Something in my drawers

Well, my kitchen drawers of course - the ever useful bottle stopper, allowing the re-using afresh an unfinished soda water bottle. Soda is my mixer of choice for my cocktail.

Where is this leading?

I am by nature rather prone to decisiveness. I find it difficult to deal with people who are indecisive, especially when their inability to make a decision impacts on my life. In my own little world these incidences are not life or death situations. Well, not yet anyway. I am trying to gather together information from the parties necessary to enable me to make a decision about when to visit my ailing father in Scotland. This involves getting accommodation agreed, (both there and in London, which we've decided to tack on to the visit). Time is not of the immediate essence, but as the likely date for travel is August, it's always best to get these things bedded down during busy travelling periods.

At the same time, (and it involves one of the aforesaid parties), I am trying to get the green light on an investment opportunity, which has consistently been amber on the several occasions I have discussed it in the last two months. At this stage either red or green would probably not bother me. But please, no more amber. As we can see the markets around the world are behaving in a rather volatile fashion, and it would be nice to utilise the readies in some other way, if red it must be. But patience is not my virtue.

At the same time, amusing myself with other projects related to the condominium is progressing rather well, even if there are the usual indecision points to provide one with enough frustration and stress to make life more interesting.

Some days it's best to accept that things are just not going to go according to plan. This is one such day. What usually follows is a torrent of activity, and then a result. I find a conclusion, whether one likes it or not, is usually better than a stairway to nowhere.

This Mahogany and Fruitwood Architectural Model of a freestanding Spiral Staircase, raised on a circular base, h. 14", was sold at New Orleans Auction Galleries Inc for USD800 in December 2011, and the image comes from their web site.

A familiar picture

Gustav Bauernfeind, c. 1898, View of the Wadi Kelt River Valley (Wadi Qilt) in Jerusalem.

Oil on canvas. 80.5 x 100 cm. EUR23,000.00

1849. View of an Italian village, oil on metal 25 x 34.6 cm. Illegible signature. 

EUR3,300.00

Both these pictures were for sale at Galerie Bassenge in Berlin, from whence these images are taken. They reminded me of another German artist, who painted a similarly luminous picture of ruins in Sicily, and which caused me so much grief. And still does. I liked these, but the price for the Bauernfeind was prohibitive, and the pathway in the second one almost looks like a tear in the metal plate. All three pictures are of the same period, and so for me it's a rather exciting prospect that there is one of this era out there with my name on it.

On fire

The flame trees in our immediate vicinity are in full bloom, ahead of their normal cycle because

of the very hot summer we are having. In all the ten years we have lived here we seem to experience

differences in the "norm". Some years these variations are severe, (as with the flooding two years ago and the drought which preceded that). One constant is the heat, but this comes in two varieties, and this year the humidity is much lower in our summer, (which usually begins in April), and has therefore made the 38C-40C temperatures more bearable.

We both have a burning desire to alleviate the heat with a touch of frigidity, but 8C-16C in London, and raining seems to be another extreme. It is after all nearly June.

Sweet and sour

On Sunday's we squeeze oranges for our morning juice in place of the carrot cocktail on other days of the week. Prior to doing so this morning we decided to attempt our swimming ritual first in the hope that the pool would still be free of other residents. But alas, it was teeming with children, (well four), and so ploughing through the water was likely to prove an irksome experience. We never normally even consider swimming here on Sundays for that very reason. Still, there's always tomorrow, when it will be completely "ours" again.

So we returned to the juicing - a glass of orange nectar - followed by a bowl of peeled and diced golden mangoes with sliced bananas and Greek yoghurt.

As is our practice, this is followed by a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar, with the "Mother". We chill the vinegar in the fridge and dilute it with chilled water. If one isn't completely awake before, one certainly is after. The benefits of ACV are listed on Bragg's website. I have no commercial interest in promoting this product or the brand, but I can attest to feeling pretty healthy. Claims of weight loss properties may or may not be true, but it could be a factor that contributes. As well as not eating excessively and exercising like an (aged) Olympian.

As always, balance is the key.