So, as you must all know by now, I had a fabulous December. For the first half of the month I was free to be me as often as I liked. This gave me the opportunity to tick some items off my T-Girl bucket list. The first such adventure was when I was able to go for a pedicure en femme. The second such adventure was that I was able to go for a stroll through the park with my spouse. This is how the day panned out.
We got up on Saturday morning and after a good breakfast got ready for our day out. I wanted a casual look and as the recent bout of unseasonably cold weather had finally abated, I wanted to wear a skirt. I opted for my trusty denim skirt. I added a lovely feminine, white peep shoulder top some accessories and a fabulous pair of brown platform sandals. I wasn’t 100% sure about my ability to drive in the platforms so I packed my gladiator sandals in my handbag, just in case. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here goes:
We were ready and after a quick photo shoot (who can resist?) we made our way to the OPC. We thought a spot of Saturday morning browsing and tea and cake would be the way to go. We arrived and were happy to see that Lesley was busy with quite a few shoppers in the store. I found a lovely anniversary present for my spouse in the form of some very cool sunglasses that she liked, and I made a mental note to come back and get them when she was not with me. We had a fabulous morning cake and coffee and an even better natter with Lesley.
We then headed off to Cresta shopping centre as we needed to get some picture frames for the family portraits I had commissioned for my spouse’s recent birthday and a few other odds and ends. We were in Mr Price Home and looking at various picture frames. I turned around suddenly to see what the better half was looking at and I put my foot down slightly skew. I felt my ankle buckle and I literally fell over. Not the most elegant exercise! I recovered my composure, without breaking anything in the shop, and was relieved that my ankle felt fine. I had not twisted it. But, my shoes felt really uncomfortable. What was going on? I looked down and noticed that my ankle strap was loose. On closer inspection I realised that the strap had broken free from its housing on the shoe’s sole. The shoe was broken, and I could not wear it! Fortunately, I was being a good Girl Scout and I had come prepared. I took my sandals out of my bag and slipped them on.
After completing our shopping expedition, we thought we would have a bite to eat. We walked from one end of Cresta to the other but were unable to find a restaurant that appealed to both of us. We therefore left Cresta and decided to go to Bistro Vine in Parkhurst instead. We had had lunch there in September and thoroughly enjoyed the experience so we decided to reprise the experience.
I decided that I would try something different to what I had had the last time we were there. I opted for the mussels. As I had enjoyed my pork belly so much the last time I suggested that my spouse should give it a try. Unfortunately, my pallet is significantly less sensitive than my spouse’s and she found it difficult to eat. She enjoyed the flavour, but the chili was a bit hot for her. The service was excellent and the waiter was professional and never once misgendered me, even though I did talk to him. We were quite amused by one of our fellow diners at the next table. He was a rather burly man in his late 30s. He had lots of ‘bling’ and even more tattoos. His look screamed ‘bouncer’ or maybe ‘gangster’. Then he took a phone call at the table. Turns out he is a private investigator, so we may still have been right. He assured the person on the other end of the phone that he was very professional and discrete. He then repeated back enough of the conversation that everyone in the restaurant and on the pavement knew pretty much what was going on before setting up an appointment with the potential client and repeating the address and time loudly numerous times. Essentially anyone with any interest in the rather sensitive case of corporate shenanigans would have been able to inform others of the meeting. So much for discretion and professionalism. Anyway, I loved my mussels and after a delicious dessert we left for home.
As the afternoon was still young and as the dog was missing his usual playmates (our daughters) we decided that we should take the dog for a walk. We are fortunate in that we live very close to the Emmarentia Botanical Gardens, a lovely, large park that includes formal gardens, fountains, a lake, wetlands and semi-natural parkland. Approximately half of the park is set aside as a dog park where you can walk your dog without a lead if you wish. As it was a sweltering day we set decided to drive to the park.
Finding parking was easy and in no time, we were walking our dog through the park. I was a little nervous at first. This was a very ‘vanilla’ and family oriented setting and I was a little afraid of what might happen if someone ‘clocked’ me and perceived me to be a threat to his or her children. I did notice one or two people staring at me, but this was probably just because my outfit was a little more glam than the average dog walkers outfit.
We went down to the reeds, to the edge of the lake and then then headed up the slope again. At the top of the slope we were struck by the beauty of our city and we took a few photographs and I even managed a selfie or two.
I am disappointed with the way I was standing in these photographs it really doesn’t look too good, in retrospect, not the most feminine of poses. Note to self, make sure you are standing properly! But the scenery is lovely isn’t it? We then made our way back to the car and took the exhausted doggy home.
My walk in the park was a lot of fun, once I got over my initial nervousness. I had tried to dress down a bit by wearing flat walking shoes (a necessity when walking in a park of this size) and not wearing too much jewellery. Somehow, I still seemed a little too glam. Perhaps yoga pants and trainers would have been better? Or maybe they were just looking at my legs? It was interesting to note that the other park users treated me differently en femme to the way they treat me en homme. The male cyclists were much friendlier and better mannered to me en femme. Smiling, apologising to me when zooming past me and so on. When presenting as a male they are typically far less friendly and much less polite. It was nice to be validates in that way, but wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyone was just friendlier and polite to each other all the time?
I had a lovely time walking in the park and I proved that once again, as long as you behave appropriately, the vast majority of our fellow citizens are happy to ignore us. Next up, a picnic in the park! Who is going to join me?
Daniella's Ramblings 
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