Day 144 Spent a very happy morning going through all the fabulous beauty products my friend Jo sent me. I am now covered in balms and serums and definitely look a lot better than I did when I woke up. I did particularly laugh at Lancome's Eye Repositioning Creme - I don't really want my eyes repositioned, I can't think of anywhere else for them to go. Watched Eat, Pray, Love with Fern and was gutted. Loved the book, was obsessed with the story - despised the...

Day 140-142 So we are in the middle of another great festival, Tihar (Diwali) which is the Hindu festival of lights. The girls are on yet another school holiday so we (I) decided to flee the city for a few days and visit our friend Shankar in his village, just outside Gorkha. Pretty much all of Nepal lives in these 'villages' which are unaccessible by car. They work in the cities for money and send them home to the dire poverty of their families. So the trip...

Day 129 Still going to the gym! But it has been a flat and emotional week. Rufus hasn't been very well and I've been an emotional wreck. We received parcels from the UK, one from Rufus' mum with fabby stuff in it (including shortbread!) and one from my friend Lisa. A beautifully wrapped and prepared parcel containing sweets... and conditioner for my hair, bodywash, lovely stuff for my face, the ingredients to make Bloody Mary's and the sweetest thing of all....

Day 124 Katya has discovered endorphins! Since Rufus is teaching and there is very little voluntary work to do just now (none), I joined a gym. I spent a happy 30 minutes on the treadmill with some handweights, having the whole gym to myself, looking out at the bright blue sky and glorious sunshine and feeling quite good about myself. Caught up in all the serotonin flooding my brain, I start planning a 10k, and then maybe a marathon, maybe the Iron Man. Lung...

Day 110 Rufus arrived home! Very thin and very proud of himself. Of course my biggest fear was that he would now want to re-arrange his life in order to reach the summit, and I was right. He intends to save £40,000 over the next few years to join an expedition. Good for him (although no chance will he find the money) - it's good to have an ambition. He appears to have been spectacularly strong, did it all alone including finding the way and carrying his ow...