Friday

Friday night, home alone, remembering to breathe.

• enjoying the flowers and their shadow
• packing wine, chocolate and sewing, to take on an overnight visit with friends a couple of hours away
• listening to a new PINK CD (yes, really, don't be rude!) and dancing around the house
• contemplating my performance at a job interview today
• wondering who to ask to be referees
• thinking of Manda
• loving Melissa's cute jackets, and thinking a sewing day with her would be fun
• quietly happy about great marks for my research report
• a little bit in love with baby Phoebe
• enjoying the buzz of affection and respect that flowed in bucketfuls at the retirement function for a much loved colleague tonite, he'll be greatly missed
• wondering what will happen next!
  

The spoon thing

Heather posted the soap trick.
I thought I'd show you the spoon thing.
Next time you pin-baste a quilt......put all the pins in, and leave them open. Then, get a spoon, slide it under the point of the pin, and push it closed. Speedy, and easier on the fingers.

Next, quilt like a mad woman....by machine of course.

I'm making a quilt for Jack. A quilt of hot colours, by special request. It's shaping up to be the speediest quilt ever. It has polar fleece on the back, and I'm quilting a big stipple all over it. My aim is to have it on his bed by the weekend. I'll show you some more when it's bound. Meantime, just looking at it is warming me up while the southerly batters our house.

Look what I found!

Daffodils, cheering me up in the middle of winter.

It needs some perfect little lemon cup cakes to go with it I think.

You?

I forgot to ask,
are you fine?
Is it hard work?

Fine

My boss, who is a saint, it must be said, had a quiet word with me.
'You are', he said, 'very good at telling me that you're fine, the projects are fine, the deadlines are fine, everything is fine. But is it really?'.
Truth is, it's damned hard work feeling fine.
But I am, really.
I'm fine.
And I'm working hard on being fine, so I don't seem to have any words to blog.

I've got a week off in July. I think I might go build a snowman, with my boys, on a mountain someplace.

What you looking at?

Somewhere

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue... ... ...

Research paper

Submitted.
Phew!

Dinner

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya, from Dish.
It was good!

Sunday

Wet, and cold.
I'm going to light the fire.
Come visit.

Enjoying

Some new china. A perfect blue.

Dear Mouse
(or Mice, which is probably more correct).
I have found the cork which you have been enjoying. I've swept up the poison you seem to have been rolling in. I hope you ate some. I'm sorry I had to kill those 7 of your friends and family, but really, we couldn't live together any longer. I thought they were all very good looking. I gave them a good send off, one by one, out of the trap and ceremonially into the rubbish bin. The poison is under the sink, the trap is now in the gap next to the fridge, in case you would like a snack. I've washed the cupboards and the drawers. I've washed everything inside them too. I've poured hot water into the cutlery draw, and it's outside drying in the sun. I've put anything attractive to you into a plastic container or into a cupboard that so far hasn't interested you. Could we just agree to get along now? You can have the outside, do what you like....go for your life. The inside, especially the kitchen, is mine.
thanks
Pixie.

Good things

The chocolate is from Japan. A gift. Thank you, you were right, it really is good. Who'd have thought?

The Mud House merlot is good too, and goes well with the chocolate. Mellow and smooth.

Have you read 'Mocking bird'? Not since you were 14? Read it again. It's so good I feel ready to ditch my current study in favour of immersing myself in the analysis of literature. Better not though.

I'll be the one on the sofa, with a glass of wine, what's left of the chocolate and some academic tome.

Sometimes

Sometimes, I'm all about studying. But I don't miss the sunrise very often.

Went to Dunedin (again)

Sometimes, I'm all about trains.

Went to Dunedin

Hung out in a cafe in the sun.

Yep, still alive

Really enjoyed the Annie Bonza exhibition at Te Papa.

That's a wedding dress from the early '90s that Annie made for a magazine layout. It says "three times a lady" on the front. You know, from the (dreadful) song. She didn't think a bride would want "once, twice" on the back. It says "how sweet it is to be loved by you" on the sleeves.

More wordy dresses. Loved 'em.