(which I am recording, so the subsequent back to work crash is somewhat dissipated).
My, what a lovely weekend, possibly the best I've had in MONTHS!
Friday night became unexpected date night. An impromptu "let's have a drink" fell through, leaving Geoff and I in the situation of not yet eating no dinner at 8pm and no groceries in the house. We went up to our (increasingly favouritest) Italian restaurant on the main street (Vespa on Victoria Road, it's lovely). We ate lovely home-made pasta. We shared a bottle of wine and a creme brulee. We canoodled in the corner.
I can't actually remember an evening together like that in a very long time, which I think is possibly the result of the stop-start long-distance thing we've had to put up with since November last year. Now he lives down here, and we're in the same house, the routines and sense of security means we're both happy and able to be more open and relaxed.
Saturday I acted on last weekend's decision to make sure I was out of the house by 1pm. I realised that sunlight, fresh air and walking makes me happy (surprise!). This was following an episode the previous weekend where we didn't leave the house until 3pm and I became a bit resentful.
There is a park at the end of our street that leads onto Glades Bay, with a lovely walk through the remnant bushland, mangroves and local creeks. I suspect this will become a favourite track, as it allows me to be in trees, smelling the smells of a Sydney coastal creek system, watching the local birds (mostly crows), and clambering around sandstone rocks. Must remember to take the camera next time. The weather was gorgeous - sunny, warm-ish for winter, not too windy. Perfectly pleasant for a walk around a bay.
Saturday night we headed into town for birthday drinks with Geoff's good mate at the Opera Bar. Deciding that a cocktail was my preferred drink of the evening I decided to try the Honey Amaretto Sour. YUM! Refreshing, as a mojito is, but balanced through the honey and amaretto sweetness. Could have guzzled them all evening, apart from the price...
Sunday we (again) headed into town for Yum Cha with DrNik and his Italian friend. LOTS of tasty tasty chinese dim sum and tea. Only downside is yum cha in Sydney seems to have become quite expensive, at around $30-$40 a head the last two places we've been to. This now makes it a nice-special-occasion option, rather than a random how-about-it? option. Oh well.
Again the weather was lovely, so Geoff and I then wandered though Pitt St mall nosing around for things we needed for the house. This lead to a side trip to Top Ryde shopping centre to order some chairs (so we don't always have to sit on the couch, and guests don't have to sit on the floor - bonus!), and the discovery that Top Ryde has a HUGE chinese grocery and and Aldi. Our level of enjoyment/excitement is perhaps sad [1], or perhaps and indication of the happy domesticity that's occurring. I'd like to think it's the second. Certainly the second option makes me smile.
After an emotionally choppy year (or two), it's nice to finally have some stability and to be happy-comfortable again. The ability to go for walks, enjoy date nights, and be excited by Chinese groceries stores is, to me, and indication that stuff is getting better. The effects of the emotional burn-out have not completely disappeared, but these are all good signs.
[1]One of the second "dates" that Geoff took me on, was a walk from his place in London to the local HUGE chinese grocery warehouse for the purchasing of ingredients for dinners in future. This was a great sign of compatibility, as a chinese grocery store is one of my favourite places to be.
