight as a result, but my steady weight loss (driven by a very restricted diet) has also stopped. It seems my perimenopausal body has found its comfort level in the "chubby little Hobbit but not frankly obese" range, and that's where we're gonna stay (which is more than fine by me!)

I did Steptember this year, committing to (and achieving) the goal of walking 10,000 steps each day for the month. By the end I was finding it a bit draining, so have happily dropped back to requiring 10,000 steps on three days a week of myself, with three other days having a weights and exercise bike routine, and one day being a rest day. That seems to be working out quite well.

Work has continued to be busy, although two projects did wind down in late September / October, which was helpful as another one (my biggest client) has had a big surge and is currently claiming a preponderance of my time. In mid-October I started conversations with two new potential clients for projects next year, which seem promising (but I never count the chickens til I have contracts in hand!)

I've been a bit flattened by the excessively cold and wet spring we've had in Victoria - even by our admittedly low standards for weather, this year has felt grey for a lot longer than usual, and that's coming off a 50-year-lows bitter winter. The coming of the spring flowers was greatly welcomed, of course, but pops of colour were not quite enough to fully offset the ice and rain.

I logged 34 books read in this 3-month stint, with a rising number of them being audiobooks. I have really leaned into audiobooks as a way to increase my reading time - because I can listen while my hands are busy (cooking, driving, exercising), it greatly expands the field. This three months included the Booker longlistees that I read (not all 13, but most of them), as well as some wonderful literary fiction I picked up on recce from friends and acquaintances, and the usual smorgasbord of mystery and SFF for fun.

It was another quarter rich with highlights; in particular:

Hosting our final exchange student from Japan for a week, and showing her around the Yarra Valley, the city, and the hills
Friday Night NGV seeing the Winter Masterpieces (French Impressionists) and then getting dinner at the always lovely Mamasita with the girl gang
Tea-blending class with my friend (it was her birthday gift to me :-)
My eldest daughter's 22nd / my niece's 2nd birthday lunch (done as a combined family event)
Our 90s-themed dinner party
Wonderful theatre shows, including Troy (with my girl gang), The Play That Goes Wrong (with book club friends), Rebecca (with my husband) and The Talented Mr Ripley (with my friend)
Seeing The Whitlams play with the MSO
A long weekend away with my husband in Phillip Island in September, so he could photograph the lunar eclipse
A long weekend away in the Dandenongs with my husband and our friends in October
Combined work and fun trip to Brisbane in September, where I got to spend time with friends and family, and visit the excellent GOMA exhibition Wonderstruck
Day-spa day with my sister in law
The catch-ups I got to do with various friends during Steptember walks
Day in the city and at the Aquarium with my youngest
Book Club each month
Getting to attend and listen to my eldest daughter's Astrophysics Honours presentation talk

All of these things were wonderful, but, of course, there is no sun without shadow. The quarter also saw the passing of one of my mother's dearest friends, and the mother-in-law of a close friend of mine, which brought its own sadness. All three of my daughters have been under pressure with their academic loads, which has been stressful at times. We've managed, and I think pretty well, but it hasn't been all rainbows and kittens (when is it ever?)

The rest of the year holds many things, starting with the final assessments / submissions for all my daughters' academic years (all happening in the coming fortnight) and rolling on from there. My youngest is off to Japan on a school trip later this month for 2.5 weeks, and my husband and I are off on a brief couples' trip to Tasmania. Christmas fever will be upon us soon, with all the decorating, gift-procuring and baking that implies, and I have a lot of work ahead to get through before I down tools for the long break I'm intending to take. Still, onwards and upwards! Hopefully it will all go well and we'll end the year satisfied with 2025.

Here are a few select pictures to give a flavour of the quarter that was.