Stranger danger

You've heard  people say they nearly jumped out of their skin?  I can assure you that can nearly happen.  I nearly did it the last time I was in the supermarket. 

I admit my nerves may have been a bit frayed by the increased cost of absolutely everything on the shelves but when a small child sitting in the trolley beside mine screamed I jumped.  I mean really jumped, I swear my feet left the floor.  I was truly alarmed.  I've heard lots of little ones' screams over the years but never a scream like that.  This was real terror, not fright or frightened, terror.  Before the scream was even finished the little one was screeching, "No, no, no!"

A lady who had picked up some tomatoes had turned to place them into the wrong trolley and found herself looking straight at a small child whose mother had turned away to pick up a few onions.  The child screamed.  Oh, how she screamed.  Every eye in the fruit and vegetable section turned to see what had happened to her.

The lady with the tomatoes took a step backwards and put her arms in the air as if to profess her innocence.  Unfortunately, she stepped backwards into another shopper who also got a fright at having her feet stepped on and hearing screaming at the same time.

The screaming child fell silent the instant she caught sight of her mother again and her mother had a look of resignation combined with embarrassment.  I'd wager this is not the first time that child has suffered from separation anxiety (I think that's what they call it these days).  Or the first time she has exercised her lungs in such a piercing scream.  Without a word she exited the scene without a thought for the poor woman with the tomatoes.  I couldn't describe the look on her face.  She was mortified, deeply embarrassed and humiliated.  She looked so uncomfortable my heart went out to her and I touched her on the arm and told her she didn't look very scaryy to me.  In hindsight there are many other things I could have said to comfort her but that's all I could come up with at the time.  What she needed was a hug but one can't go around hugging strangers, more's the pity.

Meet Emilia

My Brasilian family have not been very impressed with the weather that has greeted their arrival in NZ but are making the most of the fine days.  

I've loved every minute of getting to know my little Emilia, she has captivated me completely.

 

I'm pretty sure her favourite place is the beach. 

Followed closely by the local school playground

Although it took her a while to become accustomed to the farm way of life.

 Can you imagine my pleasure in seeing her wearing a little woolen top that was knitted by my mother for one of my children?

I did warn you, didn't I, that I might go overboard with photos of my little Emilia?

In other news,I'm starting to think this vertigo will never go away.  It's definitely much better than it was but it's still there, catches me out occasionally when I stand and constantly interrupts my sleep at night.  As anyone who knows me well will tell you, I like my sleep, I do not do well without my regular quota.

The flowers I planted to brighten my garden at Christmas finally bloomed, two weeks later than expected and have now been so buffeted by the wind and rain that some are growing laying down, still flowering, brave little things that they are.  Not the cosmos, though, they are still standing proud and flourishing.  There's too much wind today for me to get a photo.  

I need to be more like cosmos.