Back to the family wedding last Saturday, this is a video of two-year old Denver stealing the show with his dancing!
Oh to have just a fraction of that energy!
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Family Wedding in Scotland
Yet another event I had to miss because of the pandemia. My nephew was married yesterday, and his ten-year old nephew was Best Man! I sent an email, which he read out, and they sent me the video of his speech. He did so well I thought I’d share it with you.
Jackson’s sister and cousin, Harper and Parker, were the flower girls. And Denver, who is two years old, was the littlest kiltie!
Hello again!
First, thank you to those who wrote to say they missed my blog posts and wondered if I was OK. I’m happy you enjoy the posts, and I’m happy to say I’m also very much OK—just lazy!
Honestly, I think I’ve given in a bit to the malaise that the plague has brought on us all, or at least many of us. It seems the less I do, the less I want to do. But I have a new mantra that I hope will help. Next time I hear myself thinking, “I can’t be bothered”, I’ll answer myself, “It’s not a bother.” I might still not do whatever it is, but at least it’s not just because I’m lazy.
I have several photos of events I should have blogged about that have taken place over recent weeks, so I’ll be dripping them up this week until I catch up.
I hope you are all well.
From My Online Writer’s Group Exercise
A few weeks ago I shared something I had written during my Friday evening writers’ group meeting. Someone brings two prompts, one fiction and one non-fiction, and we have ten minutes to write something, which we then read to the others. There’s no critique, just a fun exercise. I think most of what I’ve written is total rubbish—although the others have written brilliant stuff—but sometimes I come up with something I think you might enjoy, so I’ve decided to share them with you occasionally. They’ll always have this headline, so if you have absolutely no interest in my Friday night ramblings, you can just skip them. Here’s the first one—this is non-fiction and came out of something that had been annoying me that day.
Prompt: I may not know the outcome but I want to know the process.
Honest to God, I thought I was blond. I’ve been what I thought was blond for forty years.
At first I had the colour done at the hairdresser, but I stopped that because of the process. It was too damned long. Giving up one Saturday morning every month to sit for three hours through fiirst the bleaching and then the colouring, all the while breathing deeply of a variety of foul and noxious chemicals. And at that time I was a low level employee in a small company, and this process cost me a fair chunk of my salary.
But although I hated the process, I did love the outcome. Something shifted in my personality when I suddenly changed from mousy brown to platinum blond. Of course I was 22 then, so there was no question it was blond and not white.
Then I decided to try it at home. I bought some cheap product in the drugstore that had to be sprayed on. It was hard to manipulate, so I persuaded my teenage brother to do it for me. It came out a fascinating shade of pea green. So although the process was much easier, the outcome wasn’t acceptable.
I’ve been doing this myself now with the same product and shade for approximately 40 years, going along in the happy belief that I was a blond. It’s the same colour as that first time that was obviously platinum blond, but now apparently (so I’ve been told by two friends this week) people are seeing it as white or silver!
So what’s the difference? Well obviously it’s the face underneath! My 22 year-old face naturally projected platinum blond, but the face of today apparently says white. Something must be done. I must find a different product or a different colour, but how will it turn out?
I already know the process, but I want to know the outcome.
___
FYI, I did try another colour, and everyone agrees I am once again a blond!
El Día de La Patria
May 25 is a very special day in Argentina. It commemorates the 1810 May Revolution and the beginning of independence from Spain. Usually there are parades and other celebrations, and the whole city of Buenos Aires seems draped in the celeste y blanco of the beautiful national flag. The colours represent the sea and the sky, and the sun represents the Inca Sol de Mayo, and legend has it that the sun broke out when the new Argentine government was declared.
Of course we are in total lockdown, so no parades for the second year in a row. But my friends have all been sending the traditional greetings on line, and let’s hope we can celebrate properly next year.
Viva La Patria!
I’m vaccinated — at last!
After the long delay because I confessed to being allergic to Penicillin, last Friday the hospital called me, and this morning I went and had my jab. I feel so relieved. I know it will be twelve weeks before I get my second one, but at least the process is started.
I wish I could say the same for everyone else in Argentina, but we have still only vaccinated 17% of the population, and they are only down to the sixty-plus age group. As my friend Daniel, who is in his mid-fifties, said the other week, “I’ll BE 70 by the time I get vaccinated!”
I think the pace is picking up just a bit, so I’m feeling optimistic.
My new book is out!
Today is my birthday, and although I wasn’t sure it would happen on this date, I’m happy to say my new book is out!
It’s a business fable about the importance of telling your story, so if you know someone who is thinking of writing a book but never seems to get around to it, please tell them about my book!
If you’d like to see it, here’s the link:
Also available on all the other Amazon platforms.
I’m excited!
Afternoon on the Port
Today is Friday, and a beautiful late summer day. I worked hard this morning, but then played hookie for the rest of the day!
Venetia and I took an Uber (since we’re not allowed to use public transportation) to Olivos, where Cecilia lives. Cecilia and her dog, Mora, met us there and we walked over to the Port of Olivos and had lunch at a lovely parilla called La Nelly. As we are also currently barred from eating inside restaurants, the outside tables were all full and we were lucky to get one.
After lunch we walked down by the marina and had a look at all the boats. There’s a recurring problem here with these water lilies, which reproduce rapidly and can end up choking the waters and the boats can’t get out. It looks as if it hasn’t reached that point yet, but somebody had better get them out of there before too long!
We are having an incredible run of beautiful sunny days, even though we are into fall now. So we are taking advantage of it while we can.
A little ticked off
I just realized I forgot to post this during the week, probably because I’m not focusing on it.
I got my appointment to be vaccinated last week, 8.45 am bright and early at the Cultural Centre, just five minutes from home. I showed up in good time, and things seemed to be running very smoothly, everybody very nice and helpful.
I waited only five minutes before being taken into the consulting room. They asked about allergies, and when I admitted I was allergic to penicillin it all changed. I had to go see the doctor, and she told me if you are allergic to anything, you have to be vaccinated in a hospital setting! Bummer. Now I’m waiting for a new appointment, which she said would be in a couple of weeks. Assuming, of course, that they haven’t run out of vaccine again!
Oh well, it’s just a delay, not the end of the world. And I think it’s good that they are being cautious. But I’m still ticked off.
My New Chairs
I’ve been wanting to buy new dining room chairs for a while, and I decided I’d do it as soon as the painting was finished. So the other day I went to the store where I had seen them. I had to take a taxi, because in the second Covid wave we are not allowed to take the bus—which is a big deal here because everyone I know uses public transport even if they have cars.
Anyway, I bought the chairs.
“When can they be delivered?” I asked.
“In an hour,” said the guy.
“No, no, I need time to get home!”
“OK, how about two hours?”
And sure enough, two hours later they arrived. As my friend Alejandro said, tongue firmly planted in cheek, Argentine efficiency!!
Anyway, the legs were a light blond wood, which I didn’t like. So I painted them black, as you can see in the photo. I like them much better like that, and I’m very pleased with them. Like them?