G'day, everybody.
husband was back to work today, but he said the place was very quiet - he was the most highly qualified staff member in the department today!
We have another month before school goes back. Summer is well and truly here, although damper than previous years. I remember summers like this when I was a child - hot and humid, with a welcome afternoon thunderstorm for half an hour (or less) which would cool the place off briefly.
I'm still resting to get over the severe headache of New Year's Eve, although I can't put off my shopping any longer. I'm going out tomorrow with the boys to give me a hand.
I did get to the beach this afternoon, though - the water was warm, surprisingly so. I kept my sunglasses on even in the water (not easy when you get splashed by waves) and put on my wrap hat (I described it to you before, Linda - they're sometimes called "Araphats" because you can look very Arabic in them if you ignore the baseball visor). I wrapped the loose folds of the hat around my head to screen out as much light as I could and I think I got away with it.
When I get back home tomorrow I have two jobs to do, both involving the beach. One - a friend who lives right on the edge of the beach has a novel she's working on, wants my help. And two - difficult child 3's godmother wants to talk at length, and prefers to do that while we're on the beach.
This way I can work and rest at the same time!
I'm being careful to not get sunburnt, although a government ad on TV now claims that melanoma can develop even before your skin starts to tan. While we DO have a high rate of melanoma in Australia (none in my family, no skin cancers at all) we also have an increasing problem in Australia of Vitamin D deficiency. We're all so paranoid about UV exposure, we sunscreen and cover up so much that we're going too far the other way. I've found out how much sun we need to prevent Vitamin D deficiency, but I'm trying to find out how true is the info on melanoma. It just doesn't seem consistent with all the info we were told when the cancer warnings first came out. And I also found - not enough Vitamin D, especially in winter, seems to be linked to a higher risk of getting MS. I had plenty of sun as a kid (too much - there were no sunscreens then) and it seems I may have MS anyway.
It just doesn't make sense.
So in the interests of preventing rickets, I'm spending time at the beach. Carefully. With my darker skin, I need more sun time than easy child 2/difficult child 2 (my redhead daughter, she of the blue-white skin). Side by side, me and husband - we look like the Celt and the Middle-Easterner.
It takes all kids to make a world...
Enjoy your Wednesday, everyone.
Marg