Kith & Kin.

Out & about yesterday, I could not resist taking these photos of Spring.
Not sure what the blossom is, but it smelt lovely. It was covered in a frenzy of bees, seemingly delirious with joy, as all that nectar, & pollen.

The fresh green leaves of the recenly rained upon Maple.

Isnt this flower lovely? I have no idea what it is, but the whole tree was a mass of the these beautiful heavy cream flowers, & they smelt beautiful.

I have always loved the word Kith. It seems so important, but also slightly vague.

Are you My Kith?? Or are you my Kin? Kin is readily identifiable, but of course Kith is a little more vague. It has really had it's day, & gone out of everyday language to a certain extent.

We have had a visit from Kin. Well, one of my Kin, to be precise. We spent a lovely day, discussing the Kith & Kin of the family. My cousin, who is female, (& I have often referred to, as having the "Brains Trust" of the family,) came to visit with her husband. They are an absolutely delightful couple to meet. They have an 18 year gap in their ages. They are the happiest couple I have ever met, & they just adore each other, after many years of marriage. He is 18 years her senior, but I have never met a more devoted, nor happier couple. They absolutely compliment each other in thought patterns & ideas.

My cousin makes me laugh, as she points out, in spite of his 'other country of origin' he is quite bigotted in regards to our Maori & Pacific Islander rellies!! He is part of our family, & we forgive his egocentricities, & oddities. He is part of our 'family' after so many years.

We have Irish, English, Scottish, & possibly Spanish, or Moors, in our heritage. I would feel proud to acknowledge any of them or all of them! We also have Maori, Pacific Islander, & Indian, among our more recent history of family.

When this particular cousin was born, I was 8 years old, & she was like the little sister I had wanted. I just adored her, & still do. She has just been made Principal of the school, where she teaches, so Congratulations to her.

She is very like me, in that she has no interest in sport, & exercise. With her husband, she has had a gruelling few days in Sydney. He has set quite a pace, & they have climbed the Harbour Bridge, 'done' the Opera House, 'done' Taronga Zoo, & walked for miles. He hired a car, & was dismayed to find Sydney traffic like some version of Hell, but he has persisted, & in spite of finger signals, he just waves back pleasantly- using ALL of his fingers.

It is our Labour Day long weekend this weekend, so the roads are extra busy up here. They very wisely caught the train up, to visit us.

Next week he assures us, they are going up to the Hunter Valley in search of Vineyard visits, & will take their hire car.

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We have had a series of 34 degree days, which drain the life out of me. Then new drug seems to make me some sort of zombie, so I have been like a limp ragdoll. I plucked up the courage to have the blood test required, & as soon as I saw the girl, I knew it would not go well.

She was very pleasant, but she insisted on using a very scarred vein which no longer gives blood. It used to be the one where blood samples were always taken, & it finally rebelled, & refused. I have what might be called 'shy' veins. They dont like being invaded in any way. They are most reluctant to give up one drop of the blood. Finally the back of my hand cooperated, & she got as much as could be got. I don't know what I will do if I have to have 'blood letting'. I still think leeches would be the way to go.

Today we have rain, & misty sullen skies. Yesterday it rained & sulked & was quite chill in the evening.


Our son is up to stay, so who cares about the weather!


Police, Ghost in the Machine