Monday, August 29, 2011

Grass grows on the weirs

Last week was an unsatisfactory week. 

All sorts of traumas and botherings have visited my professional life and personal life. One bothersome episode is manageable; unfortunately I have had a herd of them. For example: migraines. I collected five in the last eight days. Here's another example: goji berries. 


There is no need to fear goji berries, or so I thought. I was mixing them in with my cereal in the morning, scoffing them in the afternoon as a cheerful tasty scarlet snack. Well, the pack said they were full of antioxidants and quite likely to make you bionic. I'm a sucker for that kind of marketing. 


Meanwhile, as I chewed the goji berries, my nose bled continuously. Bruises appeared on my arms and legs, first little blue patches but turning regularly into great big stains. And I wasn't' growing bionic. I was getting more exhausted and more pale. 


Turns out goji berries, or the little red devil berries as they are now known in this house, contra-indicate with warfarin, a drug I take in large doses daily. I was lucky I didn't dissolve. 


Here's more bothersome: On Friday I was invited to very posh drinks. Which was all well and good but I was dressed in my casual Friday clothes. I went anyway because I heard a rumour they were serving party pies. Alas, I was under-dressed and there no pies. I made up for it later by having Friday night noodles with my lovely spouse. 


That is an underdressed woman wondering how many kilos of noodles she could eat before the kitchen closes. (Answer: not as many as she thought she could.) 


And here's what she looks like when her spouse's phone does something very smart: 
My spouse's phone is about as smart as my phone. We have to keep them separated for if they were to ever meet we're pretty certain they would take over the world. 


After a fairly vile week, I had to then put in a somewhat vile and stressful weekend. I dressed for comfort and agility should I need to make a quick getaway.


You're seeing an Old Navy jacket from SanFrancisco, a striped top from Zara, a vest from Gap, J.Brand jeans and a Prada bag that always makes me feel capable. 


But it's not all bad, even though mostly it is. There are a couple of respites. Like this gorgeous silk crepe de chine scarf I found for nine dollars in a vintage clothing shop in Newtown on Saturday afternoon: 
And it's nearly spring. The sweet peas are here already, and they smell glorious. 
Those colours just about put everything right.