Complementary

Blue lobelias and orange marigolds--another perfect complementary combination. I received a planter-full of this combo the other day. The marigolds are yet to flower, but my imagination is filling in the details. We're expecting a Melbourne heat wave in the next few days: forecast of 40 today last I looked. To get that in perspective if you're not used to Celsius temperatures, it's a good few degrees above a healthy body temperature. I'm going to have to protect my little seedlings from the worst of the heat. Oh, and I planning to protect myself too. I'm patting myself of the back for my decision to pay the extra for airconditioning in the studio.

Minimal

I had great hopes for setting up my new Studio yesterday, but a set of unexpected and unwanted circumstances conspired to limit my progress. A friend was admitted to hospital right on the other side of town. It took nearly an hour each way to visit him and take him some of the basics he'll need to make his stay more comfortable. I don't enjoy freeway driving at the best of times, let alone when I'm feeling hurried and worried about someone I care about. Before that trip I had to fit in a visit to the smash repair shop for a quote. Nothing major, but after a bingle on the weekend where the car behind me failed to stop when I was waiting for oncoming traffic to clear, I was keen to get things moving to fix the damage. Add to that a couple of routine tasks to ensure next year's teaching program runs as smoothly as possible, and the day was gone.

As the day took shape and the likelihood of making an impact on the Studio move faded, I decided to do at least one small thing in that direction: I collected all my printer cartridges into the one spot and labelled the box. Not much, but it's something.

Today hasn't started brilliantly. My new airconditioning unit arrived in a flurry of bad temper. The heating and cooling unit for the studio is very welcome. The installer less so. He came earlier than expected--before my first cup of coffee!--complained about my car in the driveway and the dogs who could have been locked up if he'd come at the agreed time, and then offered to "get rid of this", as he contemptuously referred to my favourite silver princess gum tree. He's now working to install the unit in a spot that is less than ideal, but it will have to do. I guess he didn't get his plumbing licence on the strength of his communication skills! He'll be gone in an hour or so and my "climate control" will remain, so I'll get over it. Meanwhile I'll get myself another coffee and take a few deep breaths. Then I hope to get things sorted a bit more for the move.