A hot day in the suburbs without a verandah?

I think I may have mentioned my university friend D,  "incredibly" sophisticated, for the times. Whilst I was incredibly naive, he already had life plans, which he ended up achieving (foreign postings, trilingual, well dressed, opera attending, all that). Why was he friends with me? He let me drive his car (an inherited yellow bomb, from his mother, that had the deepest clutch I've ever encountered) and gave me a red sequined handbag and clothes arranged for his mother to alter. (This does beg the question-was he trying to make me over? He worked Country Road and he did kindly, warn me when I was wearing something particularly hideous). I guess my nature, was a soothing palate.

It has been terribly hot here, so I can admit I spent the day wearing an opshop dress that really should have made it to the laundry basket. I figured the only people I'd see today were related to me, or fellow swimming pool visitees. It was another day I should have done painting with the kid, but didn't (let SIL take care of his intellectual development today, they had a massive lego session and he got to show off his "sweep" which I made for him from two cardboard rolls and masking tape; he uses it to sweep the carpet).  I lazed around having a massive internet session reading NYTimes blogs about The City (TV).

"Back in the day" (when people didn't even use that phrase), I used to love a blog about Beverley Hills 90210, written by some US guy who would intermingle weekly reviews with reminisces about his junior year spend in Europe and past loves with crappy ex boyfriends. This was when you used yahoo as a search engine and wrote down crazy long web addresses (I think you're meant to say this was before Web 2.0?? who knows). Anyhow, if I could find those reviews... my GOd! I've just experienced nostalgia for the (early) internet days. Wow.

I've only just cottoned on that blogging/writing about weekly tv series/shows is the dream job for a writer! That's why SMH Master Chef reviews became funnier/better than the series (though you would have had to watch the series to appreciate it, I didn't), and I loved The City. By Loved, I mean loved. It had a villain, a loveable dimwit, a skanky musician, a bad boy model, a mentor who gives out punchy advice, inane "jobs" in the fashion world, socialites with pretend jobs, it was great. And I got to relive it in the episode blogs. Imagine how my life would have been, if there was internet when I was first watching Charles in Charge or Family Ties?

Reread A Fortunate Age by Joanna Smith Rakoff. Makes me want to reread The Group by Mary McCarthy. I tried to read Siri Hustvedt's first book, but it disinterested me and I even flipped to the ending (a bad bad habit, that I do far too frequently) and even knowing the plot ending didn't redeem it. Started reading BIRD by Sophie Cunningham and it seemed good, but I got it in my head that I should return all my library books to Burnside Council before they fine my ass, and of course I kept the dud books at home and returned the interesting ones! Have been reading the 50/60/70 and 70/80/90 books about iconic Australian architecturally designed homes. Home envy, big time. Fortunately many of the homes weren't about being mansions for rich people (although obviously owning an architecturally designed home is the preserve of wealthy), but about being well thought out in design, using the elements, responding to light and day, shade and sun, east and west and using views of the external environment to remove the need for extra rooms. One of my favourite houses had the same kitchen for 40 years, the same economical kitchen cabinetry (funnily enough, many kitchens were designed as lean machines, ship galley style) and bedrooms were also all small, ship style-with a built in shelf about the bed, built in desk and cupboard, with the views outwards to the deck being the feature.

All this reading, about the great Australian environment, reminded me of outback trips, the massive heat and the limited reprieve. You might have a water hole, a town pool, but it's a shared experience, few backyard pools. The verandah is so essential and otherwise you flock to the local hotel, which has also been designed with a verandah to keep the interior cool. And I thought about my home,  it's modest four rooms, but an amazing view across of parklands with diverse living creatures and plants I don't know the names for. With this in mind, I went to the Botanical Gardens to meet a friend . My kid ran around, delighted with the open space and the safety of a car-less environment and found another family interesting, who fortunately felt the same way and interacted with him. (Later, that evening, we visited Liv and her guests assumed my kid was Italian, owing to his lavish hand gestures and gesticulations). 

We visited the garden of health, which is made up of all the plantings that have been researched from different eras and are known for their medicinal qualities. As the signs said, Plants are the pharmacy of 80% of the world's people who depend on traditional medicine as their main form of health care" and "A wise man out to realise that health is his most valuable possession" (Hippocrates).