(happy bday on this day to my delightful little brother mark! may this year be a fantastic one!)

i have been both physically well & yet still at peace lately. the only things really phasing me being my bodily limitations. (i guess overcoming these easily or training through them is what makes elite athletes so elite)

the past month has seen me settle ito my new job fairly well. feeling around for my own foothold- finding out where i fit in. it's pretty cruisy, relaxed work. i'm not jumping at any major goals at the moment, just going with the flow of the workplace... i am liking this phase of my life. i know i've had a similar phase in my life before. work doesn't encroach on play time and vice versa.

this weekend i've had such a sore throat! felt like something sharp & painful was lodged inside, destroying me further with each swallow. j was gone on saturday night, boy's poker night, so my evening was spent watching 8 episodes of sex & the city... season 6 (prrrrrow!)... and nursing honey sweetened pots of herbal teas.
and this afternoon- post blueberry pancakes, coffee and crosswords- i lazed in the hammock, swathed in my favourite fabrics: a colourful sarong, cambodian silk, sheer white cotton... and i finished a book. *the bride stripped bare* (by anonymous)... thoroughly enjoyed it! could relate to a lot of it. stories of young married life... have you read it flo? if not, i'll include a copy in your package :)

yes, so, the book was well written. stylishly so even. & it brought home sharply the fact that i am a wife (easier to forget than you'd think. i'm a partner, a woman, support, and yes, at times, a nagging bitch.) my mother-in-law warned me things would be different & i almost didn't belive her but, especially as the years pass and we're still just the 2 of us and minou, i guess the reality of it sets in. the intensity with which i will do things for my husband, caring things like if he had a bad day, is what you would hope for from a lover or girlfriend... the difference is, they are expected. this isn't a bad thing. i have expectations too. and that's not to say that our expectations are always met either. but we will voice our concerns (or, j will... i don't always. talking is still as difficult as ever for me!) and hopefully come to amicable crossroads.

i really liked how, in the book, each chapter was a lesson.
lesson 10- garments worn next to the skin are those which require frequent washing
lesson 58 - you ought never to keep anything whatever under your bed
lesson 37- upon girls and women depend almost entirely the domestic happiness of men

i think i am quite old fashioned sometimes. but then i go and defy my own stuffy notions.



j is typing away at the computer while i sit at the kitchen table and write this by hand. my paper has almost run out. my handwriting in terribly messy- out of practice. the lack of a delete key has left scratches and scribbles over incomplete words, phrases & ideas. it looks more alive now than it will once typed... i guarantee! but i couldn't resist my urge to write. i would write so much more often if i had the time. my little navy blue book is filled with jotted notes and lists... perhaps i will publish some of the tidbits?

get well soon!
-xo-