SUMMER SHOWERS

... cleaning up my blog yesterday and found a post that I'd written in the summer of 2011 but had never posted. While we're experiencing a little mid-summer drenching here on the east coast of Australia, I thought I'd post it... but first, a few cheery bits of wet-weather gear...

1. Style Snap from Sportsgirl 2. French Stripe Umbrella from The Brolly Dollys 3. Peta Pink Shine Boots from Pipduck (I have these boots in black and they are FANTASTIC) 4. Cloudy Day iPhone 4/4S case from The Dairy sold online at The Iconic 5. Whale Slouch Pant from Peter Alexander

...SUMMER 2011...

I really don't mind the rain. Sure, if I had a preference either way, I would of course opt for a traditional Australian summer – those filled with day after day of sunshine and clear skies, hot nights, blow flies. Night after night of barbequed dinners, Aeroguard at the outdoor dinner table. Beach days, heat haze on a sizzling bitumen. Lingering bushfire smells, late night pool dips to bring down the heat. Sleeping on top of your bed; memories of once dragging a foam mattress outside to slumber on the balcony, on one of those exceptionally humid nights.

Usually, a good few months of summer and we start to welcome the cooling reprise of Autumn. This year in Sydney, summer has all but been withheld from us, we've been teased with only a few sunny days here and there which we've eagerly snatched up; they call out, causing us to abandon the air-conditioned confines of our icebox work stations to bask in a magnetic patch of sunlight on our lunch breaks.

I am missing our usual hot season season, but I don't see much point in endlessly complaining about the weather. I enjoy a good spot of rain. I got up this morning and threw open my blinds to be greeted with rain falling upon the leafy tree whose upper branches swing outside my window. I pressed my nose against the window to breath in that heady scent of fresh rain.

I think that having lived in London for a while has probably given me a more relaxed attitude about the weather and the coming and going of the seasons. The summers over there are short and sweet. Sure, the sun that doesn't set until 10pm is amazing, and makes for a magical summer of pub hopping, late shopping and impromptu rooftop parties. But the winters are long, and dark, with the sun rising late, and the dark sky closing in as early as 3pm. I suppose that is why I am willing to accept a little bit of an iffy summer season with a pinch of gratitude.