be not afeard

Lady Hamilton (as Miranda)
George Romney

MrsM is reading The Happiness Project
She is three chapters in
and she needs to stop,
lie on the sofa
and take a deep breath.

There are so many requirements:
Personal Commandments
Splendid Truths
Secrets of Adulthood
Bluebirds of Happiness
Pigeons of Discontent
Spiritual Masters
and her head is buzzing.

MrsM ponders all the changes in her life
since the last time it was 29 February
when MasterM and MissM were still at school
and then she switches on her ipod
and writes out out her personal motto:

"be not afeard"

It seems like a good start.

*****

The Happiness Project
was recommended to me
by Monica and Ali.

I don't usually link to cover versions
but I love this one .

(just for the record)

Science Open Day

It is a bright blue Saturday morning
and the campus is alive with children
who have come to experience
the excitement of Science.

In the room next door
I can hear the academic who is 42
demonstrating the skull of a cave bear
to awestruck little boys.

And the Technical Supervisor
is putting her hands
in the soggy Bog in the Box.
Again.

Beyond, in the foyer,
there are tiny hands colouring in
pictures of Victorian Explorers.

In this small room
I am surrounded by woven baskets
from the rain forest of the Guiana Shield
in a multitude of different designs.

The research assistant is pointing
to the photo story boards which show
how cassava is grown and used for food.
She took the photos herself last month
and the solemn faces of the local tribes
stare out at me from their other world.

She shows me how a tube of woven grass
is used to squeeze cassava pulp.
"Look" she says "you put the pulp in
and pull the tube at the bottom
and the grass weave tightens
to squeeze out the water."

And, at that moment, my pleasure
at learning something new,
understanding how something works,
is a great as any of the children around me.

it takes two

It was a very special day...

thirty years since MrM first met MrsM

there was a spectacular bunch of flowers
and a delicious meal out to celebrate
and MrsM spent most of the day
thinking that it was impossible that
thirty years could have passed so quickly
and only a tiny bit of the day
wondering where she was going to hide
the commemorative Wibbly-Wobbly people
when MissM comes home.

Growing Up

Mabel Lucie Attwell

People!
I have discovered a new thing!
Reading In The Bath!
Why didn't anyone tell me about this?
Is it the last secret of adulthood?
I'm going to be the cleanest person in England.

it's the fishmonger's fault

MrsM is strolling across campus
with her friend from Physics.
They admire the fishmonger,
white booted and stripy aproned,
cheerful among his display of crabs,
monkfish and fresh sardines.

MrsM's friend from Physics
says nonchalantly
"We are having fresh octopus for supper...
it is an old Slovenian recipe:
you parboil potatoes and then fry them
in some seasoned olive oil
and wilt some greens
before flash frying the octopus."

MrsM thinks guiltily about the chicken pie
that is lurking in the fridge
and hears a voice that sounds like hers
say casually (and untruthfully)
"Sounds absolutely fabulous...
we are having wild mountain goat
from Greece slow roasted
on a bed of aubergine and peppers.
It's one of our favourite midweek meals."

meanwhile...

Zebra
George Stubbs(1763)
Yale Center for British Art
Paul Mellon Collection.

...in another part of the forest...
MasterM is relaxing
after hosting a successful party

"...it was very cool,
We had about 500 people at our house.
we tried to borrow some zebra
but there weren't any available
so we hired a unicorn suit instead
and made one of our friends
wear it all evening..."

gratitude

Dear Friends,

We take a risk, don't we, when we share our hopes and fears. This is true in every situation - even with people who know us best - because there might be misunderstandings or hurtful things said. I thought for a long time before I posted yesterday asking myself if it was appropriate to share things which some people would consider to be private. I have never pretended to share every aspect of our lives because there are times when that could be intrusive to the people around me. On the other hand Thomas has always been very supportive of this blog and being honest felt the right thing to do so I took the risk.

I need not have worried because your comments were so compassionate, thoughtful and caring. The words reached out to me and my family and comforted us all. We are so very grateful to you for your kindness.

Thank you, thank you.
Alicex

:: sunday ::

it is hard to find words

to say what needs to be said

so we go about our day

finding comfort in simple tasks

and quiet in the fall of light

*****

MrM's father, Thomas, is very ill
please hold him in your heart
:: thank you ::

Tomato and Mozzarella salad

I don't use Pinterest
but many visitors to this blog
arrive via Google images,
especially for my photos of food.
You are welcome but I urge you to read
Sue's thoughtful post
and ask yourself if all of your pins
are correctly linked to the image owner.

*****

Blogger has changed the word verification
and what was a simple spam filter
has become a nuisance
so I have removed it.

I have also moved back
to the old Blogger interface
because the new interface
was reducing the image size.

Blogger, I am a loyal customer
but you are driving me crazeeee.

lunchtime

Map Bag from Annex

The new Dr in the Office-Next-Door
showed MrsM the boots she had ordered.
They were black and suede and fabulous
but somehow not quite perfect.
They agreed that she could wear them
with skinny jeans or skirts or shorts
and  looked at the reference pictures
of famous people wearing those very boots
but there was something about the heel
or the cut around the ankle
or the shape of the toe.
MrsM agreed they were not  right
for the new Dr in the Office-Next-Door.
So they must be sent back immediately.
And MrsM smiled and thought to herself
how much she was going to enjoy
the new Dr in the Office-Next-Door.