foggy frozen morning run

it's friday evening....

.... and the possibilities are endless.

we've survived a bit of a brutal week. n got sick sick sick last weekend with a horrible fever/flu/cough deal that slayed him for most of the week. i can't remember the last time he was that sick. he's on the mend now (thanks to antibiotics) and was even (shakily) back to work today but ugh. poor puppy.

i have been in rude health but work has been full on and there's been some pretty intense meetings/coercion sessions (i am the one who is supposed to be doing the coercion but i have moments of - self-doubt? clarity? where i am not at all sure who is coercing whom).

and remember that incredibly well paid city job? well, one of my friends at work went for it after i declined and got it (the position above it actually - even more money!) and his leaving do was last night. i have to admit, i'm relieved it's him and not me. he is panicking at what they are going to expect with this much cash, although with even a fleeting knowledge of how messed up the world is, i don't think he should be worried. still, i really like my job and i'm glad i'm not leaving just yet. and for him this is perfect - it's a good fit. it was a robust send off and i was suffering this morning. project strategy meetings all afternoon did not help. i sank into my train seat on the way home like a drunk into a bar stool. take me home.

probably much like last night come to think of it, although entirely less literal.

but tonight two days of freedom stretch out endlessly before us and all is well.

happy friday.

5 buttons! take that, everest

human beings are capable of great feats of strength, determination, and the will to succeed against all odds. traversing the south pole, climbing everest, sailing around the world, swimming the english channel - all unimaginable accomplishments.

until now.

for today i can count myself among this mighty pantheon, having sewn 5 - (FIVE!) - buttons onto felix's christmas cardigan a mere 3 weeks after i was supposed to give it to him, and a good three months after i finished knitting the damn thing.

it must be an incredible achievement for it took me months to work up to it and the final push involved a lot of huffing and swearing which we all know is the hallmark of genius. not for nothing all those weeks of guiltily catching sight of it and quickly averting my gaze and muttering darkly about "really needing to get down to that sometime soon". the weaselly rationalisation - "no kid wants clothes for christmas anyways" and "you know helen won't mind if it's late" - came through in the end. the (admittedly idiosyncratic) training really paid off.

and henceforth we can safely assume that all future cardigans will have zippers, as no one in this household has the appetite to go through that again.

genuine brilliance, after all, can never truly be repeated.

aha

i've just caught myself meaninglessly scrolling down facebook and hopping from blog to blog on the blog reader with no new content to speak of and no purpose in sight. i am too lazy to go get a book (the windowsill - so so far). dinner is in the oven (jacket potatoes that will be stuffed with salmon and cottage cheese). it is tuesday so there is no wine to drown out the drifting ennui. there is the matter of young f's christmas jumper that i still need to sew the buttons on - but - eh. i'm not bored, just trying to get out of the habit of mindless clickbait consumption.

how can it only be tuesday? i need to summon up some verve.

at least to get to the windowsill and back.

reading and writing

happy new year and all that jazz.

i'm not too into resolutions but i am a planning and goal junkie so it's easy to get caught up in things this time of year. i do want to write more though. i've been quite lazy (oh - you noticed!) and i've been reading - online reading (which does not count i think) - not novels or anything useful. facebook, link bait, blogs, more link bait, newspaper op eds, anything to enable me to crash on the sofa and not have to think too much. needless to say this is not making me any happier. i would be a lot better off writing something instead no matter how inane. you on the other hand may not be better off with my new plan and may have to stop reading and go write something yourself! good luck.

it's a transition day today. it should be a work day but i was working from home and frankly worked more around home than from it (prepositions matter, kids). i've had 17 days holiday (the last 12 with the lovely n) and i now have the concentration span of a drunk puppy. we've gone for long walks, drank a lot of wine, eaten a lot of very good food, and even went to a few parties. we've done jigsaws and watched movies and baked and eaten some more. it's been good. i don't want it to stop. this is perfect - maybe this is my passion! do what you love and all that.  i love laying about - eating cheese and drinking wine. why is that never a long-term option? i need to work on that. career goals - i have them.

london town tomorrow - back to the big smoke - always a shock after almost three weeks of rural bliss.

i'm going to have to put on pants and everything.

gah.