The final quarter of 2025, and hopes for 2026

January 19, 2026

I had every good intention of doing this post in the void week between Christmas and New Year, or, at a pinch, in that void-adjacent first week of January, but I was engaged in an apparently aggressively intractable campaign of doing absolutely nothing except reading, eating, swimming and napping (all amazing things, I think we can agree) and it didn't happen. Still, I do like having these posts to reflect on, so I thought I'd catch up now, especially as I will be back to work next week and am doing set-up tasks for that now (which has me at the computer more than I have been in the lovely langorous early summer weeks).

Quarter 4 (let's call it 1 November til today, as this year really only functionally begins on 27 Jan when work and school are back) was a busy and momentous time, with very high highs, and unfortunately one very low low. We were all basically well, barring a mild summer cold just before Christmas, but my perimenopause symptoms are gaining prominence, which comes with its own challenges. My eldest daughter had her wisdom teeth extracted surgically in the first week of January and suffered through a very swollen and uncomfortable week, but is now back to normal, or better than normal really as she is no longer getting aches from the impacted teeth.

Despite eating my weight and then some over the festive period, I have only regained 1.5kg of the weight I lost prior to my gallbladder surgery, so I'm calling that a win. My goal for this year is to put on more muscle and improve my core strength, so I am prioritising exercise that does those things.

Work was extremely hectic in November, and school / uni was similarly for my daughters - it was an exhausting month all up. By the time it finished, though, my eldest had submitted her Honours thesis, my middle was finished her Bachelor degree, I had secured a major new project and locked in with my biggest ongoing client for 2026, and my youngest had finished her second-last year of school successfully, so ultimately, effort was rewarded!

Immediately upon finishing that harrowing month, very good things started to happen and then just kept happening through almost til Christmas. My eldest got an incredible result in Honours and was offered a PhD scholarship for 2026-29, which she delightedly accepted. My middle graduated with distinction at a massive graduation ceremony that the whole family got to attend, and locked in a fulltime graduate job for 2026 . My youngest got to go on a 2-week trip to Japan with her school, including a week's homestay. My husband and I had a lovely week holidaying in Hobart and surrounds.

However, just before Christmas, a terribly sad thing happened, which was the passing of our dear old dog. He was over 17 years old, and his kidneys had been struggling for a while, and it all got too much for him. We were all able to be there when we gave him his gentle goodbye, and we will miss him always.

In these first weeks of January, we've had new split cycle heating / cooling installed, and it has been wonderful. We also did a massive purge and declutter of some key household mess-magnet zones, and it has made me feel so much lighter going into the year, it's great. I did not enjoy doing it, but I very much enjoy it being done!

I logged 33 books between 1 Nov and 31 Dec, and honestly, it was only that many because of audiobooks and the void week. This year is off to a good start, with 6 new books read, 3 currently underway, and 3 more re-reads on my Agatha Christie project done, although things will slow down a lot from next week. Book of the year so far (OK, from a small pool!) is The Correspondent, which I intend to review soon.

Highlight events / activities of the "quarter" included:

Middle daughter's graduation ceremony
Seeing the new Knives Out movie at the cinema with my friend
Hobart holiday
Attending our final MTC play for the year, Much Ado About Nothing, with my husband
A Christmas celebration day in the city with my friend and co-worker, which included festive high tea at the Langham and the Westwood / Kawabuko exhibition at NGV
Christmas Day festivities with family
Hosting our New Year's Day brunch for our friends
Going out for dinner with my dear friends from my first mother's group
Drinks with several different sets of people across the mid-Dec to mid-Jan slide zone

Heading into quarter 1 of 2026 (let's call it 27 Jan - 7 April, because that's the school term plus Easter), there's a lot on. I'll be continuing with work started next year, and commencing new project work as well. My eldest daughter is currently house-hunting with friends to move into a share house closer to her university for her PhD years, which will be a big change. I have a theatre show, two concerts, and two big birthdays to plan / deliver in February, and more theatre, a long weekend anniversary trip, and possibly a work trip interstate in March, and that's just what I know about right now, there will definitely be more things come up. Here's hoping it can be navigated safely, challenges and happy times alike.

Below is a small selection of photos to represent the "quarter" that was. I could have posted ten times as many of Delicious Foods I Did Et, but I've decided to spare you :-P