post 493 Wild

Many thanks to the 16 who responded to my question about continuing this blog. I am really grateful. There is an audience of kindred spirits who enjoy reading it. I enjoy the connection, reflection and writing discipline.  I will continue weekly. 

This was sunset last Wednesday. I spent the morning at the hairdresser and had lunch on Hutt St. with friends.  It was a satisfying, pleasant, if cool and slightly rainy, day culminating in a spectacular sunset.

I was pleased, too, to return to Pilates on Thursday after 2 weeks isolating with my cold. It was good to be back in routine. 

On Friday, before Sit'nStitch, I had lunch at the Grange Hotel. It was crowded. I hadn't booked, because I needed to wait at home for a parcel. I did, however, park next to  rosemary in full flower, full of bees who were happy to have their photos taken.

That night, while working on my shawl, I discovered from a neighbour that our entry buzzers were not working. You would not know, of course, unless someone told you. When I checked, around 11pm, my video screen was dead, so it seemed our whole pod was out. Our Pod Rep is currently overseas, so we reported it to our Strata Management Company by email. There was, predictably, no response until Monday morning. No one came to fix it on Monday, so I asked family members coming to dinner to phone me when they arrived so I could then go down in the lift to let them in. I was a bit stressed about it, but it  worked without problem. We had a really good dinner time. It's good to be reminded of the goodwill and capability with which I am surrounded. 

On Saturday Niamh and Anthony were in Brisbane watching the WWC match between Haiti and England. Katherine, Veronica and I went to The Greek for dinner. It was, as usual, a lovely meal. I forgot to take a photo until Katherine and I were enjoying a coffee with Loukoumi (Greek-style Turkish delight). Veronica's impressive pistachio ice-cream is just visible in the background. All made on the premises.

About 6-8 honey eaters flew on to my balcony this morning, squarking and competing for nectar. They make me smile, so noisy, playful and together.

I headed off to my new, very young and enthusiastic, podiatrist. I asked why he chose Podiatry. It turns out, when he left school, he wanted a year off to travel, while his parents wanted him to go to university, so he applied for courses he believed he had no hope of getting into - Podiatry being top of his list! He figured when he was rejected his parents would allow him to take a year off. Hoisted by his own petard, he got into Podiatry. Then Covid hit, and his chance of travel was further delayed. He can see the irony. His criteria for a good job are: doing good for people, not needing to be athletic, meeting people you wouldn't otherwise meet, getting to know people over time, being able to talk to people and not taking your work home with you. Podiatry fits.

He wanted to know what I would be doing for the rest of the day, so I told him that I was going to a friend's place to plan a talk for the Guild. He wanted to know all about it, so I ended up telling him about Wild Silk. His response: "See, now I know about silk!". How extraordinary!

Margaret and I pulled together all our resources on Wild Silk, Madagascan Cocoon Silk and Golden Orb Spider Silk. We have quite a lot of physical elements as well as a bit of research.  I think it will be an interesting session in September. I also got a bowl of Margaret's fabulous pumpkin soup. Another great day.

To top it off, when I got home, the video entry system seems to be working again. I haven't been able to test it, but the screen is working, so I assume it's fixed and the buzzer will work too. 

I have a pre-proof copy of my brother's new book to read - and it's looking great.     A week rich in opportunity, friendship and joy.