Ruth: Weekend wonderings

Another weekend over. It was spent constructively enough. I've been obsessing about guitar recently and Marolyn is very tolerant of my feeble attempts at chord changes. So I spent most of Saturday trying to work out some songs and then even shut myself in the office and did a little writing. Our office is a shambles with piles of books, clothes and other miscellaneous craft materials covering every surface, but with the heater on full and the warm light on the cheap wood panel walls, I was almost ready to call it bohemian.

We went op shopping up the coast with a lezzie couple who are planning their wedding for next year. They are just starting to think about babies and eye up potential donors. They spoke about it with this kind of coy innocence that made me feel really nostalgic. In comparison, it feels like Marolyn and I are returned injured from the field, mission failed.

Today was unseasonably fine so we went for a walk at Princess Bay. I had peeled some carrots and pumpkin for soup and loaded them in a pot which I brought to the boil before we left. After scrambling over rocks and finding a frilly pink sea slug in a shallow pool, I was feeling quite smug
and organised, looking foward to hot soup and feeling motivated about doing the dishes. We came home to a house full of smoke and some charcoal that used to be vegetables. Luckily no further damage, except to my ego. I collapsed on the coach and read the paper instead of doing planned housework.

Later we picked up our friend Gabi from the airport, who had just been on holiday in Germany and Australia. She said that arriving at her father's after a long flight, she'd put the kettle on for a cuppa. Smelling something weird a few minutes later she realised that she'd put a cordless kettle with a black plastic base onto the gas hob and flames were now shooting half a metre into the air. It helped me not feel so bad about almost burning our house down.

After dropping Gabi home, Marolyn and I drove the windy road through the pines up to Mt Victoria . Renovations had closed the main lookout so we followed the short track to the East and stood facing Miramar Peninsular and the distant Orongaronga ranges. The sea was a deep blue green and the Orongarongas were turning pink. I guess prompted by the sense of breadth and perpective, we started our familiar conversation about the future, turning over the the issues of conception and public funded health care, warmer climates, Californian friends and family we miss and the difficulty of me getting a greencard. There are no answers yet. I look out at that breathtaking view and know that it is not enough to keep me here.