On the SECOND day AFTER Christmas...

Today was the day I promised myself all through those l-o-n-g pre Christmas customer service days. My oasis - after the rush of Christmas - a day in bed! It was to be my day of unapologetic sloth.The weather even obliged me - grey and chilly not an inducement for me to leave my cosy nest. As I arranged the pillows around me and wiggled further under the doona I thought this is just Bliss with a capital B!!!!

I took the opportunity to do my next favorite thing - read.. What did I read I hear you ask - "Her Fearful Symmetry" written by Audrey Niffenegger. I found it at the library a couple of weeks ago when I was there. I wasn't sure that I would like it as it had had mixed reviews from a couple of people who had read it - but surprisingly I did... Left me with a bit of an odd unsettled feeling though - not unlike wisps of a dream which curl around long after you wake up... I haven't read any other of Audrey Niffenegger's work - her most famous being "The Time Traveller's Wife" so I couldn't make a comparison. However I genuinely liked her characters - they were well drawn - peculiarities and all which I guess in turn makes them more believable. Perhaps the ones who touched me the most was Martin and his wife Marijke and of course Robert Fanshaw and Valentina Poole.

The plot is essentially about love, loss, the striving for identity and family secrets with a ghost as the pivotal character... The backdrop is London and the immediate surroundings of the story is the famous Highgate Cemetery. Worth a read if you are looking for something a little different...

One of my 2011 resolutions is to try and do a little more of what I have done today - I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time. Now I'm off to have a look through the pile of books beside the bed and choose another one... There are two which are equal contenders with a third following close. My goal was to read three books before I went to work - one down, two to go...

S xx

...it's starting...

... to feel like Christmas... Every year it seems to take me longer and longer to get into the spirit of things... I don't know why it is perhaps because I work in retail and we always seem to be way ahead... At the moment I am being shown books for Easter and Mother's Day by the reps... No wonder I always feel a little confused at to what part of the year I'm in... At the moment I can hardly wait until it is over and I can get down to the job of just being slothful for a few days and catching my breath... I can feel the end coming to my bookselling days and I wonder what Life has in store for me next... I wish I could just stay at home for a little while and 'play house'... But unless I win lotto that is not likely to happen any time soon...

But I digress...

Today I got the Chrsitmas pudding made - a new recipe and a new slow cooker so I am crossing my fingers that all is well and by the morning I shall have a great tasting pudding... I had priced some - puddings that is - and I was very tempted to just buy one but in some mad way I feel like I am 'letting the side down' by not making one. P is going to make his special vanilla icecream and I was thinking about an old recipe of a chocolate mousse I used to make... We are thinking just simple home cooked roast chickens with perhaps some ham and roast veggies or a salad if it is warm...

We are aiming at a simple Christmas this year - just enough food with a little left over for Boxing Day and a present under the tree (or in the absense of it - in the space where it should be) for every one to feel that they have been thought of...

What do I want this year... I can't actually think of anything... I have enough books and needlework to keep me well and truely occupied for a very long time and there isn't anything I actually need...

I know I am making it hard for P and E as to suggestions on what they might get me but I am wracking my brain to think of anything at the moment... I am hoping inspiration will hit me soon...

I am not one for buying DVDs once I have seen something that is enough... However yesterday I sat for probably close to four hours totally enthralled watching the first couple of discs in the series the House of Eliott... I absolutely loved it - apparently made about 16 years ago - it had a huge following - I can understand why it is well put together and for anyone interested in that era it makes for compelling watching... Worth a look if you haven't seen it...

Well, time for me to head off to bed before it starts all over again tomorrow...

** P and I had a laugh earlier on - we have just managed to start the last block of chocolate we received last Christmas - the space in the fridge is clear - just in time for a refill!!!!

Sharon x

...where to start...

... perhaps I will just pick up the thread anywhere so bear with me...It may take a few posts to get up to speed...

As you can see by my previous post we have had a death in the family... He was my ex-husband's brother and as with all marriage breakups, parts of family are inevitably lost to either one side or the other. It was still a shock to hear how he became so very ill and see that once fit, healthy man go down hill as quickly as he did...He had just turned 62 - still in the prime of his life and looking forward to retiring... If anything, his death has made me once again look at my own life and appreciate it - swearing not to flitter it away on the trivial and unimportant...

While we were still in recovery mode from J's death, my eldest daughter's beloved cat Toshi also went to meet his maker... He had been ailing for a little while but deteriorated quite quickly and passed away on Thursday...



This is a (not very good photo) of Tosh doing his second favorite thing - sleeping... The first favorite being eating...

Rest in peace in your favorite part of the garden Tosh...

More later

A Sad Farewell..

John Philip Hunting 1948 - 2010

May you rest in peace...

...taking time to smell the roses...

These roses are on my way to the bus stop I go to each morning I can't help but be hypnotised at their simple beauty... Especially as some of them are almost forgotten in the midst of a neglected garden...



as always...

S X

again a new beginning...

...after a couple of false starts I am ready to try again... My plan is to start with one post a week and slowly build on it... I realise that I have been missing in action for quite awhile now and what with one thing and another life here has been interesting to say the least...

2010 has flitted past like a dragonfly and moments of stillness for reflection have been few and far between... P and my trip to Tasmania was so far the highlight of this year we just loved it... We have tentatively made plans to go back again in 2011... But as P says "As you make plans God laughs.." So whether we actually get back there remains to be seen...

As I look back from this point in the year I think for a moment of L who lost her fight with ovarian cancer - her death having a far greater an impact on me than I care to admit...The continual loss I feel for a friend. One never realises just how precious relationships are until they are threatened or broken. Family conflict too has been another major bump in the road with resolutions for recovery still far from resolved. My health has been questionable this year with me just not feeling myself at all... I am unsure where this particular road is leading. Now watching my brother-in-law facing a life or death struggle, one wonders what Life is indeed about. Work life for me has been one of constant upheaval as the particular industry I am in is under constant battery... I wonder if in fact I shall have employment this time next year...

As of my birthday in September I have entered a Year One in numerology terms... Year Ones are a time of new beginnings - starting out - new projects etc... I have been known to do quite extraordinary things in these phases of my life... But so far nothing has indicated that Life will go on any other way than the way it has... While I don't live my life by the numbers I have an open mind to their relationship with us... I do believe ther is more on offer than we tend to see or believe.

Later on today I am trying something new - a workshop on the Introduction to Botanical Art... It has been something which has always 'sparked my imagination' so to speak and E gave me the workshop as a present last birthday. I am a little nervous about it but I keep reminding myself that it will be good to try something new... I feel like a little kid with my new pencils and paints and a fresh new sketch book..

Well time to head off to bed... Until later...

S x

Another new look...

I just love this new blog template - it is just what I have been looking for... It inspires me to do more and I am hoping that my time away will motivate me to start some things which I have relegated to the back burner...

Am I boring you...

... but isn't he cute...

Yet...

...another photo...

G...

for you - the new face at the dinner table ... Meet the 'new kid' - Louis - E's new mate...

S

A new name...

You who still visit here will now notice a new name... I have been musing for quite some time to change the name... I believe both I and the blog have outgrown 'Beyond...' I initially started 'Beyond' for a couple of reasons of which really don't matter now... However I would like to think I in some ways achieved what I needed to...

Why 'A Variegated Thread' ?? I love variegated thread and I use it a bit in my embroidery I love the unexpectedness of it - it can change within a few stitches - changing the look and sometimes the tone of the piece. The meaning of the word variegate suggests change the appearance of, especially by marking with different colors... Of course the word thread applies both to embroidery and in this case to words...

I have always seen words 'in colour'. I understand the power of words and that they can to change the appearance of a story, a message, a passage of writing - they can alter it abruptly or subtly - they can take you on a journey or 'show' you something... Words can persude you, elate you, anger you or simply offer an explanation..

This is what I hope to do with A Variegated Thread - offer differences, so you the reader won't know what to expect - sometimes reflection, or a rant, or maybe just an image which moves me... Sometimes I will talk about my life on this side of the screen, or a book which has caught my eye perhaps a tit bit of conversation I have overheard...

Whatever it is I bring it to you and I hope you will enjoy it...

Until next time...

S

Look who's here...

She looks innocent doesn't she???

2010

It's time for a change... Beyond the blank page...