Recovering through ordinary things.

Today it feels good to be relatively idle. This morning I had a physio appointment. My nice young physiotherapist from NZ works wonders with my legs and feet. Some time ago I had a stress fracture of the foot when I fell up the steps from the dining room to the kitchen. I did not realise it, so kept doing things like chasing the grandchildren and their dogs and thus exacerbated the injury until I could scarcely hobble around the block. Now I am much fitter, and continue having the physiotherapy equivalent of a regular grease and oil change. I must admit I do not do my stretching exercises often or religiously enough. Mea culpa.

But my poor physio! While he was away, he tripped over his malfunctioning thong, trod on a piece of plate glass and cut THREE tendons in his foot. He's had three operations, a couple of infections, was off work for six weeks and today was his first day back. He has to wear a rigid sandal for some time to come. While he was off work, he has been watching lots of films, so he had plenty to recommend. We don't get to see many films. Partly this is due to a disparity in our tastes, and often when we resolve to go, Dr P gets tired and wimps out.

After the physio appointment I went off for my next computer lesson. It was at a pretty basic level, which will enable me to advance to other things. 

Dr P's hearing got much worse last week, and he needs to have his ears cleaned out. The first ear gets done tomorrow, and then we start work on the second - using drops to soften all this evil ear wax. This hearing loss, which I devoutly hope will be temporary, has made the domestic environment difficult. Dr P needs the TV, etcetera, turned up to volume levels which I find physically distressing, and which for all I know might be damaging my own hearing. While we were at the GP's the other day I got him to give Dr P a referral to a different audiologist, to check out whether a new hearing aid might give Dr P better results. He wears only one of his hearing aids, as the second one won't fit easily into his ear, so he has just given up on it. Surely there must be a better solution. It is worth a try, anyway.

Another reason for welcoming idleness is that my second daughter visited for the weekend, with her two children. I have not seen them since Christmas, so it was lovely to see them all. My daughter had racing photographic work to do, so I minded the children for a good seven hours (it felt longer), and by the end of the day I was rooted! My granddaughter, who is, she told me, a BIG girl now, has stopped having an afternoon sleep. It was a rainy day, so options for entertainment were rather limited. We went to the park, via the harbour foreshore, where we spied some men fishing, so my grandson happily questioned them about their fishing techniques and prospects of success. Then we went to a park, and after that went to one of my favourite cafes, where they make and sell the most delicious gelato you can find in this city, and had coffee and babychinos. The kids really wanted marshmallows with their babychinos, but this cafe does not provide marshmallows, so they had to make do with froth. Froth is pretty good fun, actually. We had a nice time together, but there were a couple of times when the squabbles between the two of them required stern grandmotherly words, and a couple of times I sent one or the other into the corner. 

I managed some weeks ago to find a very pretty dress for my granddaughter, so gave it to her. She was very thrilled, and insisted on wearing it all day - and again the next day. It suited her: she looked graceful and gorgeous. A certain amount of skirt swirling and twirling went on. Her mother says she is developing a passion for pink (and purple). (This dress is blue and white.) She is certainly very keen on pretty things, and eyes my necklaces and beads with true appreciation. There are far too many tizzy clothes and over-sexualised outfits for little children, and so the things I buy her are pretty, but sensible.

Unlike her brother, she is quite indifferent to the charms of Lego. Actually, so am I. My incompetence with Lego makes me feel quite inferior, and I cannot excuse this on the grounds of there not being any Lego around when I was a child.  I just don't think in terms of putting small things together in order to make large and complicated objects. However, combining ingredients into delicious meals comes fairly readily. All of this makes me think about innate characteristics.