Shielded

I won’t even begin to attempt to identify this species as there are 7000 recorded shield bugs, also known as stink bugs or chust bugs. It was chilling on a leaf next to where Gugs and I were laying in the patch of sun that hits Heidi’s garden in the middle of the day. When I could set down my phone with its constant notifications I started a book on harnessing stress in good ways, sent to me recently by my friend Justin. It seems some psychologists are coming around to the idea that instead of seeing stress as inherently bad and something to battle against, it may be a normal aspect of life that just has to be channelled in the most productive ways. We shall see what tips I can apply from the book.

A friend asked me whether I was visiting family for Easter. Erm, no, that’s not a thing at the moment and I don’t want to be shamed on social media for attempting it. Instead I’ll invest time in learning the glockenspiel by Skype or undertaking Yiddish lessons on MSN Messenger.

One of the cats at Heidi’s, Bene, is showing a modicum more interest in me, almost but not solely revolving around faux charm at mealtimes. Each morning there is that moment when the cats’ wet food has slithered and jellied into their bowls but I require ten additional seconds to chop it up with a fork, lest they be asked to expend additional energy on chewing. Their bewildered behaviour in that moment is comical. The horror that their every whim is not being catered for immediately. I’ve never known such prissy creatures as domestic cats. In the wild cats would be tearing flesh off live prey four times their size. In houses they are daunted by four inches of jelly.

Gugs and I took a long stroll around Grantchester meadows in t-shirts whilst having interesting conversations about the male and female psyches and the need to make a degree of peace with how people are, rather than chastise each other for differences. She mentioned a guy she’d shown me a photo of a few days ago and imagined I would remember what his hair looked like. If I am in any way a benchmark, this was one example of something that a man (but not all, and many women too) would struggle to pay attention to. Another being the regular questions about what we should have for dinner. I see these domestic challenges and differences within so many partnerships, but it’s very difficult to reprogramme the wiring of someone’s brain effectively enough to avoid annoying the other partner through perceived bad planning or thoughtlessness. In a relationship setting, people are making a commitment and need to be cognisant of what they do that annoys their partner, and try to address it. However both parties largely need to accept the differences, or if they’re too great, conclude they are incompatible.

We (Gugs, but I contributed by egg beating) made brownies and we nibbled on a few through the day. When I suggested that we eat them all instantly, it was opposed. ‘My brownies are so good they won’t dry out’. Although Gugs did accept that buying vanilla ice cream was a good move. Another battle on the horizon will be on the subject of Easter eggs. I will not want a dark chocolate one that desiccates the mouth through its bitterness yet pretty much every Cantabrigian I’ve met wouldn’t countenance the idea of a milk chocolate Dairy Milk egg. We’ll see how this drama plays out over the Easter weekend.