Today is Sunday, 26 April, and I find myself reflecting on my first Sunday, 26 April. It was 17 years ago, and it marked the…
Well, I’ve done it: I have finally taken my UK driving theory test – more than a year after getting my provisional licence and more…
It’s hard to believe that 52 is here already. It feels like only a decade ago that I was the answer to life, the universe,…
I purchased some Conversation Hearts when I was home for Christmas*, and when I opened them this morning, I was flooded with childhood memories of…
My focus for 2026 is monotasking or “single‑tasking,” as it’s sometimes called. It sounds deceptively simple, but I know it will be a real challenge…
Yes, it is that time of year once again: The end of it, when I look back at all that I did (and that I…
My main objective for 2025 was simple in theory but surprisingly complex in practice: reflection. More specifically, I wanted to reflect on my long list…
Sixteen years. When I say that number out loud, it still feels both impossibly long and, at the same time, like just yesterday. Sixteen years…
Well, it has been a full year since I got the keys to Castle Ryan. As I look around, I can see how much I…
It’s been a long time since I shared my goal to finally get my UK driving licence. Indeed, I began the application process for a…
Well, here I am! Another year has rushed by, and today I find myself turning 51. It feels like just yesterday I was celebrating my…
It has finally happened: I am now a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland citizen*. That means no more visas, no more immigration…
I almost never “talk politics” here on Just Frances, but today I am making an exception. Because today is a hard day for me, as…
I am a goal-setter and, mostly, a goal-getter. But sometimes I set too many overly ambitious goals, and I struggle to meet them. It’s not…
For 2024, I set out to breathe new life into old things, and I managed that – although it will be an ongoing objective as…
As I sit on the entrance ramp towards 2025, it’s time to look back at the road I travelled in 2024 and all the goodness*…
Today I took one of the last steps towards becoming a UK Citizen: I enrolled my biometrics for my citizenship application which I submitted last…
Today marks 15 years since my husband’s death and that means I am doing a lot of reflecting. Some of that reflection is about the…
Welcome to Castle Ryan, my new house that I hope to transform into a home. It was about 16 years ago that I last made…
It’s been four years since the world stopped and mass isolations began to take place in many nations and communities. Indeed, my own COVID isolation…