Let’s start with birdwatching highlights! I spotted two lifers in Parc Tenbosch on Saturday — a pair of Eurasian Blackcaps (so lucky to have seen the male and female together) and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. As the woodpecker went swooshing by, just for a moment I was transported back to India and I thought it was a Red-vented Bulbul. We were in the park for a little picnic lunch on what was going to be the last sunny day for a week. The picnic, which was short because I had a hair appointment in the afternoon, was all kinds of perfect. Hoping for more of these in the coming weeks and months. I was trying a new hairdresser, and I’m happy to report that I left my appointment feeling very understood and spiffy.
After a lot of eating out two weekends ago and generally feeling that we were not eating enough vegetables and fruit, Amber and I prepared some really nice meals at home. Watermelon gazpacho; Kashmiri style rajma with roasted turnips; chicken shorba with lots and lots of fresh coriander that we ate with kachumber salad and phulkas; our favourite tofu bánh mì; rigatoni with an enormous amount of zucchini; yellow curry with mushrooms, peppers and shrimp; vegetable tortilla soup with a delightful radish pico de gallo.
Mid-week, we went to watch Pretty Woman at the local cinema. I was caught in heavy rain on my way there, and because I had lent my raincoat to Amber, I had to trudge through in my less-than-ideal trench and an umbrella. The movie started late and I was a bit wet and grumpy, but all was forgotten once it did begin. The theatre was almost full, the crowd was enthusiastic, and it was fun to watch a film in that setting. The bus back never showed so it was a long trek back home — we walked to the tram station. Since Thursday was a holiday, we didn’t mind all that much.
Work has been threatening to overwhelm, but I keep reminding myself that I have to take it bird by bird. I am very close to wrapping up the Gujarati lettering project, and it will be out in the world super soon, so I am excited about that. A piece about India Street Lettering, the project and the book, was published in a morning daily, and I finally got around to posting about my latest lettering zine on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Life admin never seems to end. I had to go to the bank because my account got blocked due to a paperwork mix-up. I think I’ve managed to get it sorted out but I’ll only know next week if (when?) the account becomes functional. In better news, my basic health insurance here is finally in place, and we’ve crossed the first hurdle of the work/residence permit renewal paperwork.
Aside from my weekly catch-up with my folks, I e-hung out with Prateek and then Pranav on Friday. Pranav had not one but two pieces of good news to share, and that left me with a smile plastered on my face long after our video chat.