balancing act

I’m at the kitchen window waiting for my coffee to brew when I see this squirrel shin up a bamboo pole and then do a high wire act across to the bird feeder.  He’s engrossed enough in his task to allow me to retreat, dash upstairs for my camera and get back to my vantage point.  I don’t do squirrel photos as a rule - haven’t the patience.  But this one stayed put for some time.  Indeed, I packed it in before he did.

We have our own balancing act to manage - a mix of relief and elation with a dash of panic thrown in.

Anniemay’s youngest, Dan was due to return to the UK after almost 2 years away, on June 1st.  He had planned to finish his big tour of Asia in Nepal and fly home from Kathmandu.  But fortunately he was in India when the earthquake struck and we’ve been spared the anxiety that so many others are still experiencing.  He’ll now fly home on May 17th and stay with us.  Bringing with him,  an as yet unknown (to us), girlfriend.  For an undisclosed length of time.

So that’s the relief and elation bit.  However - thinking we had a month to prepare, we decided last week to modify the bathroom and fit a shower unit to make life easier for our additional guests.  Now, this morning we discover we have less than 2 weeks to complete the job.  Panic.

We also discover that during his time in Asia, Dan has become vegetarian.  The stockpile of sausages in the freezer, bought in anticipation of the return of this particular prodigal son, are of little consequence compared with what this news will do to the economy - particularly the share price of KFC.  I would sell now if you have invested in the fast food or mechanically-recovered meat industry.