I’ve been missing, I know. It’s been a crazy few weeks, do you want to hear about it? Okay!
September-October was always going to be a bit mad. This month is my MIL’s 80th birthday and of course we have to have a grand bash to mark that milestone. The party was scheduled for last weekend (although her birthday is in the middle of the month) because Mr. R is off to the US for a two-week exchange program at Carnegie Hall followed by meetings around the USA for our music charity Child’s Play and he wouldn’t be around for a party on the real date. So, preparations for the big day have been on for weeks. We’ve been cleaning and dusting and polishing until the streaks of polish coat our fingernails and coffee begins to smell of Mansion House. But hey, our floors are gleaming (and a little slippery), the antique chairs and carved furniture get their annual dusting in advance (I have energy to do this only once a year) and we had flowers everywhere.
That was the good news.
The not-so-good-news was that our maid (chef, chief cleaner, housekeeper) walked out four days before the party. We thought she was being temperamental, but it turned out to be carefully orchestrated and plotted. So we did everything by ourselves. It’s not easy, trying to get a house of this size and age ready for a party all by yourself, with a three-year old who either wants to help or wants you to play with him, dusting be damned.
In the end, it went off okay. Thank goodness for caterers.
I’ve had no time to blog, or look at pretty pictures, or think of decor other than climbing on ladders trying to clean gigantic mirrors. (Who knew cleaning mirrors would take so much effort? I had to leave the room, squint and contort myself into various positions to spot streaks on our hall mirror. Sheesh.)
Add to this the usual humdrum of life. School-run, groceries, deadlines. Something had to give.
Now that the birthday bash is over and Mr. R is enroute to the USA, I can declutter and start to breathe again. My desk is clear, a fresh to-do list waits to be crossed out, new books are lined up for review. The inbox has three emails marked “Current Assignments” due by the weekend. Life finds a way to get one back on track. Now if only a maid would show up…
Enough of the woes! Here are some pretty pictures to lift your spirits. Hope your week has been better!
I luurve figs. They aren’t in the market here right now, but pears are. And chickoos. And the big grapes are just starting to trickle in. When life is dull, the fruit bazaar will bring in basket-loads of happiness. Yes.
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A reminder to have a whale of a time, everyday.
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Use a traditional toran in a different setting…
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Love this idea for gorgeous artwork. Simply enlarge and frame an old envelope or fragment of a letter. Or write your own quote and age the paper with tea!
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and another…
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and to my readers and those who faithfully leave comments or like my posts on Facebook, here’s a big fat kiss for you! Muah.
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See you again soon!
