under the grill

The week in review:

The sun here (when it decides to come out) is lethal. It feels like being under the grill. I think in future I will come to NZ in the winter, renting my house out for the Italian summer...

Zacchi received a gift this week from a Kiwi fan he hasn't even met... a gorgeous kiwiana quilt with doggy paw prints on the reverse side! Talk about spoilt... so last night I let Bonnie sleep on the carpet in my room, can't have her feeling neglected!

I am loving the avocadoes, the feijoa drink (added that just for homesick Kiwis), the home baking and the flower gardens. The other night I breathed deeply all the way home from my sister's house, dwelling on the scents of the gardens, the freshly cut grass, the smell of the sea coming in on a gentle breeze... all that was lacking was Zacchi on a lead!

The supermarkets seem to have a huge range of foods. I guess everything is relative; I am staying in a city, not in a hillside village so choice is to be expected. But there is just so much to choose from, it makes shopping even more of a chore. So far my NZ shopping has extended to buying a pair of jeans that fit the antipodean figure, some art supplies, and now two trips to the supermarket. I am drawn to the olives and the salami, wanting a taste of home. I miss the bread of my Italian town. Sorry New Zealand, this wonderful soft bread just doesn't do it for me! And the cost of wine here - shock horror! It's enough to turn a girl teetotal! Unless it is a special occasion the most I pay in Italy for a bottle of very pleasant red wine is 1.89 euro.

The painting is progressing well enough but still a lot to do... using oils I am pushing my luck time-wise, it is 40 inches by 60 inches, that's a lot of paint and a lot of detail. I have cancelled my early December holiday at the timeshare, there isn't enough time to share at the moment; perhaps I can use the week in Scotland next year. I would rather have more time getting the painting to the level I know it can be, rather than rush to meet social commitments. This is a work and family trip, after all.

However, that said, etc etc, there are lots of people I intend catching up with. It's only the beach and the spa pool and sauna I have cancelled!

This coming weekend it is off to Christchurch. I see that the temperature range is from 7 at night to 31 in the day... crazy! Summer isn't really here. It comes and goes, sun beating relentlessly if you are unlucky enough to have to be out in it, then rain and a coldish wind the next day. It's true, the world, climate and all, really has gone mad!