I have a visitor.
I live in a concrete wasteland. From my 9th floor window I can see about 300 buildings and exactly ten trees, mostly just the tips peeping over other buildings.
Yet for the last week or so I have been hearing an occasional "chee chee chee chee cheee" which I think is a Gecko (I've heard them before in Australia). It's probably one of these:

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It seems to be living under the fridge. They are regarded as protectors of homes. How cool, I hope it is doing okay. They eat insects and I'm not sure there are enough about to sustain it. I hope I catch a glimpse of it soon.
Ok - help me name my gecko. No, I will not call it Gordon.

Bugaboo make a version of pushchair (stroller) called the Gecko. That would be a cool name imo.

Raul

One of the pluses of living with my dad who is forever a bachelor (by his own choosing) is that the women of my mom's family (who he's still very close with) often take pity on him...we've been last minute invited to a real thanksgiving meal! Woo!

Making Black Friday plans with the girls. A time honored sister tradition. We are minus one this year though but we will be ringing her on the phone, per her request. (Let's see how she will like a 5am call) I think she'll already be working though.)

We've got heaps of these little cuties living on the outside of our house. Unfortunately if they venture inside they usually get eaten by the cats. Actually, here's a funny story. One of the kids had a rubber gecko and my tom cat was playing with it. Batting it around and tormenting it as cats do. I wasn't paying much attention until I noticed a while later that he'd chewed the tail off. Mustn't have tasted too good.

I think you should name your gecko 'little mate'. That's probably what I'd do if I were living far from home and had a new housemate.

It's raining - which I love when I'm in bed (00.19 here)

But what's really made me happy is I've just watched Ali's video again. Lovely house, warm climate, warm hostess - summer in my winter bedroom, what's not to love.

wow. It's snowing like a MOF out there. On Wednesday it was sunny and 75 degrees. No one is going anywhere in my town today. And I'm snug as a bug in my house.

I just saw this. You're a sweetheart SG.

As I mentioned here I believed a building near my home was about to become a destruction/construction site.
I wandered past today and saw a sign which - IF I interpreted it correctly - indicated the project will be finished in two months. There is no way they could demolish and rebuild in that time - in Japan foundations have to go waaay deep and there must be loads of steel and concrete all the way up. This all takes time.
So I am now guessing it is only a renovation job.
This is supported by the way the scaffolding at the top connects to the building, which I can't imagine them doing if they were planning to demolish.
:D

Well that's great news huh? It might improve the view too!

My new glasses came in yesterday. My brain has finally adjusted to the new prescription, and - I CAN SEE!
(I've had the same old prescription for two years, and frames that were four years old and pretty bent out of shape.)

Getting gifts from our supplier's during the holidays. Chocolates and other food stuffs. Mmmm, yummy.

Met my new alcohol counsellor today, she is from upstate New York. Which I didn't expect in Welling, Kent.

I'm now on the waiting list for generic counselling and a 6 week Stage 1 course which is group work for people wanting to control their drinking or become completely abstinent. It's in 90 minute sessions, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for 6 weeks.

It will play havoc with my gym class schedule but I can restart my classes any time. I can only take this help with alcohol while I am not working.

The only downside is the length of the waiting lists. 2-3 months for counselling. And it's going to be a race to see if the Step 1 course occurs fully within the period I am signed off for... Ah well - the time will pass one way or another, I just have to take the steps I can when I can and trust everything else will fall into place.

Also realised today just how far I have come since moving here. I was able to describe before and after and see what I have achieved. And I didn't cry once. Honestly, the amount of people I've had to tell the sordid details of my life to this year... I'm well practised now.

If you find you're "running out of time" for the counselling on your current period of being signed off sick, can you get your doctor to extend it? I know this goes against what you'd like to do, but maybe this would be a good course of action to consider for the longer term benefits?
Meawhile - yay you! It's great to hear that you can see the progress you've made - that's bound to be the best motivator (Mr Motivator, to you (remember him?:eek: )).