shenanigans

Me: Bee, can you go to the loo before bed, please.
Bee: Mummy, I'm not Bee, I'm Princess Leia! 
Me: Alright. Princess Leia, please go to the loo.
Bee: I can't! There are Stormtroopers in there!
Me: Just use your lightsaber, it'll be fine.
Bee: But I don't have a lightsaber!
Me: Ok, use your gun, then.
Bee: I don't have a gun either!
Me: Fine, use mine *hands over imaginary gun*
Bee: But it isn't loaded!
Me: Will you PLEASE just go to the loo?!
Bee: Fine!
    *slams bathroom door*
    *opens bathroom door* 
Bee: You nerfherder!!!
    *slams bathroom door*

hurrah for love

 

I am really quite proud of the February Love Project. More than 800 people joined the event/group on Facebook, and many of them posted photos of their rocks/crochet/other creations. Lots of my friends and family have joined in, and I ran a nice little workshop too. We had people participating all over the world... members on the page have been posting photos from Germany, France, USA, South Africa... as well as all over the UK.

So we did something amazing. Hurrah for lovely love!

first photo from my new phone

Today I got my new toy... the Samsung Galaxy S3... and my, what a sexy wee devil it is. I'm in lurrrrve.

And so is Bee, though that's mainly about Angry Birds Star Wars.

I'm not a Jedi

I tried really hard to convince Bee that I'm a Jedi, today. She didn't believe me for a moment.

She does, however, accept that fairies come through her fairy door at night and use the potions she makes in the garden for all their magic spells, so I'm taking it as a slur on my capabilities rather than an intellectual objection to fantastic/unproven ideas in general.

free books, yo

I got an exciting email tonight.

I've been selected as a giver for World Book Night 2013.

So I will have in my possession 30 copies of "Girl With A Pearl Earring" to distribute, free of charge. How awesome is that? Verily, it is mighty awesome indeed.

World Book Night giving is important to me, and I'll tell you why.

My grandfather died about a year and a half ago. He was very sick, and I stayed up all night with him, and all of the following day until he finally passed, holding his hand. The nurses were very kind, and let me use a vacant room to sleep in, but I very much wanted to be with him when he passed over, particularly as I knew he was afraid of dying.

He was drifting in and out of consciousness, and at time he was also experiencing a different reality to me. I think partly because of the morphine, and partly because he was straddling the parallel worlds of life and death for quite some time.

There was a small 'library' (book shelf) at the nursing home, which was largely filled with trashy romances and detective novels. One title stood out to me, though - "One Day".

Inside the jacket, there was a "World Book Night" label. This was an event I'd heard about before, and was excited by, so I decided to take the book to my grandfather's room and read it. I read almost the whole book that night and morning, and it is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read - and believe me, I've read a LOT of books. And this one will always be precious to me, because I spent the last few hours of my grandfather's long and dignified life holding his hand, and being comforted by the lives of two flawed, wonderful, complex characters in paper and print.

So this year, I'm going to distribute thirty copies of Girl With A Pearl Earring, in memory of my grandfather, in nursing homes, hospitals, clinics and waiting rooms. Because the right book at the right moment can make all the difference in the world.

paint and sparkle

I discovered nail art pens.

Bee discovered the make-up counter in Boots.

love, lego, music, creatures

 

 

 

  

  

 

Hat by Scrapunzel.