meme

I've been tagged!

8 things I am passionate about:

samba

nature

order

colour

yoga

photography

words

touch

8 Things I want to do before I die:

bring up kind, creative, happy, healthy sons and/or daughters

cultivate a wise and wonderful marriage with Adriano

learn to play congas or djembe really well

learn to grow my own organic food

live in an eco-house with lots of daylight

see the Northern Lights

visit Adelaide, South Australia, where I was born

write a children's book that I'm pleased with

8 Things I say often:

'Sit down, I'll make you a cup of tea.'

'Mouths closed; eyes on me.'

'Hands up if you can tell me....'

'I must go to bed early tonight.'

'I'm hungry.'

'Oh, for f*ck's sake!'

'I love you.'

'Pardon?'

8 books I have read recently:

1-2-3 Magic for Teachers by Thomas W. Phelan and Sarah Jane Schonour

Slow Coast Home by Josie Dew

The Guerilla Art Kit by Keri Smith

The Dance of Deception by Harriet Goldhor Lerner

Offbeat Bride by Ariel Meadow Stallings

London (Lonely Planet City Guides) by Sarah Johnstone and Tom Masters

Matilda by Roald Dahl

1930s (Images of the 20th Century - Getty Images) by Nick Yapp

8 songs I could listen to over and over again:

The Luckiest - Ben Folds

Lucky Break - Hank Dogs

I Feel Good - James Brown

Us Amazonians - Kirsty MacColl

Dhyana And Donalogue - Sheila Chandra

Blood and Gold - Silly Sisters

My Lagan Love - Sinead O'Connor

Lost Chances - Bill Jones

8 Things that attract me to my best friends

sense of humour

dress sense

kindness

interests

sensitivity

twinkly eyes

sense of fun

sense of the ridiculous

Feel free to tag yourself!

Afternoon in London

update

My mum has been poorly since Saturday, though she's well on the mend now.
She collapsed with sudden extreme dizziness and pins and needles in her limbs while at the supermarket with my sister. She ended up being sick for days with what for her was an atypical migraine. She suffers from them a lot but not usually to the extent that she is in hospital for 3 nights. I'm happy to say that although a bit wobbly, so far she's recovering well. The jury's still out on why it happened. I hope that's the last.

In other news, Adriano and I have a new bed. Apparently there's a saying: 'new bed, new baby'. Oh my, if that could be true. Although I can't find it on g**gle so maybe it's just a dream I had.

Skool continues its onslaught on my sanity and stress levels. I burst into tears part way through the first week of the new term, because that's the cool kind of cookie I am. When the going gets tough, I can be relied upon to cry embarrassingly regularly in front of my peers (thankfully not in front of my rather small students). I've grown back my required extra skins now; I must have lost them over the Christmas holidays.

I have now bought my wedding dress, if anyone out there gives a toss. I'm not sure I would.
I've also bought my wedding shoes, for £20 in a sale, I'll have you know. Billy Bargain. Both dress and shoes are marvellous and when I tried them on together I grinned like the egotistical eejit I am.

I am still participating in WoYoPracMo and loving it. True, I usually only manage the minimum requirement of 10 minutes a day, but it feels good.

Photo: Adriano serenading his nephew. Check out those blue eyes.

new banner

Still life

Meow

Extract from Deacon David's homily, printed in The Arundel and Brighton News:

There is a story that didn't quite make it into the Book of Genesis. It goes like this: Adam said, "Lord, when I was in the Garden of Eden, you walked with me every day. Now I do not see you any more. I am lonely here and I sometimes forget how much you love me'. And God said, 'No problem! I will create a companion for you that will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will know I love you, even when you can't see me. No matter how selfish and childish, and unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourself.' And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam. And it was a good animal. And God was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and he wagged his tail.
And Adam said' "But Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and all the good names are taken and I can't think of a name for this new animal. And God said, "No problem! Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, so you will call him DOG.' And Dog lived with Adam and was a companion to him, and loved him. And Adam was comforted. And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail.
After a while, Adam's guardian angel came to God and said, 'Lord, Adam has become filled with pride. He struts and preens like a peacock and he believes he is worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught him that he is loved, but no one has taught him humility.' And the Lord said, "No problem! I will create for him a companion who will be with him forever and who will see him as he is. The companion will remind him of his limitations, so he will know that he is not worthy of adoration.' And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam. And Cat would not obey Adam. And when Adam gazed into Cat's eyes, he was reminded that he was not the supreme being. And Adam learned humility. And God was pleased. And Adam was greatly improved.

And Cat did not care one way or the other.

Happy New Year!