A few days of glorious rain in the Central Highlands has necessitated the postponement of the Comet Agricultural Show, so I unexpectedly have the weekend off. I'm torn. The rain is so welcome. I'm disappointed not to be spending a busy and enjoyable weekend covering a great event. I'm relieved that I don't have to do that in drizzle and slopping around in the mud. I hope there's an opportunity to reschedule so we don't miss out.
Today is my Dad's birthday, and also Bo's birthday. Bo
is 5 today, and the rain has been traumatic for him. He's not a fan of
water, and having it constantly falling from the sky makes him uneasy.
It's like someone is trying to bath him and hiding isn't forcing them to
give up. He had a tooth removed earlier in the week so the birthday
gift of a bone is on hold, in favour of soft food until he heals. I made
him a cake for his first birthday (one of those dog safe recipes), but
he wasn't a fan, so meat related gifts have been the norm since. He got
to spend the day inside with me, so he seemed as though things were okay
in his world. When we heard that Bo had been born on my Dad's birthday
Cody toyed with the idea of naming him "Granddad" - I'm pleased that
didn't stick. I can't believe he's five!
"Gwanddad" is a bit more than five. As usual, when I
called to wish him Happy Birthday he was working. This year he wasn't
fixing a truck tyre. He seemed to be offering advice regarding the
painter's high pressure cleaner that they had pulled apart. It sounded
technical, but he assured me that said painter would be responsible for
the box of extra pieces that they ended up with after reassembly, since
he was "helping". "The Gulf Grey" (the name bestowed by a friend in the context of Gulf Grey Safaris pig hunting expeditions) is always busy. That's probably where I get it from.
As usual I haven't sent a gift ahead of time. Most years
I do Mother's Day and Dad's birthday gift giving at the same time, when
I next see them. The problem that I have is that anything that I would
love to buy them costs more than I can afford and/or is too difficult to
arrange as a surprise and if they knew they would shut me down because
they "don't need anything". For a while I was contributing to Dad's
"Next Overseas Hunt/Taxidermy" fund, but thanks to Covid there are
currently no confirmed plans for that. I wonder how much a defibrillator is... He's fit for a man in his seventies, but walking through the mountains on a hunt can take it out of you. Last time he took along an Ambulance officer. (He chooses his friends wisely.) One year I bought him a pair of compression pants to help with driving for two days after walking for three. He looks like a frog standing on it's back legs in that gear, but I think they helped.
I wanted to send him to a concert once. It was John
Fogarty (who he loves), but he refused, saying that he much prefers the
DVD that my brother gave him because he can pause it, rewind it, watch
it every night if he wants to, and go to bed if he's too tired to watch
till the end. He doesn't really use his Netflix subscription, preferring
to watch YouTube clips of Billy Etbauer riding broncs in the 90's and early 2000's or
skits from The Two Ronnies. He still watches free-to-air TV, which is usually "Do you
want to win a million" (Mum's grandmother used to call it that, so that's what we all call it) or re-runs of M*A*S*H. I know that he watches
these because he will occasionally ring me to tell me how a
contestant didn't know the answer (he watches it on mute so that he doesn't have to listen to the supposedly relatable stories - he's only there for the questions, and I am in complete agreement - my reality TV rule of thumb is 'Do the thing and move on' - we've all got other, more interesting things to do), or remind me of a particularly amusing episode that's been on for the umpteenth time. Cody and I
have been watching the early seasons of M*A*S*H lately and he is
amused, annoyed and impressed in equal measure that I remember some of
the lines from most of the episodes. I think it's the most aired series
in the world, and watching those early episodes again I marvel that it's
the case, given the attitudes around women of those time periods (when
it was set and when it was made). The paradox of that is probably a
topic for another day.
Back to Dad. It's impossible to come up with a gift idea
that reflects how much we love and appreciate him, so we'll probably
settle for a few cartons of wine when I next go home, as many tins of
dolmades and olives as I can get my hands on and enjoy spending time
together. I'm one of those people who really likes hanging out with
their parents. I hope it's been a good day Dad and there was enough
cake.
Last week's 52Frames topic was awesome for me
timing-wise. It was Flat Lay, and was a two birds, one stone situation
for me. Here's the contents of my dried flower frame workshop kit. I was
thinking of adding it as a product to sell if the workshop went well,
so now I have images for advertising.
This week is a different story. Architecture. With the
rain around I didn't like my chances of getting out and about to find
interesting subject matter. Luckily I insisted that Cody not sell his
Lego, so I'm going that way instead. I think it's going to be a good way
to while away some of the weekend.
It's been quite a party, ain't it
Purple Fairy
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