From the wet to the dry

I've gone from soggy humid and damp in NZ to blisteringly hot and dry back in Canberra - it's that point in February where everything is completely desiccated and there is no point in doing anything except waiting it out. The hibiscus are wilting; although they perk up quite quickly if you put the hose on them.



The grass is yellow, the leaves have fallen off the roses, the trees are drooping and washing dries in the time it takes to do a second load. The photo below isn't my grass - we went round to friends' for a bbq lunch today - but it's the same colour. Because of my toes I am not able to do any exercise except swimming - so I took myself down to the local pool to do some lengths yesterday afternoon. It was beautiful. Nice and cool (it's an outdoor pool) and not many people there. I think everyone has given up on summer, and gone to the movies, where there is air-conditioning.



My flight from Sydney back to Canberra was delayed a few hours on Wednesday so instead of a civilised nine pm return it was nearer to midnight. And up early on Thursday for another parliamentary sitting day, then a day of public hearings on Friday, then a very welcome fish and chips by the lake on Friday night with friends before eleven hours sleep and starting to feel human again! I even did a little bit of machine quilting yesterday which made me very happy. I am not at all looking forward to hopping on a plane again in a couple of hours (a day in Adelaide, then a day in Perth) but it is part of the work at the moment, and I'm not really complaining. Perth is much further away from Canberra than NZ is, which just doesn't seem right to me.