2025 is off to an eventful start. Currently, Garry and I are enjoying six nights camped out at the Ramada Hotel & Suites overlooking the Richmond River in Ballina. We’re staying in the same corner suite we booked in January 2021.
The weather has been superb with predominantly fine weather and temperatures approaching 30C. The sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular in equal measure every day. I could get used to this more laid-back lifestyle!
We celebrated New Year’s Eve with good friends Liz and Adam Benson on their lifestyle block near Alstonville. Our daily highlights included walks along local beaches, swimming in lakes or the sea, and a few afternoon naps. However, there have also been one or two unexpected highlights.
First, Garry surprised me on 31 December with news that he’d paid the residual balance on his share of the mortgage for our Sydney apartment. That’s right, we finally own our home outright 20 years after buying it. Regular readers will recall that I paid off my share of the mortgage in 2011. We moved into our apartment in April 2004 after making an offer in February of the same year.
We also own our business in full, having paid off our business loan in December 2021. This means that now we own our home we’re essentially debt-free. This milestone was a personal goal I'd always wanted to achieve before turning 60, which I'll do in September this year.
Second, on Saturday, I had an emergency root canal operation. I’d been experiencing some pain the day before that seemed to come right until I attempted to eat dinner at the Federal Hotel in Alstonville. I then spent the night battling a relentless aching rear molar. By morning it was clear I needed urgent dental care. Where do you go at the weekend for reliable world-class dental work in a regional holiday town?
After an internet search, I found what looked like a reputable local dentist in Ballina. I called them at 9:00 a.m. By 10:30 a.m., I was in a dentist's chair undergoing a full 90-minute root canal treatment. However, my research appears to have paid off, as the dentist managing the procedure, Dr Kim Davies, was the founding owner who’d been in business for several decades. She calmly and professionally talked me through the entire procedure.
The dentist discovered that the nerve in my tooth had been dead for some time. Furthermore, there was no sign of infection or anything that would normally cause pain and thus trigger a visit to the emergency room. In fact, she described my situation as rather unusual. Somehow I've been walking around for quite some time, possibly years, with a dead tooth.
If the last four days are any indication, then 2025 will be an interesting year!
After an internet search, I found what looked like a reputable local dentist in Ballina. I called them at 9:00 a.m. By 10:30 a.m., I was in a dentist's chair undergoing a full 90-minute root canal treatment. However, my research appears to have paid off, as the dentist managing the procedure, Dr Kim Davies, was the founding owner who’d been in business for several decades. She calmly and professionally talked me through the entire procedure.
The dentist discovered that the nerve in my tooth had been dead for some time. Furthermore, there was no sign of infection or anything that would normally cause pain and thus trigger a visit to the emergency room. In fact, she described my situation as rather unusual. Somehow I've been walking around for quite some time, possibly years, with a dead tooth.
If the last four days are any indication, then 2025 will be an interesting year!
A final closing note. Today my brothers and I paused to remember the death of my father. He passed away on this day twelve years ago. Here's a link to the memorial tribute I created for his funeral service.
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