Category: Inspiration

I am extremely excited. There are four of us going and I’m sure one of is actually going to explode at some point in the run up to the holiday.

As I’ve been before, I’m going to play at being Tour Guide Barbie. I am looking forward to many months ahead looking over maps and marking the plans on.

Happy happy happy 🙂

I’ve had it today, I really have. I’ve inexplicably enjoyed listneing to Beyoncé and The Wanted, drank more wine at lunch than is sensible and subsequently decided to organise lots of nights out in town that seemed like a good idea at the time but will probably never happen.

So here, in no particular order, is my list of top 10 reasons why Fridays are a joy:

• The knowledge that you don’t have to get up the next day. An obvious one, but there really is nothing better than a Saturday morning lie-in.
• The knowledge that you don’t have to go to work for two whole days. Along the same lines as the first point, but worth mentioning separately.
• Looking forward to whatever you have planned that weekend. Because even though you can look forward to something all week, on Friday it’s so close you can almost taste it.
• Nothing need be that serious. Even those deadlines at work.
• Having time to spend the time. Although I see my husband every day, it’s just somehow different on a Friday evening; no worries, no cares, no troubles, no bedtime.
• You can dance around and be silly. This one was my husband’s contribution.
• Friday lunch. I don’t know about you, but Friday lunch to me is always ‘treat lunch’. That means I can get a Prêt or go out for lunch with collegues and not feel guilty about a) spending too much and b) being late back to the office.
• After-work events. Goes hand in hand with the joyful knowledge that you don’t have to get up for work the next morning.
• Everyone buys into the hype. Everyone thinks Fridays are awesome, thus, Fridays are awesome. People just tend to be a little bit happier, more relaxed and carefree; because it’s Friday and that’s what happens on a Friday, right?
• Pressing the off switch. On anything and everything.

I’ll be somewhere in Wales this weekend, possibly in some kind of big tent, possibly near some big expanse of water in which there is the possibility of swimming. Thus I won’t be doing much crafting or much baking. Have a good weekend 🙂

I miss having an excuse to write a proper letter to someone. Everyone loves getting post, don’t they? Being newly-weds, my husband and I are currently ploughing through the task of writing our thank you cards. Personally I have relished having to write long notes to people, having actually got something important to write about; something to say.

All this has got me thinking that I should write more letters. Everyone should write more letters. You should definitely write a letter. You can write one to me if you like.

After a bit of digging around on the internet (though I really feel I should’ve gone to my local library and sat making notes surrounded by a huge pile of old books- let’s pretend I did that) I discovered a whole heap of stuff that has inspired me to write letters even more:

The Letter-Writing Project, Boston: Writing stations, complete with stationery, where people could sit and write letters, then either leave them to be posted or leave them there to be read.

Letters To The Dead: In ancient Eygpt, there was a custom of writing letters to dead relatives; usually asking for help with problems. Well it can’t hurt to ask…

Round Robin: Yes, I have actually discovered what this means! “It’s a letter where you have a group of people and you basically write letters in a circle — Person 1 sends her letter to Person 2. That person writes a letter and then sends his letter AND Person 1’s letter to Person 3 who writes a letter and sends ALL the letters on to Person 4. The pattern continues until all the letters make it back to Person 1. She then removes her original letter and replaces it with a new one, then sends the whole batch on to Person 2 again. Ad infinitum.” Thanks to Passion For Letters for that.

Quotes on letter-writing: “Letter-writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company.” Lord Byron

“One good thing about not seeing you is that I can write you letters.” Svetlana Alliluveya

“Please write again soon. Though my own life is filled with activity, letters encourage momentary escape into others lives and I come back to my own with greater contentment.” Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey

“There must be millions of people all over the world who never get any love letters… I could be their leader.” Charlie Brown

At the end of the week it’s my husband’s uncle’s 80th birthday (is there such thing as an uncle in-law??) and so I have been commissioned to make a special card. It’s been decided that a ‘cut-out’ style card is what’s to be made and I was reminded of my book on Matisse ’gouaches découpés’ – the paper cut outs he did towards the end of his life. Whilst on this occassion my creativity has been reigned in to a mere ‘HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY’ cut out of the front of the card, I feel inspired to create something rather more colourful and less rigid. I’m thinking outlines of flowers.

In the meantime, enjoy these: