My back today feels like it should belong to someone a great deal older than I; I spent the morning working on the topmost level of the vegetable garden terrace, stooped over ripping out clover. How I detest clay soil and clover's stubborn root system! My mood was matched somewhat by the overcast skies and light rain that fell on me all morning as I worked. I didn't mind; a little rain reminds me of home, and cloud cover means fewer damaging UV rays and a cooler temperature, both of which suit me for working outside.
Unfortunately, the rain caused all the clay and dirt from the garden to stick to the bottom of my runners, to the point where I was no longer walking on the tread of the shoes but on a layer of mud. To rectify this I went down to the river after lunch and washed the soles of my shoes, standing barefoot in knee-deep water by the bank. This is when I discovered some unwelcome co-occupants of the riverside that apparently left me alone yesterday when I was swimming because I kept moving around: mosquitos. They had a little feast of my bare arms and what was exposed of my legs; so now I have clean shoes, but welts on my forearms and knees. Whee!
My shoes clean but also wet, I put them back on, feeling some water squish in-between my toes (delightful), and went for a wander down an access road by the riverside. It dead-ended by the Waipawa Transfer Station (what in Canada could be compared to a recycling station, except they take yard waste, too), which I then had to walk out the gates of, looking as nonchalant as possible. From there it was about a ten-minute walk back to Rose Street and Skye's house, where I went to my room and flopped down on the bed for a forty-minute nap.
This afternoon was quite similar to yesterday; I went over to Maria and Mike's to do a little watering, played with the cat Flash a little, and then went up to the workshop and sewed together another ten or so squares for the quilt. After dinner tonight was somewhat interesting, however: I had found a New Zealand 2p (two pence) piece on the ground, and when I showed it to Skye she brought out her box of old coins and showed me other examples of NZ currency before the country converted to a dollar from the British pound system. In return I showed her and Finn the Canadian coins I have (everything but a twoonie) and my $5 and $20 bills. Skye was amazed that Queen Elizabeth II appears on Canadian money; I found I had a similar reaction when I showed people from the UK on the Stray Bus Canadian coins. "Really? The queen?" Canada is in the Commonwealth too, you know…
Here's hoping the weather is a little more agreeable tomorrow… this afternoon was cloudy and muggy, and being from Vancouver Island I don't deal well with humidity. Night!
~Carolyn~
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