Authorlouisa

3BT – light outside, mushrooms, future warmth

neckwarmer-thumbI’ve been meaning to start my own Three Beautiful Things posts since I found Clare’s blog over a year ago but I’ve never got around to it aside from using Twitter for the occasional beautiful things style tweet. I figured I shouldn’t start any more projects unless I could commit the time to maintaining them but while we were in Madrid last week, I thought I should just frickin’ give it a go. Don’t know how long I’ll manage to keep it up but here goes nothing ;)

1. We came back from Madrid after dark last night but the sun is shining when we wake up. I look out into the garden – at the trees, at the beck at the bottom of the garden, at the sky stretching out into the distance – and smile. Nice to see everything is still where it should be after the bad weather.

2. Later on, I venture into the garden with two of the cats, Carla and Boron. We’ve been going on walks together around the garden (and the woods next door) since we moved into the house in October. Left untouched by cats and humans for over a week, a huge cluster of mushrooms has grown on a log. I run up the stairs to the house to look them up in my mushroom identification book.

3. Workwise, I have a bad day catching up on everything – I’m still behind as the afternoon passes into evening but John insists we both stop work anyway. After dinner, I grab some lovely pinky-purply wool from my stash and crochet up a neckwarmer. It’s improvised but it turns out well.

The only photo I took in Madrid

calle de la paz street sign

Last week’s Tweets (up to 2009-11-29)

  • quickly clears two outstanding things from her to-do list before tea. #
  • loves Smile telephone banking. The website might be godawful and stuck in 2002 but the telephone banking rocks. #
  • currently hates her space bar. Can't wait to get the office set up downstairs and get an external keyboard etc. #
  • has been strangely efficient today. It's novel and pleasing to be so organised. Also fed horses carrots so win all around. #
  • is strangely excited by tiny pasta shells. #
  • has seen a million to-do list items and rocked them all. #
  • @xbaz i worry about him because i've been there. i hit soft rock bottom in my early-mid teens: a horrible, big-haired, cheesy-lyricked time. in reply to xbaz #
  • dear pastlouisa_, where did you put the uk-to-euro plug adapters when you were unpacking after the move, you crazy bitch? hugzz, nowlouisa_ #
  • had an amazingly easy journey – no traffic jams, no delays, no lost luggage – wonderful :) #
  • has sent @jeremyjarvis & @sarahjarvis into the wilds of madrid with sketchy directions to get back to the hotel. Hope they make it… :) #
  • discovers the hotel has free wifi. super slow though. #
  • thinks this hotel would be great if it wasn't for the building works happening on the floor below us. very noisy from 8am-6pm, sigh. #
  • @thattommyhall ooh, sounds like it'll be an ace trip. don't forget to get a visa sorted in good time – was a PITA when we got ours done. in reply to thattommyhall #
  • trying to decide whether to go to the cinema or have another afternoon of aimless wandering. Want to save the best stuff for with @johnleach #
  • has just bought comedy knitting needles (20mm) and is now watching a fat spiderman dancing in plaza mayor. #
  • pushed her crappy spanish to the limit in attempting to buy a 15mm crochet hook. We didn't cover that in Mr Jones' gcse spanish class. #
  • found cats in parque del retiro. Weee! #

Last week’s Tweets (up to 2009-11-22)

  • feels like she's waiting for a bus in a deserted wasteland. Thanks westfield bradford, thanks so much. #
  • @davidsmalley please pass on a *wave* to Rose from me. Congrats to Team Smalley :) in reply to davidsmalley #
  • is pondering how to ask a cheeky question. #
  • messes with her own head, and @johnleach's #
  • wonders who likes their walks around the garden and wood-next-door more – me or the cats. #
  • is over-excited – there are horses in the field next-door-but-one again! They were one of the reasons we bought this house! horses!!!! #
  • tried jala neti/nasal irrigation to clear out her blocked sinuses. they feel different now, but not sure if different = better or cleaner. #
  • @sarahjarvis *jealous* in reply to sarahjarvis #
  • @tokengeek and we're looking forward to you starting! see you tomorrow! :) in reply to tokengeek #
  • thinks she might have too much on today. #
  • is annoyed: for the second time in two days, wymetro has given me incorrect travel information. #
  • is playing openttd on a train. Meta + #
  • Also nerd++. #
  • has had a day in bed in an attempt to shake her since-Saturday illness. the cats have discovered they can sit/walk on the headboard. #
  • is grateful but losing patience. #
  • is enjoying the disco on our balcony courtesy of @djtedesco #
  • stomped out into the woods with a feline companion. She was far more nimble than me. Looking at the house from a side-on angle was odd. #
  • found a heart shaped crisp in her packet of kettle chips. thought about keeping it for @johnleach as a soppy gesture but just ate it instead #

Last week’s Tweets (up to 2009-11-15)

  • tried working on the balcony but it's too bright for my silly reflective screen. The world was steaming in the sun. #
  • is pissed off. A case of the Mondays. #
  • sprayed water all over the kitchen and dribbled toothpaste down her top. A clumsy morning so far. #
  • wants to make bacon with @johnleach #notaeuphemism. (it really wasn't a euphemism, i actually want to eat some meat (also #notaeuphemism)) #
  • was so engrossed in playing openttd yesterday evening that she forgot to have dessert. a new nerdy diet? #
  • managed to lose a piece of A4 paper while walking downstairs. Had it at the top, didn't have it at the bottom. No idea how that's possible. #
  • @jeremyjarvis as @urbanwide said, yay but boo! hope you feel better soon and you guys are super happy in your new place :) in reply to jeremyjarvis #
  • & @johnleach had a lovely brief afternoon visit from Katherine & SleepyJoe. We wanted to see him smile but he wouldn't perform for us, boo. #
  • suspects she's not done enough work today but the work she has done has been bloody good. #
  • wonders if it'd be better to be more focused on 1 or 2 areas instead of having a casual but enthusiastic interest in a billion things. #
  • elected not to go to #bcbradford because of "stuff to do". Now can't decide what stuff actually needs doing. Hope everyone has fun there :) #
  • @strowger78 you filthpots, but also, nice shirt ;) in reply to strowger78 #
  • returns from a trip to both shipley and bingley with pretty coloured things and a chintzy chicken. http://www.twitpic.com/phris #
  • likes having the kitchen space to experiment. Currently sprouting seeds & tipping my toes into wild fermenation with a ginger beer starter. #
  • has achieved things today and also been stung by a nettle for the first time in years. #
  • is worried by @johnleach's growing obsession with lame soft rock. he's mocking it at the moment but am worried it's like pulling pigtails #
  • @xbaz he's singing livin on a prayer a lot (because it's on guitar hero) but it's mostly the awful, awful theme tune to Star Trek Enterprise in reply to xbaz #
  • @xbaz and he's talking about growing his hair for winter, which is obviously his way of sliding into having a poodle-do. *shudder* in reply to xbaz #
  • has one cat on her knee, one on her feet and another on her boobs. cosy. #

Last week’s Tweets (up to 2009-11-08)

  • had to get up early because our bed was being delivered – it's lovely but seems really, really high after sleeping on the floor for a month. #
  • loved how the world dripped and steamed and shined after the rain this morning. #
  • thinks the kid @johnleach is playing on guitar hero/xbox live has forgotten he/she has plugged in a microphone. lots of tone-deaf singing. #
  • had an ace bonfire night – was very impressed by Mrs @davidsmalley's willingness to face all the steps in the garden while very pregnant! #
  • is tired of being inspiration for the randy but nadless cat. He judders away on me until thrown off, then licks himself & returns for more. #