In really delightful news, Joan and Ovi have received permission to be married in early August!

As is the way of these things, there was much gathering documentation and organising translations and navigating obstacle courses of Swiss bureaucracy – and approval not guaranteed.

We haven’t seen Joan for over 3 years, nor have we met Ovi – and it’s very sad for all of us that we cannot be there.

But we’re really thankfully she has some certainty and can settle down, rather than applying for exemptions to stay every few months.

I will spare you the rant about our utterly incompetent government trapping 40k citizens overseas – but be assured that it is extremely ranty and extended.

♥

Tighter restrictions were finally announced yesterday, such as you’d expect with an actual lockdown. I think IKEA is still open though for those essential tea lights and meatballs – and a recent mass exposure site.

I think the most difficult of this (for me at least!) is with first lockdowns there was such a hope that we would all come out of this to a better society, that everyone would learn and grow and things “couldn’t go back to how they were before”. So you felt like there was some greater purpose to it all. Kumbaya, namaste and all that.

Nope. Once out, it was back to as it ever was. Possibly worse.

♥

My days off were a bit of a fizzer. For those not up on their Australianisms, despite appearances to the contrary (it sounds bright and bubbly, right?), “fizzer” is not a good thing.

I mean, I feel kind of rested and started a bunch of pretty uncomfortable inner work, which is ongoing and necessary – so necessary – not a complete loss.

I think I’ll take a whole week off in August – I’m fairly confident we will still be locked down – but I feel like I will probably have settled in a bit more and feel more inclined to embark on fun projects.

♥

Yesterday I recommenced those lovely daily morning walks to the park. I made it 20 metres from my front door when I became distracted by a neighbour’s bamboo and twisted my ankle.

Yep, the very same dodgy ankle that was doing so well lately.

I continued my walk which was, in retrospect, not the most brilliant idea. Now it is all purple and resembles a little loaf.

♥

In lockdown impulse buying yesterday I decided I needed a physical version of an astrology book (yes, I know – judge away!).

I tried the usual suspects (both out of stock) and kind of resigned myself to book depository – but then I remembered Gleebooks! They had one copy in stock and could ship it.

Imagine my astonishment when they delivered it to me the same afternoon, by hand, for free because I was in the local delivery area! AMAZING!

I’ve resolved to make them by preferred book vendor.