Looking at Life | Still Waters

‘So how’s your February been’ someone asked at book club
‘Not too bad’ I replied. Getting used to some of those little changes I spoke about at the end of January and finding answers to others that had been bothering me.

The main one is all those blood tests came back normal- nothing to see there at all.
GP has been scratching his head, suggested that yes, maybe a sudden change in weather could put people off colour, I’m feeling much better so we’ll just plod along as usual.

The local gym being flooded in a January storm (planned reopening March) hasn’t helped the fitness intentions we discussed – means I’m back to using our equipment at home and we all know what that means. Those little 30/60 secs break between sets sometimes result in a longer than necessary sit down often with hot drink and…..don’t tell anyone

maybe even a sweet biscuit!.

So I’ve been using the pool more often which has certainly loosened up the back so much so there was a little bit of gardening going on. All that rain brought on another flush of roses – plus oodles more weeds. We enjoyed the last of them (the roses not the weeds) on the outside table and this week, just like the lady in Gilbert’s painting, I’ve been tidying up and dead heading

Of course there has been knitting – the big boys jumpers are done! I’ll tell you about them on Wednesday as well as something new I’ve been tackling.

Now we’re back in the swing of things there are two book clubs to enjoy- one, the casual ‘what did you read’ the other, the ‘discuss the book we all read’ one….both different yet similar
My summer reading – which often involved just lounging around – not quite like the lady in Hettinger’s painting but not far off – has once again been sparse

* A Month of Sundays – Liz Byrski (bc).
* Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont – Elizabeth Taylor
* The Leisure Seeker – Michael Zadoorian
* The Flower Girls – Alice Clark-Platts

The new choir rehearsals have been fun – with a new class conductor making it a different experience for returning members as well as new.

A very well ‘seasoned’ teacher/conductor – with a background in opera (and a liking for light entertainment), a new ‘program’, no previously used songs – this move for me is proving to be very interesting and I’m enjoying every minute…..first rehearsal Bette introduced this to the class. Something I knew from elsewhere but quite unknown to many of the others. It may not be everyones cup of tea (a simple round) but when it comes together (aka when everyone knows what’s what) with all four voice types in the choir (soprano, alto, tenor & bass) singing their part it will sound ‘superb’

Artist is Jennifer Cooke (Sing with Jen)

*****

There has been one little thing I’ve been coming to terms with this month.
Some might remember ‘our big girl’ and her partner leaving Melbourne back in 2021 – pulling their home behind them
eager to see parts of Australia they’d never been to before.
Well, they travelled and travelled, enjoying every minute – extended their leave
and travelled some more……then out of the blue decided they needed to put down roots
They’ve just taken possession of a new beach side home, way over on the far coast in WA. On the other side of the country – 3,489kms away!
With an hours drive to Tullamarine, 4hr flight to Perth plus an hours drive north – don’t think we’ll be popping in for a cuppa. Might need to stay a week at least😎
~~~~~~~

And that’s February (and supposedly Summer) all but over
We’re at the end of the last week…..next stop is Autumn (well the official ‘March 1st’ date that is)….hopefully the warm weather will continue but the fire risk go down. Many plants came to grief in some heavy rain early in the month – Agapanthus heads have been lopped, various ground covers cut back ….some are saying it’s time to slow down but there’s always an exception to the rule…..the roses and the flowering gum beside the library were still in bloom a couple of days ago. Big smiles all round.