What's Going On

In no particular order, here are some highlights of the past week around here ...

• Blessing and Michael's last day at preschool. Here's Sweeney and Blessing doing what they do best - playing at being wild cats and being a little bit unruly ...
• KimberleyJoeHarper moved into their new house. It's got a basement and offstreet parking. For two cars. Also there appears to be a kitchen and bathroom, and some bedrooms, I didn't really notice. But really - two cars!! Anyway, here are Kimberley and Joe, sitting on their very own patio. Check out the bright sunlight, and the window that actually opens ...

• As a result, Harper stayed the weekend with us while his parents got things organised. He was somewhat delightful. Here he is, posing calmly for a photo with his cousin at his new house ...

• I planted out some beetroot and leek seedlings, as well as a sage plant. I love sage. It tastes good with chicken and pumpkin and all sorts of things. I'm rather enjoying the vege garden these days. Arranging my working life so that I actually get to see the garden most evenings has made a big impact.
• Craft has fallen by the way this week. Been reading my book. Yes, reading an actual book. Reading an actually terrible book, actually. Rebecca, the Daphne du Maurier classic. Classic pants, it turns out.

I saw the Laurence Olivier film years ago, and I figured it was just an overwrought film version. But no, the source material is also overwrought and frankly, terrible. I kept reading it because it's a lovely old Penguin edition and I just couldn't quite bring myself to believe that it was as bad as it was seeming to be. Yes, I know that makes no sense. Whatever, I read it and I feel dirty inside about it. So, to make myself feel better, here's a picture of Laurence Olivier, looking good and foxy.

• Sweeney's loving Pinocchio this week, and the dvd Fantastic Mr Fox. I'm looking forward to him being able to read the story for himself when he's older. He's been able to identify letters for a while now, just getting his head around sounding letters out and putting them together.
• In other news, I bought some truly vile chorizo sausage last week. These were something else. Indeed, they were something entirely else from any other chorizo I've ever eaten. They taste ok, chopped up little in macaroni cheese, though.
• Signing off to watch my new favourite thing on the telly - Generation Kill. Surprises me as much as anyone else who's surprised, that I'd fall in love with a show about a bunch of idiots in a stupid and illegal war. But I have ...

Get some ...

Rainbow Connection

There was a rainbow as we walked home tonight, but Sweeney wasn't impressed. Rainbows in real life aren't nearly so awesome as in books, or even in drawings young chaps make at preschool nowadays. Sadly, Nature doesn't use felt tips.

I don't care. I love rainbows.

I also love orange and brown together. Jaffas are orange and brown. They really are the chocolate-orange mouthful. Jaffa flavouring is orange and chocolate combined. They are excellent flavours individually, and sublime when integrated. When I was 16 and in hospital having my appendix out, there was a chap in the ward next door who had a brown dressing gown with big orange spots. I loved that dressing gown.

So here's my latest work in progress. It's the same kimono pattern as I've made previously - it just doesn't fail, ever - and I'm kind of pleased at getting the hang of stripes - I'm very much a one-colour kind of gal, but trying TRYING to be more interesting in the stuff what I make.

In other news, Sweeney completely blew me away tonight. He's crazy for The Snail and the Whale at the moment, so I read it at least once every night these days. I get him to finish off some of the lines because they're such lovely rhymes, and I love how he says "whayal" and "snayal".

Well, it turns out that he can recite the whole story - well, he needed a bit of prompting towards the end - but he can totally do most of it without any nudging. And he's been dancing. Dancing. DANCING. He never dances. Or sings. Banging out Incy Wincy Spider is actual singing, right?? This week he's been doing it all.

It's Thursday, so check out hot creatives at Kootoyoo. People whose cameras don't everything fuzzy, by the way ...

(Kind of) Wish You Were Here

I'll tell you a story about one of the better birthday parties I ever went to. It was Martin's 40th birthday, and he was in Auckland Hospital, undergoing assessment to see if he could go forward for a liver transplant.

The previous week had been enormously stressful, and he'd had a stint in ICU, but he'd rallied and we were all feeling rather chipper. All the extra fluid he'd been dragging around for months had been dialysed off and he looked and felt comparatively great.

His team of doctors sang Happy Birthday to him at morning rounds.

Kimberley had come up to stay with me for a bit, and we spent the morning racing around Auckland looking for a Happy Birthday banner. Martin's dad brought the cake, I think, and everyone who visited came with lollies or biscuits.

There's a photo, which I can't find now, of Kimberley guffawing at something stupid Martin was doing, while, behind her, a chap in the bed opposite Martin's is gurning in anguish as his transplanted kidney gives him enormous gyp. We were so used to hospitals by this point that we could switch off other people six feet away.

Anyway, that was six years ago today.

He's been on my mind lately, not just because of his birthday, but because his mum's not doing so well herself now. Sweeney and I spent some time with her on Sunday, and Sweeney told her about his cars and his train set.

Then there was a knees-up at Grandad O'Neill's house, with almost full contingent of O'Neill uncles and aunties. Good food, good fun.

In other news, Sweeney's friend Blessing came for a sleepover. There was pizza, chocolate biscuits, a looooooong bath, a kickaround at the end of the street with Frank and Arthur, inaugurating the train set etc ...

What nice boys.

The Block is Hot

Lego's wicked. I never knew until now. Sweeney got Lego for his birthday and it's really captured me. I've been checking out sites for ideas of things to build.
Knitting has hardly had a look in this week. Nor has the study I was supposed to launch myself into as soon as Sweeney's birthday was over.

Ahem.

So here's what Sweeney and I built together. I don't think Sweeney realises you can take them apart and build other things, which is really quite nice because I love seeing him play with his (and my) first Lego figures.

Check out how the horse is sitting on top of the float. On top. Crazy. You can do that with Lego.

Also check out how most of the things he got for his birthday are still on the table in the living room. And how long has that orange been there, I wonder ...

In other news, I've just remembered I bought him a bucket of general Lego pieces for his birthday but I forgot to give them to him. Trying to avoid preschoolers spurting a spray of Lego pieces around the house, I decided to keep them for after the party. This is pretty much wayyyyy after the party.

Maybe I should practice putting together some trucks or something tonight while he's in bed ...

Check out creativity gone wild at Kootoyoo ...