wagwaan?:

All is well

Claire is spending a few days with her father, and she seems to be having a great time. At least if her shopping haul is anything to go by, she is! I think she's ticked a few more items off her CampAmerica "to buy" list and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (smile).
Meanwhile, back at the funny farm (it sometimes feels that way), I am waiting, like Posy, to see if the birds are going to take to my new bird-feeder. I've hung it up in the garden, full of tasty snacks, but so far, no party. I understand that it takes a while for the birds to discover a new source of food, so I'm anxiously keeping an eye out for them to notice it. I have hung it in the sumac tree, far from any inquisitive ginger puss who may be on the prowl. I'm turning into my mother, in my old age: she could always tell us the names of all the birds, and recognised their different songs. There is something so cheerful and pure about the song of a blackbird or robin, and it's one of the things I always stop to listen out for; something to feel grateful for. When I'm down and engrossed in my own problems, I try to take pleasure in the simple things....
Anyway, time for an early night I think. Nite all :)

09:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Busy, busy...

I'm just having a little sit down between coats of paint. Claire went off yesterday to stay with her dad in Somerset and I said I'd finish painting her room, as it was only half done. I've nearly finished, but it's a bit patchy in places, so I'll go back up and see what I can do when it's dry. I'm not the world's greatest decorator, which is why this house is still in the state it was when we moved in.... five years ago! Actually, I'm quite enjoying it. I've got my music on shuffle and am re-discovering loads of old songs, so it's not bad at all.

On Friday, I brought some Sweet Williams at Marks & Spencer's when I was out buying my lunch. They were half price and I thought they'd look rather nice in my strawberry jug that I got in a second-hand shop in Rye.

Here they are on the table in the window, in front of a picture of my darling Mummy, and a Venture pic of me and Claire.

Aren't they pretty? They are just right the right colour to go with the decor LOL!

I'm sitting here listening to the Men's Final at Roland Garros that has just started. I hope good old Roger Federer wins, because he will break a record if he does. I was sad when Rafa Nadal beat him in the British and French Opens last year, because he seems like such a nice guy. Ah, the sound of tennis balls being thrashed, the applause, the French umpire calling the points, and the oh so British commentary... It's definitely summer :) In no time at all it will be Wimbledon, too. Strawberries & cream, Robinson's lemon barley water, mixed doubles... The things my memories are made of.

What's the weather like where you are? This morning I was woken by the loudest rumble of thunder I've heard in years. It was absolutely TIPPING down, but now there is some blue sky and some white clouds, not grey, and if it weren't quite so nippy, I think I'd be heading outdoors with a cup of tea. Well, we'll see.

I nearly forgot! As I'm thinking more about actually decorating our living area, I saw this in July's Good Homes and it would fit perfectly in the scheme. I want white floorboards (have done for years but now everyone and his dog is doing it...), and white throws on the sofa with my collection of pink cushions; white walls and white mantlepiece (yuk hate the reddish brown that it is), and my huge pink/red wall stickers.... I will get rid of the smaller of our two sofas and put this armchair in its place. I think it'll look grand:

It's really good value too. I can't wait. I think I may not get a holiday until September this year because I'll be hosting a foreign student followed by my nephew, Flavien, while Claire is away; however, I do want some time off work, so if I can rope my neighbour in to help, I could paint the walls all white in a couple of days and it would look much better... Watch this space.

02:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Camp America update and new cards for sale

OOh it's getting exciting now! This morning I met up with Claire at Bond Street Station, from where we walked to the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square. You can tell when you are getting close, because they have a massive eagle and American flag atop the front of the building - just in case you were in any doubt (you'll have to excuse the poor quality of the photo, which is only an iPhone pic).

Just past those yellow bollards is where the Camp America staff were waiting to point the camp counsellors in the right direction. I took Claire's "electronic items" (i.e. her phone and ipod) which she wasn't allowed to take, and left to go back to the office as I was not allowed to go with her. Probably cos I'm a huge security risk...

On the way, I went past Selfridge's which is celebrating its centenary this year. I really enjoyed looking at their window displays, which were all reproductions of displays through the years, and which all followed a yellow/black colour scheme. The prices were great - all in Pounds, shillings and pence, which I kind of remember from my (distant) childhood. Ahem! It's kind of like a foreign language.

Back at the office I buckled down to work. I mean, I had my lunch... and next thing I knew I was getting a call from Security saying my daughter was downstairs. I couldn't believe how quick she was; we'd been told to expect a wait of up to several hours. Claire came up to the office where it was her turn to eat her lunch, and then made her way back home to go and hang out with her "BFF", Roisin.

After work we went to drinks with my friend Antonella who has unfortunately been made redundant along with a fair few other people in the company, but I couldn't stay too long as I had to get back to go and VOTE! It was Claire's first time since turning 18 last year, so it was quite a momentous occasion. The polling station is just over the road at the Community Centre and was open till 10pm, so we went after Claire and Roisin got back from having dinner in town. This election is doubly important as we are voting in the European elections and the local elections at the same time.

I finally got to sit down at the computer rather late again, but I've now sent off the order for the postcards that we are putting up for sale. Here is a sneaky preview of what they will look like

Again - you'll have to excuse the quality; for the sake of expediency I snapped these with the iPhone and the light is pretty diabolical in here at the best of times, but especially so after dark! This is the "Sweet" series, with pictures of smarties, licorice allsorts, cupcakes and party rings. I hope you like them. By the way, a percentage of the proceeds will go to Children with Leukaemia, in memory of my colleague Louis Lebel* who was tragically taken from us last month at the tender age of 27. He ran the London Marathon in aid of Children with Leukaemia, so that is the charity we have chosen to honour his memory.

Don't forget you can order the SWEET cards here, by clicking on the BUY button below, or the FLOWER cards here. If I may, I urge you to pass the message on to anyone you think might like the cards - it's for a good cause!!

12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A new "must-have" read

Just read about this book and I MUST get it! It looks brilliant, and I think my family in France will especially appreciate it, so I shall make sure I have it before I go to Normandy so I can leave it there for the next person to read. No time to write any more - gearing up to get some funky bright postcards out for you all to buy (you know you want to....), and work is very busy so many apologies for the short post!

03:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For Sale!

We've had a wonderful weekend - hot and sunny and quite busy. Yesterday we went and bought clothes for Claire's trip to the US, but we still have loads to get. Today, I had hoped to go swimming, but as I went into town this morning to get various household goods before cooking lunch, we just didn't have time to get there before it shut at 2pm. Oh well - this weekI'll get there, hopefully.

So, before I forget, here is the first set of photos for sale to help towards Claire's costs. This is the "flower" set, comprising 5 photocards that are a joint effort between me and Claire. For the moment they are printed on this wonderful 3M "post-it" paper, so the recipient can stick them up anywhere. I've got one of Dionne up on the dresser - it's a brilliant way of displaying your photos. The set comes packaged in cellophane sealed with a cute Cath Kidston sticker. We are also doing some as notelets, so if you prefer that option, let us know when you order.

Hope you like them! We would be so grateful if you would consider purchasing a set for £5 so that we can raise the money necessary to get Claire over to America for her summer job. Feel free to pass it on :)