For around about a week now I’ve been feeling increasingly flat, kind of sad, and almost depressed. The only way I can describe it is in very old-fashioned terms. If I was in a Jane Austen novel old ladies would have been tsking sadly about me and whispering to each other that my "spirits were much depressed".

Literally 10 minutes ago (because since my secretarial days my typing has decreased to a snail’s pace), I found out why: It’s been overcast, raining or just plain miserable weather for probably about a week, maybe more. The sun just came out and seeing real bright sunshine again was such a shock that I just stared out the front door for around a minute. Then my mood started to lift, I went outside for a bit, then all around the house opening blinds up wider, and it’s the weirdest thing but my heart feels lighter or something cheesy like that.

I had idly thought that maybe the weather was getting me down a little, but hadn’t put much credence to it. I guess that having lived in Brisbane my whole life with so much sunlight even in winter, that I haven’t been in a situation where I’ve had to go without it for long at all. Let’s face it, our last few years in Brisbane the occurrence of rain was a shock, the sky would go months without even threatening to rain, the term "without a cloud in the sky" was usually met with a groan and "oh again?". I suppose nothing in my life so far could have warned me that persistently overcast skies would really have affected me this much. Guess I should rule out living in England after all!

You know, I think I’m going to embrace the Canberran lifestyle and go outside wearing my tracksuit and to hell with makeup! I have to take advantage of this sunlight before it goes away again. Who knows when it might be back?!

Recently whatever passes for a council here moved the bus stop to outside our neighbour’s house which works out great for us since we get all the benefit of a bus stop being so close to our house without the drawbacks of it being directly in front of us. The bus goes straight into the city so Ben literally just has to walk outside our front door in the morning about a minute before the bus is due. Pretty sweet all up :)

I wasn’t feeling so great this morning, all PMSy and stuffed up because the temperature dropped rapidly some time in the night; so in general feeling pretty "blah". I’m sitting here having my breakfast at my computer, reading news and blog posts and glancing out the front window once in a while, when I see a woman about my age, clearly heading in to work, trudging towards the bus stop. A few seconds later I hear the bus pull up and then it drives past my window laden with all those poor souls heading into the city for another day at work.

Suddenly I feel better.

"It’s the end of the world!!!" At least, that’s what our cat, Kali, is currently thinking. It’s the Queen’s Birthday long weekend here in Canberra and for some reason that I fail to understand this is the weekend for buying and setting off fireworks. It’s the only time you’re legally able to buy them which every store takes full advantage of (especially the porn shops for some reason). It doesn’t matter what the store normally sells, for this weekend they’ll be trying to get you to buy fireworks.

Technically there are only certain hours you’re able to use them too. Something like 5pm - 10pm on Saturday and Sunday night I think. Of course that doesn’t mean that you’re not going to hear some really loud, really annoying fireworks going off outside your bedroom window at 2am. I’ve also heard many a tale of fire crackers being stuffed into people’s letterboxes. Ahh Canberra… is there a more civilised place in the world?

Fireworks have been going off non-stop in our neighbourhood since the official starting time of 5pm. In fact a few went off last night and, for some weird reason, during the day today. Because setting off fireworks in broad daylight is always a splendid idea. In any case, poor Kali is quite convinced that it’s the end of the world and us humans are too stupid to realise it. She has only just calmed down enough to slink out from under the bed, although since she’s currently cowering at Ben’s feet under his desk, I don’t really think this is much of an improvement. Anyway, fingers crossed our letterbox survives the weekend and we all manage to get some sleep!

That photo is one of Ben’s taken in Brisbane approximately a lifetime ago. When we lived in a city where people didn’t blow up letterboxes as a form of recreation ;)