Gardening with my niece 👩‍🌾

My niece Nana, who started working at a hotel in Salisbury in June, is staying at our house for the first time in a while 🏠

She was feeling pretty down because the hotel's HR manager suddenly told her she had six days off 😭

She apparently didn't want to spend those six days in Salisbury, so she messaged me on LINE.

As her 'British mom,' I had told her to contact me whenever she was in trouble, and I've been watching over her from afar, but when I got her first SOS...

'You can stay at our house for as many days as you like.'

I told her that after getting David's permission.

Once we met and I listened to everything she had to say, she seemed to feel lighter and quickly regained her spirits 🍀

Living in a hotel is comfortable, but the downside is that there's no bathtub or kitchen 😅

Since there's no fridge either, I bought a mini one online for her.
Now she can keep drinks and small snacks cold.

Her main hotel duties seem to be bed making and food service; it was tough at first, but it looks like she's finally getting used to it.

She and a boy from Okinawa around her age are the only two working there on working holiday visas 👫

Sometimes the hotel double-books and runs out of rooms, and apparently, she has to stay at a partner hotel right in front of it when that happens 😅

She said it's a hassle because she has to move her belongings from her room to the office and move the fridge there too 💦

So far, she's only been kicked out once, and she said the only good thing was that the partner hotel room had a bathtub, so she was happy to finally take a bath 😂

She gets breakfast and dinner provided, but since it's an English breakfast every morning, she says she only eats it a few times a week because she's afraid she'll get sick if she eats it every day.

She's been eating the miso I gave her every day, and apparently, dipping vegetable sticks in it has become her go-to snack.

Today, we washed the car together in the morning and she helped me with the gardening 🪴🧑‍🌾

It's a big help 🤭

Talib is also lounging around in the garden 🐈

When guests come over, I end up wanting to prepare breakfast or make elaborate dishes, and I just can't help but want to feed them all sorts of things 😆

For breakfast, I had a fruit platter and yogurt (no photo💦)
For lunch, I had mussel pasta🦪

Vegetable sticks with miso😆

Gluten-free yellow bean pasta with mussels in a white wine sauce is surprisingly a good match👏

I also added plenty of Himalayan crystal rock salt and onions🧅, so it's delicious with just the right amount of saltiness🥰

I noticed a change in my niece since she started working at the hotel.
After she gets out of the bath, the tub is sparkling clean🛀
Actually, she's been wiping it down until it's spotless🤭

Since she cleans rooms almost every day, I wonder if she ends up doing the same thing elsewhere too🤣

It's been two months since she started her job; it was tough at first, but it seems she's gradually getting used to it and learning the ropes...

Tomorrow, she's going to help me tidy up the house.
With my niece around, it looks like the house is going to get cleaner and cleaner😆