Three weeks to go till I’m on my way to China. I have many things to do, small jobs around the house and garden but because it is so hot it’s really difficult to get motivated. Lying in the hammock watching the world go by is a nice way to pass the hours and I’ve been reading a fair bit. I’ve been going to second hand books shops and picking up books to take with me to China, I’ll end up giving them to my friend Chynna but I’m reading them first. The new rocking chair is great and with it being at the front windows the breeze, when there is one, comes straight through. I really enjoyed this book, something very different from Henning Mankell.
The garden is looking not bad. There have been a few showers and so everything is green and the weeds just keep on appearing and growing at an alarming rate. I’ve had plants that have been in the ground for years and they are being surpassed by weeds that appear overnight. After being away for two months I’ll come back to a jungle unless the rain stops. Rebecca across the road will hopefully cut the grass for me; she has a ride on lawn mower which can get the job done in a fraction of the time.
It was Chinese New Year yesterday. Many messages from friends and I’m really looking to catching up them after 4 years. I deliberately waited till after the New Year to travel and just as well I did, the weather has been playing havoc with planes, trains and automobiles. The Station that I will use in Shanghai cancelled many trains the other day, but hopefully by the time I arrive the weather will have warmed up a bit and the travel chaos will have dissipated.
Today is the anniversary of the death of my Mother, Feb 11. I remember exactly where I was when I got the phone call at around 6 in the morning to tell me that she had taken a stroke and that is was very serious. I was working at Austar on the tech help desk. I managed to fly home a couple of days later and Catherine and I met in Singapore and flew onto Heathrow where we picked up a car and drove north. We got to see Mum and say goodbye before she slipped away a few hours later.
Tomorrow, 12Feb is the funeral of my good friend Stephen Madden, unfortunately I am unable to get home but I will be able to watch the service online. So I will have a wee dram for Mum tonight, only a wee one as I have to get up early in the morn and tomorrow evening I will have another for Steph.
Not much more to comment on, well I could comment on Israel and the genocide being committed by them but I will only get too upset and vocal and will be classed as anti-Semitic. Once I start ranting it will be hard to stop.