peacemaker gypsy

Violation

I have violated the rules and regs by painting the garden walls on my terrace non-rulation colours (i.e. not baby-cack yellow).  Somebody can see it from outside the lot (by peering over walls I guess) and the BC committee has sent me a letter - a particularly grim sort of letter (I guess they figure that it is more formal that way). 
Anyway I was disproportionally angry for about 48 hours before I figured out why I was so angry.  Because even when I was painting it I figured I was sailing close to the wind - but given the half painted walls revealed by getting rid of the very old and gnarled umbrella trees - something had to be done: so it wasn't the directive itself.

On day 3 it stopped raining and normally I would have eaten breakfast on the terrace and suddenly I didn't want to venture out there - and that was when it hit me - the people who had to peer in to see the walls (because they are really only visible from one flat - opposite) had in fact violated my space - just because it is outdoors dosn't make it any less my terrace - after all no-one has physical access to it except through my house so ...

Anyway I am over it now - cannot repaint it until I return from the next lot of travel (delightfully worded as "reinstate the original" - whereupon I was tempted to respond by saying that the half-painted two-tone walls streaked with the dirt of years is actually really really hard to reinstate - but I resisted).  But after the travel my lovely trendy purple wall will be baby-cack yellow ... again.

Slowly coming together

I have been mooky for some considerable time.  Given my bizarre *lifestyle* (snort) the doctor ordered a range of bloodtests that made the pathology nurse look like a close relation to the Count (Dracula).  Result?  Apparently I am as healthy as a horse.  Oh a few "anomalies" (what the hell does that mean?) but generally ... healthy but no explanation for the falling down fatigue (except well - fatigue really).  So not being given to reactive, process-of-elimination type diagnosis I have started a more proactive regime of my own.

The last few bits of my little 'ouse are slowly coming together: yesterday Stu put up my curtain rails so that my lovely French linen curtains are hung and a couple of weeks ago my sculpture was installed (bought several years ago and unseen until said weeks ago).  The photo arrived from the artist this morning (as I have no camera) so there was no point in boasting about it until now.  Apart from the fact that for a while I felt like I was living in an art gallery - we (the sculpture and I) have learned to accommodate each other.  I have so far resisted the temptation to hang my freshly ironed clothes off the 'twigs'.

I am desperately trying to lose some weight so that I can maybe fit into my winter clothes (unworn for several years as I have not experienced a winter) for Japan and ...

I have a personal trainer called Mick the muscle man (behind his considerably shapely back) - who will either kill me or produce some incredibly stronger, fitter and thinner(I hope) version of me.

The proactive approach takes more intestinal fortitude than I care to dwell on but ... so far it is working better than the "all the blood tests are clear" approach.  And my life is slowly coming together ... now if only I could say the same thing for the book.

Vengeance is mine

Already we have somebody (Catch the Fire Ministries - presumably no pun intended) claiming that the bushfires are God's retribution on Victoria for their abortion laws.  Apart from the incredible crassness of saying this now - why not in October when he had the 'vision' - why is it that people feel qualified to decide how God is judging things? 

Why is it that for the years when Australia was having its economic boom - I don't recall anybody saying this was God's reward for us being good (thank heavens - it is just as tacky).

It is the making over of God into a petty human image that bothers me - not just theologically but in terms of the sheer arrogance and, in this case, appallingly bad taste.

Fires and floods

My heart goes out to the Victorians and the Queenslanders who are suffering.  The fires in Victoria are truly horrific - and the most horrific part is the suspicion that many of them have been deliberately lit.  The loss of life and property is stunning and it is impossible to understand how somebody could even contemplate starting a fire.  All we can do is pray for the cool change - and support to those in need - and the firefighters who have been working so long and in such despair.

The blur of January

Already we are into the second month of the year and have I blogged?  No, obviously not.
It is not as if there were not things to write about - but between general exhaustion, houseguests, house improvements, grandchildren and ... it is summer dammit: I have not been able to muster the necessary intestinal fortitude.

And now it is February and in a couple of weeks I fly out of the country ... again.

But in the blur of January I did an awful lot of driving - playing tourist guide to the house guests; playing chauffeur to the grandsons and finding my way around a city I laughingly call my own.  In this time several issues made me want to blog by voicemail (too tedious to type).

• In a country supposedly concerned about climate change and our collective carbon footprint - there are an amazing number of shiny new black cars on the road.  In fact pretty much every new car I have seen has been black - all makes and models and all "any colour as long as it is black".  Now given the heat of this particular summer - every one of those cars has to be using aircon 100% of the time and as they are all incredibly clean they must also be washed very frequently (how - with the water restrictions?)
• I am driving a very distinctive hire car and therefore am openly considered hopeless on the road (as in have no idea where I am going).  So a certain amount of aggressive driving from others was not unexpected. However for two weeks I was driving my daughter's family car and the attitude was not markedly different.  Given that I do not own the cars I have been driving; I drive very defensively (trained well by driving in Kenya) and I am amazed that if I can tell that the driver in front of me is going to have to merge (because his/her lane runs out) surely others can tell the same thing about me.  Apparently not.  Perhaps the road is full of illiterate drivers.
• I did a little survey and pretty much every really aggressive and obnoxious driver was driving either a Mercedes or a BMW.  Then a car cut in front of me really aggressively and I thought the theory was blown - but no - it was a Lexus.  I mentioned this to my son who said in a very dry tone "If you are gonna pay that much for a car the road is included" (or words to that effect)
• What is it about drivers with P plates?  Oh that's right - they are young and stupid - or at least that is the impression that they give.  The way they drive seems symptomatic of a deeper problem of not accepting responsibility - everything seems to be a matter for blame - and the ensuing road rage.

I am contemplating buying a car.  As I cannot afford the Mercedes range or the aggro that goes with it... I am wondering if it is not just better to support the public transport system.