Blustery Days

My first full day in-country, and for the next several days after, we had bura winds from the mountainous northeast. It was cold, gusty, and on that first day, rainy. But I went out walking. It was my first full day in Croatia - I wasn't going to sit at home.

This week, we've had blustery weather again. It's mostly been rain, though tonight some gusty winds from the southwest kicked up. I haven't gone out much - just short walks to the grocery store and what-not. But I have gotten my share of fresh air by taking advantage of my excellent covered patio.

View of part of my covered patio and beyond, from the uncovered terrace.

Fun story: the patio and uncovered terrace are as big as my actual apartment.

So far, I've found the building on two sides, the half wall on a third, and the trees just beyond the fourth protect the patio pretty decently from the winds. I've been able to sit out there and work in the blustery, as well as the gorgeous, weather.

This Monday, when the rain was heaviest, I had a special guest on my patio all morning, who I decided not to disturb:

What's this? A small orange cat curled up on a cushioned patio chair.

There are at least three small cats that regularly pass through this area: a gray tiger stripe, a black cat, and an orange cat. They generally pass by too quickly for me to get a photo, so I was happy to capture the image of this cat, who was curled up in that spot all morning and into the early afternoon (I got closer to take this photo and it raised its head in attentiveness).

Incidentally, this is what my dining room table / work desk looks like at the moment, part of why the bigger table out on the patio is nice to work at sometimes:

Messy desk - computer setup, Bible, agenda, and Croatian study books.

Things will get tidier once I've learned Croatian and can put those materials away - and I am working on it!

So even though I've kept close to home this week, I haven't felt cooped up. Big covered patios are the best.