Extracts from a beautiful slice of time

I have had a beautiful week.

Ups!
- road trip! to the national park Hwange
- Paid road trip! to the national park Hwange (sometimes, I love my job)
- visit to an amazingly organized women`s centre in rural Zim
- community workshop
- talking with journalists in rural Zim
- finding a funky fabric and dress shop in the half hour in Bulawayo. Shocking my male colleagues in the process (really, it was quite tucked away and an amazing find)
- time to read, which I did; specifically, `Boundaries` which my bible study has been going through; the good book itself; and Atwood's 'Payback' which along with her earlier 'Handmaid's Tale' is probably now one of my favourite books
- going swimming at lunch hour, in an outdoor pool (my absolute favourite - I always look for a pool wherever I live, I'm completely chuffed that I managed one that is on my way to and from work, and is outdoor to boot)
- practicing/playing guitar for my colleagues, and then their compliments making me realize it`s comparable to my swimming - ie, compared to anyone who`s done it regularly for years I suck, but compared to the general population I`m actually not half bad! How empowering!
- Friday pubbing then dancing with different friends, including meeting a bunch of new folks through my friends ;o)
- book fair, and finding local books, those oft-sought-after-and-rarely-acquired-items
- having a published friend in the book fair! and lunch after
- box-shattering conversation. Not quite earth shattering, but I love stomping on and squishing boxes. Maybe it`s been replaced by a hexagon, but still something slightly less rigid. And I love one on one conversations with some actual degree of depth, so that was cool too.
- dinner party with cool peeps, who actually remind me more of people my step-mother would be friends with than myself, but cool nonetheless (or else, I`m just getting old)
- actually coming up with and following through with a Halloween costume
- friend having real grape vine leaves to add to aforementioned costume! Amazing!
- Halloween party with a wide variety of people
- sailing with friends (first time in a small sail boat in....10 years)

There were a few Downs, but they didn't make it a less beautiful week, rather the Ups above were more appreciated than perhaps I would have otherwise:
- project partners being arrested (now out on bail)
- friend being arrested (thankfully not, however, thrown in jail)
- friend`s father dying (nope, nothing to be done on this one)
- friend breaking a shoulder (now cast)
- friend...no, just kidding ;o)

Ah, to bed now, otherwise I shall be too tired to enjoy the friends over for dinner tomorrow!