Tuesday, July 09, 2024

I would say Happy National Chocolate with Almonds day, but

 that was yesterday.

Today is actually State Revolution Day, which I thought must be something to do with Argentina as it's Argentina Independence Day, but apparently something to do with 1932 and the Paulistas and Brazil. I must admit that I am very uneducated about South American history, but I can blurrily trace the lineage of the  monarchy back to Stephen, which has been useful.

It is also NAIDOC week. NAIDOC Week will celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

I find it sad that so many people fear looking frankly at such a situation and instead of thinking "what can we all do together to make it better" the way that they used to, command "Hush. Eyes in front".

I miss having an inquisitive voice. I never realised - or forgot - that I used to be reticent to take anything at face value, but my mother showed me through example the power of seeking understanding without bludgeoning - or being bludgeoned - with doggerel and sneer - or smear.

I digress. I am sorry.

I had a lovely long weekend getaway to the house of a very old friend.  

I got to listen to a curated soundtrack of my - well, in the good old days her seat would have held the navigator, but in this day and age she merely had to choose the right settings on Google maps - so offsider would have to be the term, so my offsider that was interesting.

 I was reminded a little of who I used to be many, many moons ago.

We got to fall in love with a little dog and old cat and ate and drank and shopped (within our very specific limits).

We chose recipes for a dish for a shared feast.

For old times sake, I developed a migraine (hours after boasting of their dearth) and thus thrust the responsibility of dessert on the offsider and old friend.

I got better enough to enjoy a gathering of friends, including six women aged 14 to over 5 times that (although most of us were shy of sixty) (goodness that came quick).

We discovered just how delicious grapefruit can be in this: A Zest For Life - glorious-grapefruit-sherbert-with-three-ingredients-vegan/

I got to have a talk on the phone with my Mum. I am so thankful for modern technology. Dad was preparing for a day afield, and she was manning the fort.

I miss my Mum. Too often she is only the other person in the room when having my morning phone call with Dad, as her mind is easily cloudy these days and he is craving human contact - but this one morning over the weekend she picked up the phone and she was sharp and wisps of the witty woman that she was fluttered in.

Bookending such a lovely weekend was EOFY workloads that can only be understood if you have ever worked in a finance team in the trenches at this time of year.

* I just read about Palau Constitution Day and I am starting to think that the world is being rewritten by AI and/or it is time for me to sleep.

Night All.