Sunday, August 11, 2013

Whatever you like, treasure boxes and gold rings.

1. I am hungry all the time -- it takes a lot of calories to grow a newborn, and I'm nursing a greedy toddler on top of that. I often know I want something to eat, but don't fancy anything we have in the house (that's from years of treating snacking as a bad habit). Today I wander round the farmers' market and buy everything I fancy for lunch.

2. Nick and Alec have taken to rummaging through my boxes of costume jewellery at story time. Alec calls them 'treasure boxes' and takes a pirate's pleasure in the trinkets within. This evening he asks me to bring a particular box down. I stopped wearing jewellery when Alec was born because I couldn't bear the thought of metal things hurting him; and then he got too interested in shining, jingling things; and now I'm out of the habit. Looking through the box reminded me of how much pleasure jewellery gives me -- not just catching a glint or a flash of colour; but the stories behind the pieces, where they came from, when I wore them, who borrowed them, how I repaired them.

3. Alec holds my fingertips against his new fear of falling asleep in the dark. My wedding and engagement rings appear to glow.

Poached egg, acer and bramble.

1. Carefully opening my poached egg so the yolk runs on to the toast. 2. The acer tree -- lime green edged with crimson. 3. Bramble shoots, ...