It’s officially winter – not that climate change takes any notice of what’s official – and it seems unusual to be picking sweet peas. Camellias, yes – they begin flowering at this time of year – but sweet peas belong to spring and summer, and autumn if you’re lucky. Generally, the seeds are sown in autumn. Maybe soon we’ll have sweet peas all year round.
I experimented with photo effects with the second photo. It looks like night time, but was taken in the morning, moments after the first.
And there I would rest and lie,
My chin in my hands, and gaze
At the dazzle of sand below,
And the green waves curling slow,
And the grey-blue distant haze
Where the sea goes up to the sky …. (The Island by A A Milne)
This weekend, my walking companion and I, both in recuperation, chose a flat seaside stroll on Sumner Esplanade where there are regular seats to rest and enjoy the view. We felt uplifted by the glorious golden sky, the warm fresh air and the smell of the sea. Cheese scones at Scarborough had a healing effect too. As did the sight of many dachshunds and their owners out for their monthly rally . ‘A Sausage Roll?’ I suggested. ‘That would be good,’ said one owner, ‘or maybe a Snag Drag’.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that mental wellbeing has a direct effect on physical wellbeing. This morning I found that treats, singing, exercise and book-bathing result in improved physical health. I walked into town to Singing for Pleasure via the library, sang my heart out, treated myself to a glass of champagne and Forbidden Fruit at Sweet Soul because it’s my birthday, and browsed in Telling Tales and Scorpio Books before walking home. I feel much better mentally and physically.
If I hadn’t walked, I would have missed this stunning sight:
Medicine for body and soul.
A kind friend gave me a bag of treats for my upcoming birthday and I’ve been dipping into it early to cheer me up as I’ve been under the weather a bit health-wise. The chocolate I sampled today was delightful, not just in taste but in presentation. I met the artist and designer of the packaging, Denise Fort, in her shop when I was in Raglan last year and saw some of her art in a Hamilton gallery.
And hidden away, in tiny writing, I found the artist’s name.
The chocolate is delicious, just the thing to revive my dampened spirits. The packaging with its steam punk and psychedelia vibes (who’d have thought to combine those two?) makes it completely cheering.
The porch and steps are refreshed. My brother, recently retired and looking for a project, provided the motivation – and expertise – to finally address the repairs needed.
Felix gained his freedom this afternoon. He sniffed the wind, peered into the old places, disappeared into the neighbourhood for a while, came home and … walked on the second coat of paint.
We had added non-slip grit to the concrete steps. It was while we were cleaning up the brushes that Felix arrived, leaving little, but barely discernible, paw prints in the paint. My brother pointed out that Felix had approached the steps from the far side and probably didn’t see the ‘Wet Paint’ sign.
As we worked, we had been noticing the character of the timber and of the concrete steps – marks and scars from nearly a hundred years of use. Paw prints add character too.
At 8.15am Felix had his sixth visit to the vet – the final check on progress. The limp has gone and the swelling is down. He was also in fine form last night, ‘partying’ from 4am, probably because there was no food in his plate from 10pm last night to prepare him for sedation.
I expected he would be released from both confinement and medication, but he has been given four more days of antibiotics and indoor life just to be sure. He has had a subdued day at home, seeking comfort with his big eyes – pupils dilated from the sedative, I suppose. His nails were trimmed as well. I noticed he wasn’t getting much of a grip on the carpet as he stretched his claws this afternoon. I hope the blinds will be less inclined to rip as well. He made two splits in another blind on Saturday. A most expensive few weeks.
I am half sick of shadows… (Tennyson)
Felix has been kept inside for weeks. The upside is that his limp is less noticeable at last. The downside is the damage he does: biting the blind cords, scratching the carpet and, most recently, tearing a blind. He briefly slipped out of the front door yesterday having worked out that I will come in that way if he is by the back door. He made a dash for it, but paused to smell some plants and I was able to catch him. Here he is by the door, waiting for me to open it again.
The shadows of trees on the blind may have been torment for poor Felix. I empathise; not being able to open doors and windows on these lovely sunny autumn days in case he escapes. At least I can go outside and garden, or walk in the Gardens as I did today on my way to and from Singing.
In the meantime, Felix escaped into his dreams. Later, he took over Mum’s fireside chair.
A few days ago I had picked up a dozen or so feijoas from under the tree and decided on a Nadia Lim muffin recipe. Before I began baking today, I checked below the tree to see if any more had dropped – and (expecting only two or three) filled my jersey hem with 33 of them. The ones I already had, plus two from a friend’s tree, were enough for the muffins. The recipe has more ingredients than the muffin recipes I usually make, but included fresh ginger and yoghurt which sounded good. The mixture is very wet, but the skewer came out clean after just over 20 minutes in the oven.
Taste test: The texture is lovely and soft, the white chocolate adds interest in bite rather than in flavour, the overall taste is a bit overwhelmed by the mashed banana so it’s not easy to detect the feijoa, but there’s a nice tingle of ginger. I think I would leave out the banana next time and substitute it with more feijoas.
There are 33 feijoas left over. What to do with them? Smoothies? Perhaps I will eat one or two every day, scooping each one out with a teaspoon.
To get away from Felix who was chewing their feathers.
Felix needs to be entertained today to distract him from his vandalising, which includes chewing blind cords – not just chickens. I saw him looking with intent at the blind cords in the vet’s clinic last week. Here’s one he’s chewed twice recently. I try to remember to wind them up out of his way.
The string drawer keeps him entertained for a while, then he lies back to look out of the window at the places he can’t go until his paw is better.
Felix is hopping along on three legs. His sore paw does not seem to be improving despite antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and painkillers. He is confined to the house and spends some time looking for a way out. After his meds at breakfast time, however, he spends a long time sleeping. He uses his litter tray once a day. Such control! I’m worried about his paw. What is going on in there that we can’t see? He uses his left paw (the sore one) to play, but not so much for walking. Why is it not getting better? Will he end up three-legged?
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