Back in Paradise

It's hard to believe it's winter when you live here. After 2 weeks all rugged up, I returned to Geraldton, stripped down to tshirt, shorts and bare feet and went for a glorious walk along the beach with Hazel. This is the life!!The trip back was the usual horror: a walk through the rain from Wanaka Bakpaka to the busstop with too many bags and not enough hands, scenic bus ride to Queenstown Airport (gorgeous rainbows the whole way), quick checkin, board the plane, then spend three hours waiting on the tarmac as the wild winter front was blowing the wrong way for our plane to be able to take off. Found myself sitting next to Lauren, who had done the ladies' week course that I had had to cancel from, and spent the next six hours trying to work out where we knew each other from (both of us had found the other familiar on meeting earlier in the week) and discovered we'd both gone to the same kindergarten, though that isn't the connection. Strange world.

In Melbourne it was a mad scramble to collect luggage, clear customs and load onto the Perth connection. So sorry to the lady who I ran over with my trolley, it's bloody hard steering at speed at the worst of times, let alone with one arm in plaster. Huge sigh of relief once boarded, and 4 hours later arrive in Perth to be picked up by Lil and Hans whose home I crash in for the night. Next morning Hans drives me up to Scarborough to pick up my car. Scarborough has far too many stop signs and roundabouts, my god I was happy to get onto the open road and not have to do all those gear changes. Not painful, just plain awkward. 4 and a half hours later I am home at last and giving my girl a big cuddle.The garden is luscious, with lots of big juicy extra greenery which needs pulling out to let the other veges flourish. I always say Gero winters are more like English summers, warm days and cool nights, and glorious rain. Currently it's blue skies and temps in the mid 20s, but all the water tanks are full so there's been a bit of precipitation while I've been away. The broccoli is nowhere near ready, so I suspect that that'll be doomed by the warm weather and those pesky aphids, but I've buckets of Tuscan cabbage, bok choy, snow peas, tomatoes, beetroot, salad greens, eggplant and soon zucchini. Nothing like picking fresh produce straight from the garden to the kitchen!!I'm really chuffed to see that the fig has started to put out leaves, as I was worried I'd bought a dud. I am soooo looking forward to fresh figs next year. If I manage to keep it alive through the coming summer that is!! The mango, however, appears doomed, though the pawpaw is happily fruiting, and the mulberry, after being heavily pruned this year, is putting out lots of new shoots.

Great mirth at work on seeing my cast. I'd promised them I wouldn't break a leg - delivered!! Bertel says I'm too old to ski (like as if!!!) and dear Noreen brought me in a delicious Indian curry so I wouldn't have to cook. The best thing about a broken arm: no pap smears!! Fanny checks are an occupational hazard for a female GP, so the chance to get out of them for 4 weeks is fantastic!! Email to reception: please do not book me for any procedures, eg pap smears, Implanon etc. Yippee!!

Bad things about having an arm in a cast: I'm pretty helpless regarding doing any heavy work around the house. Came into sharp relief yesterday when I discovered my car tyre was flat and there was no way I could change it. Especially not on my brute of a 4x4! The boys at work helped out but it doesn't feel good realising that if that had happened on the drive up from Perth I would have been f$%^&ed!!

Am also upset that I can't get back on the bike. Certainly not the road bike, but might pull the mountain bike down and see if I can get my hand around its handlebar. My god, I might have to take up running, or join a gym!! Can still do some yoga though. Can't go swimming....

Should have called in sick and just kept skiing in New Zealand. At least I can do that with a broken arm!!