A hot summer

We celebrate four years in Australia as January turns to February. 

The summer started off hot and continues so, with no sign that the high temperatures are going away anytime soon. And he chooses to ignore the signs for climate change - we all know who I am talking about. My sense of anger and exasperation spill over, aided and abetted by the heat and a lingering chest infection, so how to find solace indoors for a while at least? 

Some serious spring cleaning - sofa covers washed and cupboards emptied and re lined.Bottles and jars long since expired relegated to the dustbin. Tidying up of wardrobes and a quick appraisal of what stays and what goes. 

Reading a good book - The Birdman's Wife by Melissa Ashley, so appropriate for my life here as I familiarise myself with Australian birds. It is the story of Eliza Gould, a talented illustrator who accompanied her husband on a two year journey to Tasmania and to Australia to capture, classify and illustrate Australian Bird life of which so little was known in the 1800s. Seeing how difficult it was for women in the 1830s to have families, travel, work and enjoy life compared with what we have today gives me a renewed sense of comfort and gratitude. 

Polishing the silver - in fond memory of my all singing Nepali housekeeper Kumari and my mother who I remember would bring it out on the odd occasion when we had important guests. When my mother gave me this ornate and over the top set I banished it to the back of a cupboard until I went to India where it could be displayed and looked after as befits it. The question was, now in Australia, would I be equally happy to display it and look after it and the answer is an emphatic yes. I put on good music, make a cup of tea, lay out newspapers and set out to polish this thing till it shines back my very face. Kumari always did this job with a song on her lips and a smile on her face and so whenever the time comes, I think of it as my gift from her. Even the daily jobs can be turned the way you want. To find something good in them. And while I was busy doing that I found two faces.  I looked at them with some amusement. Why would the silver smith put them there ? What did they represent ? Will obviously need to find out more but in the meantime here they are ...I admit these look a little cross but could they be extra hot from the inside ...