Compensation

I''m trying to be sensible; if something cataclysmic/wonderful/astonishing happens in the next 5.50 hours I'll try to edit this post, but it's only 18.49 and the curry is brewing (do curries brew) and I'm going to try to finish this unremarkable entry before I'm summoned to eat it. 

A grey but dry morning has been followed by a grey and wet afternoon, and I woke with another bout of existential doom and convinced that a tooth had just come out and was rattling around in my mouth. (It turned out to be the remains of a Gaviscon tablet that I'd chewed an hour or so earlier in a moment of need; I suppose theoretically I could've choked to death on it, but I didn't.) I rescued it and drank my tea and did my Italian and tried, unsuccessfully, to phone the surgery for an appointment.

Half an hour later and still not through I was dressed and ready to go down in person with the prescription forms I'd forgotten yesterday and try battering the door down, but one last call got me through ("You are sixth in the queue!" - triumphant voice). I still took the opportunity to go out before the rain, and came home to enjoy my breakfast in peace. 

The day was definitely improved by a long and hilarious phone call with an old school friend who now does the same sort of stuff in our sister church on Bute; we have much in common when it comes to church matters and a trust born of a 62 year friendship, which makes frank discussion possible. By the time I hung up I had tears running down my face from laughing far too much. I also felt much better. 

I spent the rest of the day sorting out arrangements of various kinds - social and business as well as personal - and the afternoon marching wetly along the west Loch Eck path, relying on the trees to protect us from some of the wettest moments. I saw three red squirrels on the path; one has a distinctive white tail which must make life difficult when it comes to hiding. There are definitely fewer squirrels in my life this year, so it was cheering to see them. 

The curry has reached a point where I'm being summoned for a G&T, so I shall desist. Photo is the heart of a nasturtium that I brought in to brighten a tiny vase. I think it's magical.