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She has the best taste in flowers, this little one of mine. I had forgotten how much I love the elegance and simplicity of hydrangeas. I'm not sure Geoff would fancy them in the garden, but a single small sprig, it gives me so much pleasure.

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I'm not good at self portraits. I intend to buy a remote shutter thingy whatsit, but haven't got around to it. The reality is that I never look as nice as I imagine I do, so I prefer to just not right now. Ella, however, always looks beautiful to me, so she's my model.

An unexpected birthday gift arrived today. I wish I could share my friend's blog with you, but she's shy and it's private. I consider myself one of a priviledged few outside her family that gets to share in her day to day life. Her friendship has been such a lovely surprise and quite unlikely I guess, given that she lives hmmm over 12,600 kms.

Thank you Sandy for making me feel special with a surprise gift so perfectly suited to my taste, for making me feel that I'm worth remembering and worth the effort.

x

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Poor babe, we just seem to get over one hurdle and another presents itself. Last week we had two nights in a row of extreme nightmares, shaking in her boots nightmares. Now, we a result, is an inability to be away from me, at any time. I can't move a foot left or right without my shadow literally hanging onto my pants. As I type this she's fallen asleep on my lap waiting for me to come and sit with her in the lounge. She's snoring quite loudly.

I need to remember to slow down with this babe. When there was only one child it was easy to lose a day to a temperature, a downhearted mood, but with two, school runs, working part time, I find that so much harder to do. I guess it's because all the other stuff (the washing, the cooking, the work), if I don't do it, then I find that gets me down. As middle aged as I know this sounds, a clean tidy house makes me feel clean and tidy too!

However, for now I'm going to carry this snoring child, sit in the lounge with her hopefully asleep at my side, spit the pips on the few remaining cherries and work quietly on these.

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On the weekend we went through some of the many things we still have stored at my parents place. In one of the boxes there were bundles of letters between me and various high school girlfriends, my skipping rope, my childhood money box, some smurfs, some dolls house pieces and this puzzle. It is stored in a cylindrical container and the pieces were inside a freezer bag inside. I was well prepared at disapointment, but to my amazement all the pieces were still there, after I would imagine, about 35 years. The girls and I were all as enthusiastic as each other, perhaps me even a little more so.

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A birthday celebrated this year with decidedly less fanfare, but lovely none the less.

The standout, the words Ella wrote on my card this year "My flower, you make my heart bloom. All these 7 years I have loved you the most. Happy Birthday."

Happy Birthday indeed.

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It's past Cup Day and well time our tomatoes and basil were in. I do hate pulling veg out before they've truly finished though and broad beans are one of the worst for that. In my dream garden, my one day garden, I will have individual beds for each veg and they can hang around as long as they'd like. I'll supply not only us, but everyone I know as well. One day.

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I commissioned Ella to make this card for me, although didn't specify all the elements she included! It's our wedding anniversary today, 12 years. Happy Anniversary GJH xxx

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Now and again I read something that really resonates with me. Today, reading an article on Mark Twain in the Good Weekend, this little piece of his writing really connected with me.

"What a wee little part of a person's life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself. All day long, and every day, the mill of his brain is grinding and his thoughts, not those other things, are his history. His acts and his words are merely the visible thin crust of his world ... The mass of him is hidden - it and its volcanic fires that toss and boil and never rest, night or day. These are his life, and they are not written and cannot be written."

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I'm sorry etsy, I've figured you out again, it was all me, I'm so very sorry! You are actually more responsive than you were last year, thank you.

Finally, the girls are in the shop, hopefully in time to find new homes for Christmas.

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Etsy, why are you doing this to me? Is it really you? I know it's been a while, but have you really changed so much since I've been gone? We never used to argue, we got along just fine, but now, well I just don't understand you. You don't respond to my actions, I can't anticipate what you're going to do. I'm not trying to control you, I just want us to work together like we used to. Am I blaming you unfairly, is it really my crumby pc that's working against me? I just want to list my dolls, but my photoss are disappearing from me and twice as big as they used to be. I'm adrift, I don't know what to do. Thank god Pa's coming tomorrow, perhaps he can help!