Adelaide at its best - a glorious spring afternoon, clear blue skies, warm sunshine, no wind - this is October in Adelaide. So, after a healthy three hours in the garden with my trusty Ryobi Blower, I've come in to coffee and a quick catch-up of my web page.
And it is indeed a busy end-of-year that's coming. My own book launch may be over, but David's is to come at the end of October, combined with the celebration of his 80th birthday (Not really! say most people; Not possible! say the rest - but it's true). Plus a wedding in the family (no, not ours), and the houseboat trip on the Murray River (a week in among all the other activities) ... I feel as if I'm running in circles.
The launch for Of Llamas and Piranhas was a great affair. Well over a hundred guests and good book sales.Phil Hoffmann (guest speaker) and Mayer John Trainer (MC) both in fine form, the usual superb catering by the Immanuel Lutheran Ladies, wines generously supplied by Kies Winery in the Barossa Valley - no wonder people left with smiles on their faces. Another launch to remember, with the Friendly Street Poets chairman, Nigel Ford, posting on Facebook next day that it was the biggest and best launch he'd attended. I'm grateful to the many people who assisted, and to all those who came.
No word back yet on progress of my novel, as it sits hopefully in publisher's hands. However, it's now been vastly revised and improved, by the astute editorial eye and comments from my novelist daughter, who would be one of the best editors I know. Meanwhile her own second novel has received enthusiastic comments from her agent and is also out seeking a publishing house to be its home. An anxious waiting time for us all. Fortunately, with so much else happening in my life, I don't have the time brood about the waiting period. Too many other things to worry about.
But meanwhile, the sun is shining and it's time to get out there into the garden again. The best ever crop of freesias has just finished, and the house has been flooded with their glorious perfume. The nectarine tree is in bloom, and I've planted impatiens and pansies in all the hanging baskets. My main hope this year is that the possums don't return! The awful daily routine all last summer of cleaning up their morning messes, and the loss of plants and fruit was devastating. It was scarcely a compensation to win the Salisbury Writers' Festival with a short story called 'Release' that featured possum experiences, though it did mitigate my fury. A little.