a long time, a long week.

it's been a good few days since i last wrote. it's been one of those weeks. when i really don't get the chance to sit down and think to myself, "hey, i'd love to write about my every thought right about now..."


and that's a good thing. because the last week has been so full to the brim that it almost burst. so there was no time to overthink, or allow boredom to set in, or to dwell on unimportant matters. in the last week i have proven to myself that i can get a bucketload done when i want to and when i need to and has allowed me also to realise how much i love having the time, in my usual routine, to breathe and think hard and dwell. and how nice it is to be reminded of how lucky you are to take time every now and then.


it was this one's birthday.

present opening: vintage LP poster, creases, stains and all, framed in pristine white. the beatles as they should be.


and 26 is not a big deal. but we like to celebrate things that aren't a big deal. and he hadn't had a party for a long while... so we celebrated, we partied. in his case a little too hard.





it was such fun preparing in the days leading up. we went to costco.



and pulled out every platter and bowl and serving dish we own in a monumental, colour-coordinating effort



and i had incredible help and support from the mother and the sister



the cute version



the actual reality, not-so-cute version


and mostly the spread was an incredible success. 





except i was so paranoid about my brownies being mushy in the middle that i overcooked them by about fourteen hours. and they were so hard that i could only cut fifteen pieces (there should have been about thirty). and even then, my sweet little toothpick happy birthday candles had great difficulty piercing through the tough-as-nails brownie stack. to the point that the tail of the "r" of "birthday" fell off as i shoved for dear life and turned it into a "p". and at that point i took it as a sign. and that sign said do not serve the brownies. and so they stayed in the kitchen, my "happy bip" brownies.





and sunday we both had the most ridiculous days that involved absolutely no recovery time. so monday rolled around, the day of my love's birth, and we were both like zombies. but it was a beautiful, calm, sleepy, easy day, which included unexpected gift-giving, two-hat lunch, and his number one cheesecake with loved ones.





and i'm glad the weekend was as great as it was. and i am exhausted and drained. because, oh yes, last week i also worked, ran a six hour rehearsal lone-ranger, upholstered a bed (yes you read correctly), and waited patiently for justine to return from her south african reunion. and now she is back and all is right in the world again, at least temporarily.


and the next four weeks are going to be just as crazy, with the school show looming and the octave show cranking into gear for auditions, and shows to be seen and props to be made and dinners to be cooked and... 


i'm excited.


-- R.