Or does it?

After almost two years we thought it might be time to repot the star jasmine plants on the deck. We were right, they were totally root bound.

It was a shame to have to bash the pots, but also kinda fun.

We celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary this month, which is apparently the year to give furniture. This old wardrobe will help keep Lee’s sewing and crafts supplies safe from curious marauders…

In one of those random coincidences that happen all the time,

• we got something shipped to us wrapped in newspaper

• which had a recipe for a clafoutis, a dessert popular in France and particularly the Northern part

• which reminded me of the “far Breton”, a denser cousin of clafoutis and a favorite of mine from my time in Brest all those years ago

• so Lee made one!

It’s every bit as good as I remember, and just the thing to keep you warm for a day of backbreaking work hauling lines, mending nets, and wrestling a meager living from the cold and treacherous seas. Or mind numbing meetings, answering your email and fleshing out your cloud migration strategy. Whatevs.

Street art in Mairangi Bay. Some might question placing this outside the loading dock of the grocery store, but probably that kind of question would show a lack of artistic sensibility.

We returned to the glass studio for a half-day jewelry making workshop. The class was pretty disorganized but we got to play with fusible glass which was fun.

Ours are the two bottom left and the green teardrops on the right.

I’ve been three times now so I guess I’m a member. It’s still cold but I can say that I felt much more confident by the third swim. If you look carefully you’ll see a few hardy souls not wearing wetsuits. Yikes.

A couple of weeks ago we headed down the road to the Parnell appearance of some lighted sculptures we first saw down by the Harbour a few months back.

But wait, there’s more. The exhibit is themed around the four elements: earth water fire and air. The first week was earth, and so – obviously – there were four dancers in white thrift store ensembles with lighted accessories doing a slow-motion dance in complete silence. We lasted about five minutes because we felt like maybe there would be more. But no.

This bookish owl appeared recently on a utility box we walk by every day. Cute that it’s right across from the library.

The reading list includes a few punny titles, some of them are a real hoot!

We saw the movie Yesterday last week. (When? Last week. I thought it was yesterday…)

It reminded us just how tuneful all those Beatles songs really are. And surprisingly hard to play on the clarinet, but that’s another post.

But it wasn’t only the Beatles who knew how to write a catchy tune: Here’s Misty, grooving on a Sunday afternoon.

I finally worked up the courage to join a group of open water swimmers today for their regular Sunday swim. I’d been following them on MeetUp for a while, but hadn’t quite motivated to actually go.

It was a beautiful morning at Mairangi Bay. Water was about 14-15 degrees C. Most of me was covered in wetsuit, and that was fine after the initial OMG. But my hands and especially my toes were chilly for sure… more gear needed.

It was a big group for this bunch and for the time of year, 18 people in the water. We swam maybe 45 minutes. Swimming straight without lane lines is hard! And the presence of waves, even little ones, adds a new dimension, as does the added buoyancy from salt water and wetsuit. And then there’s the part about not stopping every few minutes to rest.

But even with all that, I enjoyed the challenge, and the camaraderie. Best part might have been the date scone after…