Back to Nearly Normal

The drive back to Christchurch from Alex is fraught till I pull out of the drive. It's the loading of the car. I carry too much stuff and end up cramming it into every nook and cranny. A crazy habit I've developed because I don't pack bags. I create piles which I have to find spots for. It's messy, chaotic and stressful, borne of the fact I consider both Alex and Christchurch home and keep stuff for life in both. Like Tui and Lionel so many old people have retired down here and when they die their families have a clear out. Nic and Rob comment on the junk Tui and Lionel have but I don't see it that way. So Alex is second hand shopping paradise for me. There's also amazing fruit in Central Otago. And art. Today I load up with assorted items, not the worst I've been. 

It's hot and the drive is tiring. When Kahu and I walk to the water at Lake Pukaki, we're dive bombed by terns. They're nesting and very vulnerable. We back off. Another three hours in the car and we're home to Chris's. I'm dead keen to see the entry tiles but have to drop Kahu at a party, miffed that he only has beer, not high alcohol sugar water, and only 8. He'd binge if I enabled him. Since he doesn't yet have a job, I'm buying. The entry tiles have been worth waiting for the colours are muted and soft, and the green encaustic lifts the pattern from the middle. Classic Glasgow with a Kiwi twist. I clean and tidy till the light fades. My home is taking shape and it feels like mine.