It seems hard to believe it is Day 52 already. I just keep typing those day numbers up there in the title of each blog post, and they keep rolling on by. Whilst at times this has felt like it’s gone quite quickly, most of the time it seems to be taking an eternity.

When I went back to work last Monday many people commented that they couldn’t believe it had been 8 weeks since I had been there.  Can you believe that Kylie (who has been doing my job) gave me a welcome back present! It constantly astounds me how wonderful she is, not just for taking on my role and doing a wonderful job, but the way she has provided friendship and support to me too.

We arrived in Canberra just before 8pm last night. A friend of Wills travelled up with me and they left at 730 this morning to head to the snow for a bit of snowboarding and then to drive back to Wagga tonight. I hope he enjoys the day at the snow, he’s had a big week looking after his Dad. Dave has absolutely loved having him here this week. All the shopping and cleaning here is up-to-date and it seems Dave has been well fed.  They had just finished a big plate of Steak, chips and veggies when we got here last night, followed by  fruit and yoghurt and a glass of choccy milk… all Dave’s favourites!

Unfortunately, no amount of eating well has helped Dave avoid a side effect smashing this cycle. The 7th – 10th days are usually the worst, and he is feeling as bad, if not worse, than he has at any point so far. (Today is Day 10) I was actually quite taken aback when I first saw him last night. He had probably overdone it a bit yesterday and was asleep on the lounge when I got here. By ‘overdone it’ I don’t mean a 5km walk or 10hrs at work (both of which he did most days pre-treatment). Apparently the only time he was really off the lounge yesterday was to take a bag of garbage to the skip bin down, and then up, two flights of stairs. He said he felt like he had climbed Mount Everest when he got back upstairs. I’m not wanting to freak out those that love him by reading this. When this is over there is no reason why he wont be back to or better than usual. But it is tough for him at the moment and the level of fatigue and nausea he is feeling right now is not good. The continued messages, phone calls, visits and prayers are more welcomed by him (and me) then ever.

We will therefore have a quiet weekend I think. I will get a few work things done today and then pop over to the foodie markets this afternoon for ingredients for dinner. There is a couple of odd pieces of meat in the freezer, frozen over the last few weeks. You know how things like chops come in packages of 3 and you only need two and so you freeze the extra one? A mixed grill might be on the cards with a couple of sausages, chops and a small steak pulled out of the freezer to defrost. Add some bacon, a fried egg and we have a meal! I will get some seasonal veggies at the markets to balance all that protein out 😉

We are really starting to get excited about our Holiday in October.  Last night the confirmation of our flights came through. We are flying with Qatar Airlines, who started flying out of Sydney this year.

First stop is Venice. I have been to Italy a few times but have never been to Venice before. I remember Mum saying it was her favourite destination. I think my favourite destination is in Italy too, but it’s hard to decide which place is my favourite. Dave and I really loved a little hamlet near Coldazzo in the Marche region of central Italy when we visited there a couple of years ago. We stayed for a few days in a B&B Farmhouse, on the top of a hill looking over the most beautiful countryside. (Cover picture is looking outside our room.) We ate amazingly well, walked all over the rolling hills in perfect spring weather, met some wonderful local people and even visited another country one day by driving to the enclave of San Marino, which was an hour’s drive from where we were. I would go back there in an instant!

Dave says his favourite spot in the world is Lisbon . (I just asked him with no warning!) I wasn’t with him when he went there so I had better add that to the bucket list. We will have a couple of days in Spain on this upcoming holiday – but no stopping in Portugal. Now he tells me!

What is your favourite place in the world?

Is it your own town? (I do like mine 🙂 )

Maybe its somewhere tropical and exotic?  Somewhere adventurous and exciting? Somewhere really unusual? Or perhaps somewhere quiet and peaceful.

Here are a few pics taken in Coldazzo and San Marino…

And a couple of us in Rome…

Dave has a lot more hair then than he has now. It’s pretty much all gone now 🙁