To town…and back again…

Thistles and Kiwis

Our everyday lives tend to follow a pattern – rising from bed to an alarm going off, taking a ‘wake me up’ shower, eating breakfast then running for the 6:59am bus (note the precise time…), going to the office, coming home, eating dinner, watching Netflix. At least that is a typical day in my life 4 days a week at the moment. 3 days a week though are just a bit different. I still catch a morning bus on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but that is to go to Pilates. On Wednesday, this was the scene at the bus stop: add in noisy tūi, trilling blackbirds for a glorious spring morning.

I read on the bus to work, the bus to town, the bus to anywhere. Sometimes I get so engrossed in the words on the page I can forget that I have to get off the bus and go to my destination. Sometimes I have the wrong book for the time of day or mood I am in and put it away and people watch instead.

The morning bus has regulars, some with favourite seats. As is the custom, we say good morning to the bus driver and thank you when we get off. Some bus drivers are more cheery than others, greeting us with smiles, some are permanently grumpy, but they all get us to where we are going.

Then there is the moment to catch the bus home, carrying a bag laden with purchases perhaps, or a belly full of good food and a head full of conversations. Or on Wednesday, when the sun still shone and there was only 3 minutes wait for the next bright green transportation to arrive, this was the scene.

Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.

You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis.

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Published by Thistles and Kiwis

Loves summer, sunshine and cats. Beginner gardener, likes eating, cooking and reading about food

30 Comments

  5. It’s interesting how we fall into these routines. I commuted by bus before I retired, and like you, there were the regulars, and some pleasant and some grumpy drivers. But, I enjoyed taking the bus over being stuck on traffic!

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    1. You are so right – those routines that we don’t even think about, that just happen. My current morning driver is a bit grumpy, but I love to smile extra hard and be extra cheery with him 🙂

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  6. So enjoyed this post. The words and images gave me a vivid snapshot of where you live and the importance of buses in your daily life. Especially fascinating to me as not many communities in Maine have buses. Only the three largest cities. Very hard to get by in most of Maine without having a car.

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    1. Thank you Laurie! It just came to me how often and how much I rely on our buses. I am a city girl at heart, so public transport is always uppermost. I can’t imagine what I would do if I couldn’t catch a bus/train/tram.

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  11. I would love to hear what the white and yellow lines on the road are. It’s marked out quite differently than ours in the US. We always have a center dividing line, and if there’s a bike path, on the side of the road, which would be to the right, there will be a white dividing line.

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  13. What a fun peek into your daily/weekly schedule! I love that you read on the bus! I would be that person, too, if I had such a commute! The Witchery sign in the featured photo caught my eye 🙂 I love all witchy shops! Have you been inside??

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  16. That’s a very nice glimpse into your life. I take books with me everywhere and sometimes I don’t feel like I’m in the mood for the one I have too. I have a Kindle for those days as well. Then I have a huge selection of books at my fingertips to choose from. I still prefer to hold a physical book, though.

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