It’s time for the weekly #WeekendCoffeeShare where I share thoughts and special moments from my week. Natalie from Natalie the Explorer started this idea earlier in the year and I link up each week with my contribution. It is a great way to record what happens in life, like a diary or journal really and to reflect and be grateful for the good things that happen in my life.
If you would like to catch up on previous posts you can find them HERE.
What brought joy to my week
Blogging Catchup

I love the relationships built through blogging and it is extra special when I can meet blogging friends in real life. This week, I caught up for a delightful lunch with my good friends Debbie Harris from Deb’s World and Jo Tracey from And Anyways.
Deb is a great ambassador for Tumbarumba (love that name) in N.S.W. and she and her husband Grant, were actively involved in getting the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail up and running.
Jo Tracey, lives about 2 hours away from me on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Jo is an author and her next book Escape to Curlew Cottage will be released soon. Take a look at the previews and pre-order a copy HERE. I’ve pre-ordered my copy!
At lunch with Deb & Jo, I ordered this delicious Roasted Pumpkin, Quinoa salad with Grilled Haloumi Cheese and Chicken it was delicious. Will put a recipe together for next week.

Favourite quotes of the week
I saw this on a friend’s Facebook Page and it made me giggle. Does this happen to you?

What’s on my reading list?
This week I read a couple of books as I had plenty of time being laid up with a heavy cold.
Winter Garden – Kristin Hannah – you can read my Goodreads review Here
& The Missing Letters of Mrs Bright – Beth Miller
I’m currently reading The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly


What I did to stay healthy, happy and living well
My week started well, the middle wasn’t great but at the end of the week, it improved. I’m recovering from a very heavy head cold and sore throat. In Australia, most General Practitioners now require you to have COVID test before presenting to them with any flu or cold-like symptoms. I took myself to the hospital for a test which came back late afternoon as NEGATIVE.
So despite being fit and healthy, it just takes a cold to lay me low.
Not being 100% or even 60% I couldn’t do much exercise this week. Sometimes if we are rundown our bodies start to tell us, so I listened to my body and took the week off.
Do you use health apps?
I have a FitBit which I am not always disciplined to use every day, however, it can help me keep track of my health and fitness, how active I am and sometimes nudging me when I’m not.
First Fun Run for the Year
This coming Sunday, I will be joining my daughter and another Saturday Sister to run in the annual International Women’s Day Run. It is a 5km run to celebrate Women and a traditional way for us to start off our Running year.

I found this article during the week which might be useful if you are looking for something to help you with sleep or running/walking and mindfulness, these are the world’s most popular health apps https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/wellbeing/2021/01/27/best-health-fitness-apps
What’s new on the blog?
This week I wrote several posts so I’ve included them here in case you missed them and want to catch up.
- Weekend Coffee Share #2
- Don’t live your life like a blank, white page, fill it with stories of YOU
- Cultivating ‘Self’ – a guest post I wrote for Cresting the Hill
Podcasting
This week I launched Season 2 of the Women Living Well After 50 Podcast – yay! Starting the podcast in 2020 was a dream but unfortunately I had to put it on hold after 26 episodes when my MIL passed away suddenly in October. I’m back now and feeling excited about the guests I have lined up. If you have a story to tell or know a Woman who has a story to tell then I’d love to hear from you.
In this first episode, I was delighted to discuss the topic of Overcoming Expectations and Stereotypes in Retirement with my guest, Maria Paterakis, The Future Proofing Counsellor and Mentor. Maria was a previous guest in Season 1 Episode 8, discussing the benefits of connecting with your life purpose. If you missed the episode, you can listen to HERE.
You can take a listen to the podcast or watch on Youtube via the link below:

Overcoming the Stereotypes & Expectations of Retirement – Women Living Well After 50
Well that was my week and I hope you enjoyed taking a peek into my life. How was your week? I’d love you to share with me what you have been up to.


22 Comments
That quote made me giggle because it reminded me of one time when I was much younger, lived in Göteborg, Sweden, and had met lots of people all over the place. Once I met a girl in the square, she hugged me sincerely, said “HELLO, IT”S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN!” and I had absolutely no idea who she was! That was so embarrassing!
This sounds weird but I miss when we could just have common colds without it being anything special! Enjoy your weekend.
We can laugh after the event but at the time when struggling to find the name quickly it is a different story, isn’t it Susanne. 🙂
I loved that quote – it happened to me the other morning when I was out walking the beach. Someone has said ‘Hi Jo’ and I had no idea. None. It wasn’t until my husband introduced himself (knowing I had no idea) that the pieces slid into place. Heavy sighs. So good catching up with you too and The Last Garden In England is now on my want to read list. xxx
Yes I’m struggling with names lately and the meme resonated with me. I think The Last Garden in England will be just up your alley- or perhaps in this case a winding, country road. x
Hi, Sue – Good luck in the annual International Women’s Day Run. Very positive and inspiring.
And talk about inspiring – what an awesome catch-up with Debbie and Jo. The photos are gorgeous!
Big Hugs!
Hi Donna, yes I’m looking forward to running with Rachel. So lovely to catch up with Deb and Jo but we were missing our partner-in-crime LOL 🙂
Hi Sue – That’s so great that you met up with Jo and Deb. I hope you’re feeling better and good news that it was just a cold. Have fun with your 5K run! Thank you for linking with #WeekendCoffeeShare.
We had a lovely time, Natalie and like most blogging friends we feel like we’ve known each other for years. x
Hi Sue, that meme you shared has been me lately – mushy brain! When my son was a newborn I rang to book him in for his first vaccines and my mind went completely blank when they asked his name! Talk about baby brain. Probably severe sleep deprivation as well. I’m terrible at names in the best of times. I hope you’re fully recovered from your cold, take care, Christina
Yes that meme was a bit too close to home for me Christina! x
Hi Sue – well you’ve certainly still kept busy despite being so unwell for part of the week. So lovely you could catch up with Jo and Deb – I feel like I should have been there in the extra chair at the table! Congrats on restarting the podcast and on keeping up with the blog posts – and thanks for being my guest this week too x
Hi Leanne, yes I pushed through because I didn’t want to miss my catch up with Jo and Deb which was certainly a highlight of my week. x
Winter garden sounds like an interesting book I’ll have to see if I can find one. Thank you for the coffee.
Hi Maria, some parts of the book were slow but overall I quite enjoyed the story. x
Hi Sue, I extra love the photo of the three stunning bloggers and your beautiful smiles. Your joy is palpable. I am glad to hear your cold is better. Like you say, Sue, finding the positive, bonus reading time.
I just finished reading and absorbing your excellent guest post on Cresting the Hill. I left a comment there. I will also check out the health apps link you share here. As always, Sue, you are an inspiration to me. I appreciate your generosity sharing gems you encounter during your week.xx
We had such a lovely time together Erica and now all I need is to meet you IRL and I will have met 5 of my favourites. I haven’t complained about the extra reading time and I’m enjoying the books that I have selected. Thank you for your lovely comment and it fills my heart when I hear that I have inspired others. xx
Sue, what an upbeat post. I love seeing three of my favorite Aussie bloggers all together. Leanne would have completed the group. Good luck in the race and have a great week.
Hi Suzanne, it was such a fun lunch and so good I could make it as I had been ill for a few days before. x
Sue, it was so good to meet up with you and Jo, you are both such good fun to be around! It was lovely of you to make the effort. I’m so proud of your determination to run with Rachel and I know you will do well, even with not being all that well for the week beforehand. You are really kicking goals with your blogs posts, reading, guest posting and getting your podcast up and running again. I love seeing you achieve what you put your mind to!
It was wonderful Deb and I do wish we lived closer. I’m getting back on track with the blogging and podcasting but trying to maintain the balance to enjoy life. x
I loved your post sue! Those books look really good. I might add them to my “need to read list”, I don’t have a fitness app, but I’ve been thinking of wanting to get something to help with my steps. I LOVE that quote…that is hilarious. I also need to listen to your podcast…it sounds wonderful.
Thanks so much Kirstin and I’m sure you will enjoy the books. I my reading list is just getting longer each week! x