I have been standing on the deck breathing in the smell of rain on dry earth. There’s a name for it: petrichor. Lovely. The garden is dry. Watering has been necessary in the last week or so and long before that for the container plants.
Today was a great day for getting washing dry before the weather changed. The change was signalled by a sudden wind which slammed doors in the house and sent cabbage tree leaves all over the lawn. The broad beans were blown this way and that and must be feeling the relief of stillness and rain now. The banksia rose was unmoored from the fence, so securing it somehow will be a weekend job.
And, wouldn’t you know it? Felix has returned to his previously customary mooring on the woolly rug on Mum’s bed!
Felix comes home to eat these days, often at irregular times. Gone is his routine of long hours sleeping inside. A couple of days ago, he did come in and slept on a chair for most of the morning. Perhaps he was recovering from his long night out.
This morning, it was after 10 o’clock before he came in for breakfast. I tracked him after that, but lost him in the garden somewhere by the blackcurrant bush.
Listening…watching…Moving (ignoring the ball on a string – too tame!)On to the patioInto the garden Behind the blackcurrant bush
I have seen him go up the trunk of the grapevine and over the fence at the side. He’s also appeared on the garage roof from the bamboo. Sometimes he’s at the front gate just sitting, watching. Once, I saw him walking along the roof of the house across the street.
Where does he go? On these warm summery days, with rampant growth everywhere, it’s likely that he’s over the back fence exploring the wilderness. Probably hunting. Probably defending and marking his territory.
Every day, Mum migrates around the house following the sun.
First thing: reading the paper in the sunny morning sitting roomMorning: The egg chair on the deckAfternoon: the window seat, with books, knitting bag, and the Listener easily to hand
In the evening, Mum likes to be beside the fire. Even on these warmer evening, she finds a fire cheering.
As you can see, Felix often likes to keep her company.
The water blaster tradie finished the roof-cleaning job today. After he’d cleaned the roof, solar panels and guttering, he asked if there was anything else I wanted washed. Now there is a clean drive and path, and clean paving stones – and no weeds! All for a very reasonable cost.
Clean solar panelsClean glass roof
Then the additional jobs:
PaversDrive – cleaned with a rotating brush machinePathClean pavers and bricks – and no more weeds (for a while)
Felix found a new spot from which to supervise.
I suspect his expression is saying, ‘Is it safe to come down yet?’
Felix doesn’t seem aware that it’s his birthday. Neither were we (although it was in the diary) until late afternoon when I opened an email from the vet wishing him happy birthday. What do you do differently for a cat’s birthday, anyway? He got the liquid from a can of salmon I was using. Otherwise, it was a normal day, with breakfast on demand, a little treat each time he comes inside to eat, laps to sit on, a garden and neighbourhood to explore, trees to climb, and a chair beside the fire.
Who decided it is his birthday today? Did the SPCA pluck the number out of the air? Or make a rough guess? I don’t think he was born at the SPCA. I understood he was found under a pallet somewhere. It could be a crafty strategy on their part to help people bond with their adopted cat – having an actual day to celebrate. They probably know how people interact with their pets and, boy, there are some weird – and deranged – examples of that: dressing them in clothing, carrying them in handbags, letting them eat at the table, painting your pony to look like a zebra (that was Queen Victoria), speaking to them in funny voices…
Yeah, well, guilty conscience evident here. Though it’s hard to think what we might have done differently today. I think Felix would agree that he has a pretty good life.
I met a former colleague for coffee and had my first crookie (combined cookie and croissant). I could manage only half of it, but it was yum.
The cafe closed early, so we went browsing around The Colombo, a mall I love because it has Nordic Chill (Moomins and Ikea), Trade Aid, French Connection, Industria and The Collective.
One of the wooden toys in The Collective
I have hovered on the threshold of Annah Stretton but my glamorous friend boldly went in, so I did too.
Very floral and lushExuberant wrappingWhat I brought home
It is nice to browse with a friend who is into browsing and who can draw your attention to details you might have missed. She knows what’s on trend, what has been fashionable and come around again, and is both sensible and encouraging (in my opinion). I really did need that etched glass jug (French Connection), and a test run has proved the glass with pattern in relief (Industria) does add pizzazz to a gin and tonic, as I expected it would.
A movie seemed to be a good way to spend a rather gloomy day. It turned out that the brightest spot in the day was the splendid carpet in the movie theatre.
Photo taken from my point of view seated on the aisle.
The movie, Thelma, which I expected to be a laugh a minute was in fact more about the depredations of old age – or perhaps that was what I chose to focus on. There was a lot about how others regard old age and there was a rather wonderful relationship between a grandmother and her grandson.
You expect there to be lots of tradies about when your bathroom is being renovated, but there don’t seem to have been any fewer since. That means a lot of Anzac biscuits from the catering department (me).
After we moved back home, the painter (a woman) came to finish the last coat of paint. Her daughter had been ill, so the finishing was delayed by a few days. Then the tiler came to finish the grouting and sealing. A man from a demolition yard came to take away old timber. The builder came to do last minute fixing and the clearing of anything left behind. The new toilet roll holder has since become a bit loose, so he may be back.
The following Thursday, the Blind Care Company tradesman came to fix the blinds Felix had chewed. Fortunately he was able to fix the broken cords in situ and it was a quick job. The next day, ChimChim came to sweep the chimney and do some repairs. Last night there was a tremendous crash in the firebox and things (the baffle?) seem to have descended, so the chimney tradesman will be back to fix the damage.
Something has collapsed at the top of the firebox
Last Tuesday, the Rural Water Services tradesman (and owner) came to clean the roofs, solar panels and guttering. He had to stop work after doing the garage roof because the wind became too strong to be safe and rain had made the roof slippery. I’m still waiting for him to come back and finish the job.
Impressive equipmentDoing a job you’re not confident to do yourself
Today, the plumber came back to install the Extract Fan Exhaust in the roof to duct steam from the shower. I think the electrician is coming to finish off the fan connection. I also had an email from the bathroom project manager to say that the tilers need to epoxy grout the shower tiles, so they will be making a time soon.
I think that’s all… but maybe I should include the AA (Automobile Association) man who came to open my car last Monday when the keys were locked inside. That is not meant to happen with these new whizzy-bang remote keys, but it did. I was at a friend’s at the time who, fortunately, also belongs to the AA as my card and phone were locked inside the car with my keys. We were intrigued by his solution to the problem – not quite the coat hanger we were imagining, but close.
I think most of the other jobs that need doing around the place I can manage myself, like controlling ants, stacking firewood and pruning the long shoots from the top of the apple tree.
I came across this word for the first time this afternoon in a Françoise Hardy song Rendez-vous dans une autre vie. It means ‘on the sly’ which seemed appropriate as I witnessed Felix casually bite his way through the blind cord. I wondered if he was flossing his teeth on the cord thinking it must be too fine for him to get a grip on. Then, to my astonishment (why was I astonished?), the end of the cord dropped and two severed ends swung in the air. My best Girl Guide reef knots didn’t fix the problem as the knots wouldn’t thread through the spool.
Then I recalled that another blind had two severed cords. The cause must have been the same, as both cords were broken whereas wear and tear would surely affect only one of the cords.
My useless reef knotsThe previously chewed cordsWear and tear: one cord in the three on this larger blind
By the time I’d completed my investigations and rung the blind company to repair the damage (at some expense and involving five days without blinds), Felix was nonchalant, taking his ease on the woollen under-blanket on Mum’s bed. There are curtains in that room. Curtains for the cat. Grrr!
The builder has completed his final check and clean up and kindly installed the ‘concertina’ shaving mirror for me. I’ve had it for ages, hoping that it would fit somewhere in the new bathroom. It seems to match the art deco look.
The garage has been cleared so I can put my car in there again. Everything (minus clutter) has been put back in the hallway. We can now enjoy the rimu panelling without an over-abundance of coats, hats, bags and other accumulated stuff, much of which has been given away to op shops.
You’d never know that the umbrella stand has suffered two major breaks. The first was in the earthquakes and the second was caused by me knocking it over. The entire bottom of it dropped off. I repaired it with Gorilla glue and clear tape.
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