- I like the rhythm of next door's tumble dryer spinning against the party wall, gives the office a womb-like quality. Making me sleepy though #
- Saw a jay in the garden at lunchtime. Silent bob nowhere to be seen though. #
- .@johnleach just quietly moved his head up & down until i realised the HILARIOUS joke he was making re: my last tweet. I might leave him. #
- Had to get stabbed three times before a sufficiently pumpy vein was found. Not fun for a needlephobic! #
- @swirlyarts I make them in GIMP – each frame a separate layer in reply to swirlyarts #
- Hurrah for traffic jams – i'd have missed my bus if the road hadn't been clogged ;) #
- There should be a rule that bus stops can't be within smell range of curry restaurants. #
- RT @manupatree Wild Garlic pods & Hop shoots and some other stuff http://bit.ly/dpzISO << great idea, I'll pickle some pods this weekend! #
- A long shot but does anyone have a white kimono or kimono-esque robe that we can use as a stage costume for a week in July? #
- @davidsmalley the actress is only 13 and slight, but i think that *might* be a little small. ;) in reply to davidsmalley #
- @strowger78 hurrah! were they as soft as you'd hoped? in reply to strowger78 #
- @strowger78 fluffy kitties! cute pics :) in reply to strowger78 #
- @johnleach what more could you want from a search engine? I mean, aside from the results in, alternately, marquee & blink tags. in reply to johnleach #
- @Caius Awesome work – makes me feel queasy looking at it. Put a swirly animated gif background on the results page and you're THERE. #
- @davidsmalley authentic 1998 stylee. in reply to davidsmalley #
- Had a wonderful date night with @johnleach (& Lily). Dinner at Coopers in Guiseley, followed by a walk around the park & cute doggy playing #
- I've got that weird feeling again where it feels like my feet are on backwards. #
- @tim_waters yes, we're ikea ninjas these days. instead of being deadly assassins, we buy cushions but doing it sneaky ninja style. :) in reply to tim_waters #
- Home Delivery Network just dropped an Amazon package through a window in our porch onto tiled floor, 6ft below. Good job it wasn't fragile! #
- Went to the fete at the Leonard Cheshire Home on Clara Dr with Team Slater – bought cute hankies & cake to eat in 1970s style in the garden. #
- Following @manupatree's cue (http://bit.ly/dpzISO), I pickled some wild garlic pods today. Might try making something tapenade-y tomorrow. #
- Oh, and inspired by stinky garlicky hands while cleaning my teeth, I'd also like to try doing something with the pods & some mint… #
- Clearing out some old uni books. Anything with "cyberspace" (or, double gah, "hyperspace") in the title automatically goes in the to-go pile #
- I am to blame for all the rain. I ended the 1st hot spell by buying shorts, the 2nd flipflops & our new patio set arrived yesterday. Sorry. #
- Only doing about 3 things on my to-do list for today but have done chores, baked scones, gardened & spun yarn. So it's ok, I forgive me. #
- @tim_waters hurrah! are you using a kit or did you collect the spores yourself? mushrooms are on our to-grow list – you can be our guru. in reply to tim_waters #
Authorlouisa
1. We stop at the park on the way home – the park that looks like a stereotypical village green, next to a church, with a cricket pitch in the middle – and run around with Lily. Despite her initial excitement, she tires quickly and we sit down next to her. She immediately gets up, walks to the other side of the path and sits down again. We laugh, imagining her saying “Ugh! Muuum! Daaad! Don’t sit near me and embarrass me in front of the other springers!”.
2. Rain stops play in the garden so we retreat inside. We unpack some books – some of the last boxes to be unpacked since the move. With each box we empty, we free up a little more space, feel a little more settled.
3. The magical transformation when the flour and butter are completely rubbed together. The light powder and sticky solid become almost grainy.
1. I call for Carla but she’s already on the balcony waiting for me and the three of us – me, her and Lily – head into the woods. Lily paddles in the beck and Carla climbs trees while I pick pungent pods for pickling.
2. The (very) local Leonard Cheshire home is having a garden fete and, joined by the Slaters, we walk over to check it out. As the brass band plays, I find cute polka-dotted vintage handkerchiefs and we buy cake in the name of charity.
3. Looking up, my vision is field with green. Looking down, our neighbours’ party balloons are reflected in the glass.
1. John and I often hold conversations in the form of song, usually singing alternate lyrics to an earworm or the song we’re currently playing. Today’s conversation in song: I explain that I’ve left the door key in my hoodie pocket and my hoodie is at the bottom of the garden because by the time I’d got there, I’d realised it was too hot to wear it for the walk. I explain that to the tune of Tenacious D’s Tribute.
2. The tubby black cat jumps over the lazy dog.
3. It nearly doesn’t happen – it’s already late and we’re hungry – but John decides it’ll take as long to get curry delivered as it will for him to make his own keema achar. He thinks it’s too lamby but I think it’s delicious. The seeds add variety to the flavour of the sauce. “Are there fennel seeds in here?” I ask him at one point. There are.
1. We’ve been avoiding the muddy woods and walk to Apperley Bridge instead. We watch the swans and their perfect reflections in the marina, then the ducks squabbling on the canal.
2. It’s 11th years to the day since Carla & her late brother Carbon came to live with me. Throughout the day, I sing celebration songs to Carla and miss her brother.
3. A joke becomes real and we all get headaches from looking at it for too long.
4. Lily sits at our feet while we enjoy the hearty meal. The shift manager sneaks her treats and tickles. On the way home, we stop for a park for a quick stroll at dusk and she plays with an excitable young terrier. All in all, a good evening for the dog and for us.
1. My bunting arrives and it’s so nice that I want to order more and fill the house with it.
2. While I’ve been hiding indoors from the rain, bean and pea pods have appeared.
3. Lily watches me leave the room and slowly follows – too slowly to see me run downstairs and hide in the office. From my secret spot, I watch her enter and then, with a confused snort, turn around and leave again. I hear her waiting in the hallway and she must hear me at the same time – she comes back into the office and seeks me out. I jump out and give her a hug. Her helicopter tail bangs on the floor.
© 2024 Louisa Parry