'when you're smiling...when you're smiling...'

i just took some time off over easter, and we very much enjoyed the visit of our old mates jim, beth, ella and abby...
but now it's back to being busybusybusy again...

these little cards for the fox fanzine have been a joy to do... [there'll be a full set of fifteeen of them as a special gift to subscribers in the summer]
i just spent several happy hours researching them in old programmes and bits of leicester city paraphanalia...

football really was better back then wasn't it?

sue is 40 today...

this is why you should never ask me and eddie to bake you a cake....

yes, it's sue's birthday.
40 today.
and, to be fair, she didn't actually ask me and the boy to make her a cake - we just sort of assumed that she'd like us to. which i think she did.
[we haven't tasted it yet though...]


meanwhile, this quilt [see pic below] is her present. it's been on the cards for a while - surreptitiously commissioned and constructed in secret, with a variety of friends and family designing, making and sending the patches, the fantastic borders were made by our friend and textile wizard moira, with lovely emily doing amazing things to pull it all together and make it look brilliant...



if you want to see more images, nip on over to my flickr thingy]

in some ways, the arrival of sue's birthday has been a big relief for me and the boys - keeping the plans for this present a secret has been pretty stressful at times - the subterfuge has exhausted me. but now it's time to bask in the glory of a plan fairly-well conceived and expertly executed.

so, happy birthday sue.
you are, and always will be the love of my life.

some days i see the point

on monday night i went to artisan and it was good. i showed '40' and talked a bit about it; and i didn't make a complete arse of myself in the process - cause for celebration. we decamped to a bar afterwards, where mike L showed up... good to catch up with him, and also to get to know mark waddington and helen from holy T a bit better - top people.


and off the back of that, yesterday was a really good day.

firstly, on the way to school i overheard this conversation...
mum [to small boy]: "now will you promise me that you'll be a good boy at school today?"
small boy [somewhat less than enthusiastically]: "yeah"
mum: "and when your teacher gets everyone to sit on the carpet, you'll be good then?"
boy: "yeah..."
mum: and today, if you need a wee, you'll put your hand up and ask and make sure that you go...?"
boy: "yeah..."
mum: "...before you sit on the carpet?"

later on, reminded by meeting mike, i downloaded some tracks from firstword - very nice.

after rejections from newcastle and nottingham, sue got invited for an interview at sheffield uni, which was the one she wanted. nothing's guaranteed, but it's another hurdle cleared.

the postman brought us the letter confirming eddie's place at the high school we'd chosen for him [allerton grange, our local secondary]

i got loads of admin done - for once i was proactive and not procastinatory [is that a real word?] and it felt good. must do it more often...

work went well. [see image below]

there is homemade flapjack and black sheep cake in the house.

i got an unexpected email inviting me to contribute to a comicbook anthology

our house smells of new carpet. i'd almost forgotten how much i love that smell.

i'm still working from the dining table, but the space around me is gradually transforming into a rather lovely place - sue says it feels like our room at last, and she's right. there's new paint on the walls and skirting, curtainy things hanging in the windows, three stanley spencer prints of christ in the wilderness [a 40th birthday present from much-loved chums] and an albert herbert smiling down on me as i draw stuff.

and the record player is also in here with me - sparking an eighties mini-revival in our home. the newly-laid laminate floor resounded to the tunes of the smiths, echo and the bunnymen and the waterboys.

two mildly eccentric blokes came to replace our old leccy meter - it was like having the chuckle brothers in the hall, but in a good way.

after school, me and eddie laughed ourselves stupid as he tried to explain the lyrics to his bands latest song ['spirits of london'] - he is a truly amazing kid [and i lose sight of that sometimes...]

i cooked bacon, scrambled eggs and beans for tea. joe was ecstatic.

on the desk yesterday...