An empty wardrobe? We can't have that!

 I have friends coming to stay next week. I've known them a long time, they are wonderful trans allies, and I'm looking forward to it. 

As they'll be staying two weeks, I've emptied the wardrobe in the guest room completely of my things and put all my clothes in the other bedroom. Amazingly, everything fits there, something I never expected or even tried before. This means that when my friends leave I will have a completely empty wardrobe in what was their bedroom. And that means .... more frocks will be needed to fill the aching void. 

Yes, this is how the minds of trans women work. (Did I say trans women? ;-) ) 

I've been replacing furniture this summer bit by bit and I got a new shoe rack - an expandable one (always think ahead!) and I'm rather liking the collection of cute shoes I see there.

 

Robert Redford

My tribute to a great actor and director, of course, but also to a significant supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community. In addition, the New Queer Cinema movement emerged partly through his Sundance Film Festival that promoted lesser known film makers. 

 

Autumn festivals 

Well, the outdoor swimming pool has now closed for the season, which is a real loss as I love the location and miss the benefit - it's helped me lose five kilos (11 pounds) this summer. I love the sunlight dancing on the water as I move through it, and the greenery surrounding it. Personally, I've never liked the chlorinated rectangular starkness of a normal swimming pool and much prefer to swim in rivers, lakes or the sea. This pool, with its guitar-like outline, is a great compromise between a managed, hygienic venue and a natural body of water. Till next summer, then. Now my quest to get back into those cute dresses must rely on my diet.

We're into local food and drink festivals now. Villages dedicating weekends to beer, wine, sausages, codfish, edible snails... I like it on the riviera; there is always something going on. My slimming voice suggests cod and snails are better than sausages and beer ... just possibly not quite so fun!

Additionally, the protected nests of loggerhead turtles on the beaches here have each been disgorging dozens of baby turtles to the delight of beachgoers and nature lovers. There is something endearing about a tiny hatchling flippering its way through the sand to the waves as fast as it can. Well, I guess its instinct is to do that or get eaten, so maybe the reason is not so endearing, but here they ensure they make it to the water.

 

Sanremo Bay in autumn

 

Growing like fungus

Ever since I posted about Kew Gardens and mushrooms last month, I have had a huge increase in interest in this blog from the most diverse and unexpected places; thousands of views a day, in fact. Fungus is the trigger, folks. So to that lovely bloggerette who was wondering how to boost her viewing statistics, this might be the answer!

Sue x