Of graffiti, guerrilla gardening and ground beans…

I bet Julius Caesar, home from conquering parts of western Europe, was never greeted with a rainbow coloured helium balloon declaring ‘Weclome home’.

In which case I can only say that poor Julius should have been nicer to his mum and his sister. After two months of vagabonding around Europe, the smiling faces of my big sister and nieces met me at the airport and whisked me off for pampering at my mother’s house, where roses and the afore mentioned balloon greeted me.

I made what some may consider to be a tactical error by scooping my dog Tiffy up for a cuddle before saying hello to my mum, but not in mum’s eyes: a dog lover from way back she would have thought any other greeting just plain wrong, so I was still given the balloon and roses.

I’ve been back home for three weeks and it’s given me a chance to explore my home turf with fresh eyes. And the two months away have wrought changes. There’s now a new coffee shop at my local shopping centre, so now local patrons have double the choice! I can now walk my dog through the park and go get a coffee, Hackett might need to change its name to New New York! All right maybe not just yet, but the new shop is very welcome, stocking a delicious range of freshly baked bread and sweet treats to go with your coffee. So come and check out Little Beano when you get the chance.

Before I left Canberra I did a bit of guerrilla gardening near my apartment, planting summer bulbs and colourful pansies in some empty ground. I felt a little like the little girl in The Secret Garden, claiming a patch of earth no one else wanted. Seeds and bulbs went into my little garden in winter and no one has been near it since I left. I wasn’t sure how it would go in my protracted absence so I was rather delighted to come home and find pansies blooming in rows of red, yellow and blue, larkspur and gladioli foliage pushing through.

Sure it’s modest but I’ve seen my neighbours walking out and smiling when they see the flowers, so it’s nice to know I’ve given them a touch of whimsy to share. 

And that reminds me of something that made me smile today, a charming piece of graffiti completely different from the usual 'so and so wuz ere'. It lifts the spirits and is  a delightful reminder that home really is where the heart is!