Sunday update

So here I am, all of a sudden; end of my Summer holidays. Tomorrow I'm back to work. After weeks of progressively later and later nights and longer and longer sleep ins, I need to drag myself up and out to work in the morning.

I think I'm typed that last sentence for my own benefit so I remember to actually do it.

Good Reads 2015 Book Challenge

I've signed up to read 24 books this year. My son Simon says I'm crazy, and that I should've gone for 12 because that was more achievable. My counter-argument is that I never finish anything so I could say any number, and I wouldn't achieve the goal. 

Off to a great start though, with the completion of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn which I enjoyed well enough. Afterwards I took a look online for reviews and blogs about the novel, and saw that there are some pretty avid (rabid?) Gone Girl fans. I wouldn't rave about the book but it's a good summer read.

How's *that* for a review?

So for my Good Reads Book Challenge I'm going to alternate between fiction and non-fiction. With that in mind, I'm about to start Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg.

The January Cure

Apartment Therapy website has an online/email "clean along" for January. I worked my first email task today: Floors and Flowers. Sounds nice doesn't it? until you realise that "floors" means "clean all the floors in your house". 

"All the floors" is a lot of floors.

I did it but it wasn't pretty. I have a hate/hate relationship with vacuuming in ordinary circumstances, but throw in a Kirby vacuum machine as my only option and you've got one grumpy, pink faced, perspiring grump-fest crawling 'round every nook and cranny, hovering where no man's ever gone before. But I did it, and the floors look good. That's the trouble with vacuuming and sweeping, the results are so satisfying and worthwhile.

The flowers part was easy enough because my rose bush is exploding with pinkly scented blooms that are cherry on the dining room table and I hope tomorrow's task is a little less strenuous.

Sketchbook Skool

The other course I signed up for to kick the year off was Sketchbook Skool - a six week online course to introduce sketching into my day. 

Again: started - so that's good - making a point of *actually* doing all the parts of the course, and not just skipping forward to the 'good bits' of drawing. 

This week we've been asked to document our week with drawings so that'll give me something to think about as I ease back into my work life from tomorrow.

Now that's you all caught up. I hope your holidays go on much longer than mine - but if you're like me and back to the grind tomorrow, take it easy, and I hope everyone is nice to you.

Associated links:

• 2015 Book Challenge (Good Reads)
• Gone Girl (Amazon)
• Lean In (leanin.org)
• The January Cure (Apartment Therapy)
• Sketchbook Skool (Online course)

Sunday update

Secret Santas galore

In case you’re not sure what a Secret Santa is - it’s where a name is drawn from a group of people and an anonymous gift is given for Christmas. This type of gift giving at Christmas is popular in older family groups and work colleagues. This year I’m involved in three organised Secret Santa gift-giving groups:

NZ Post Secret Santa

This year New Zealand Post’s Secret Santa has been so popular they’ve opened a second round. There are over 2,600 participants secretly checking Twitter feeds to arrange just the right present for the person they’ve drawn. I’ve drawn a mysterious young woman who has locked her Twitter feed so I have no idea what her gift preferences might be.

It’s lots of fun to watch people tweet photographs their gifts, wrapped and being posted to the NZ Post warehouse for redistribution. Then it’ll be neat watching all the recipients sharing what they were gifted on Twitter. NZ Post also donates money to Christchurch’s City Mission for each Secret Santa registration (as well as all unclaimed presents) so it’s good will to all for this festive season.

Work Secret Santa

There are 22 of us going to our work Christmas lunch this year and we’ve decided Secret Santa is the fun way to go when it comes to appreciated each other this Christmas.

We need to get our gifts under the work Christmas tree by this Wednesday for distribution on Thursday at lunch. This is lots of fun because we all know each other - so we have an idea of what gifts to get - and how to tease each other by what we decide to give.

Blog Secret Santa

This is a nice twist on the usual anonymously-wrapped gift. In this case, we secretly give a guest post for our recipient blog. The posts are sent to our bloggers on Christmas Eve and they post them on Christmas Day.

In this particular Secret Santa the theme is Content Strategy and I’m playing even thought I don’t have a Content Strategy blog. I attend the Content Strategy MeetUps and content is what I do during the day, so I’m telling myself that’s okay to play. 

Tiny Books

Less than a week from order to delivery. Thanks @SocialPS for my darling #tinybook #printstudio #tjj

A photo posted by @jamjar on Dec 12, 2014 at 9:50pm PST

I’m still amazed at these amazing tiny books. I ordered them online on a Wednesday evening. Pulling images from my Instagram feed and sorting them into three books. On the Thursday I was notified that FedX had my parcel and it was on it’s way and it arrived on Monday. I mean - wow. That’s service!

They are super cute and I love the magnetic covers as much as I love the perfect images on the pages. My littlest granddaughters are completely enamoured with seeing themselves and the rabbits inside such tiny wee books.

Check out the other products Printstagram offers. Fast and good and cheap - and I thought you could only ever have two of those at once!

Christmas Holidays

I am so looking forward to the ten days I have off over Christmas. In a strange twist, I am on my own for Christmas with everyone doing different things and me staying home to look after the rabbits. While I might get to spend some time with Melissa and Simon, I’m feeling pretty happy about days of just doing what I like, when I like, and enjoying the solitude. I won’t have to cook, or talk, or pickup after anyone. It’s really just this cool blue span of time I’m really looking forward to.

Long Weekend

Having a great weekend - getting stuff dine and doing just what I want.

A photo posted by @jamjar on Dec 12, 2014 at 7:26pm PST

Speaking of time off - my long weekend is going swimmingly. My Friday was busy and full of personal projects; Sunday was completely void of any structure or work. Tomorrow I have a couple of appointments but no work until Tuesday. 

I’m still amazed at what a genius move this has been so close to the Christmas break!

Uncle Simon and Tandia colouring moshi-monsters #lovelySunday

A photo posted by @jamjar on Dec 12, 2014 at 6:49pm PST

Associated links:

•  Printstagram (Tinybook)
• Secret Santa (Wikipedia) <= send $$ to Wikipedia's while you're there
• NZ Secret Santa (NZ Post) 
• Blog Secret Santa (Twitter)

Sunday update: RSI, Rabbits, and sad news.

It’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon in suburban Auckland, New Zealand. Load after load of washing has dried in the soft breeze. The back lawn is a bit long and is dotted with those little white daisies with their tiny yellow centres. Charlie, the oldest rabbit, spent part of the afternoon de-heading them so they must taste pretty good too.

Last night my cousin Kristy and her friend Nicola stayed the night. They’d driven up from New Plymouth to see The Rolling Stones at Mt Smart Stadium. I dropped them off and picked them up; not being one for seething crowds at concerts anymore. They had a smashing time and it was so nice to have them visit. We chatted and sipped wine and looked at boxes of old photographs. 

It’s a jolly nice weekend, all and all, after a not-so-nice week.

Health update

I have had a painful bout of RSI since last Friday. I've only started suffering from from stressful days on the computer since working at the University of Auckland. I get days when I have pain but it usually goes after a good night's sleep. Not this time, though.

This time it was so incredibly painful and debilitating - I couldn’t even dress myself - that my doctor declared me “unfit for work”. He sent me home for three days with a big box of strong anti-inflammatory medication. It worked after a couple of days rest and by yesterday morning I was able to fasten my own bra - something that I, and other members of my household, are eternally grateful for.

Rabbit update

We had a shock and a tragedy early Friday morning. A roaming dog jumped the garden fence, terrorising the rabbits and killing one of them. A couple of them are sporting injuries that might have been down to the dog or due to their flight from danger. Poor little bunnies. Bailey, our Jack Russell saved the day. He woke us up, whining and insisting we let her out at 6am and she flew out the back door and chased the dog (3 or 4 times bigger than her) away. The rabbits were all hiding - in the burrows they’ve dug around the garden and under sheds and deep in their hutches. It took them most of the day and rumbling tummies to come out from their hiding and be brave enough to try the previously safe garden again.

My Grand Daughters were very upset as the rabbit who died was the small and extra cute Rosie. Tandia (8) wrote a song, and Chloe (5) drew a picture of the dog about to catch the rabbit.

Dramitisation by 5 year old Chloe depicting the roaming dog and the rabbits.

It is all very sad and unsettling especially for Pepper, who was Rosie’s partner-in-crime and long-time buddy. She's looking a bit lost out there without her friend.

We’ve been sleeping with the back door open so that Bailey can run to action if and when this happens again. We do have a fenced section, but the fence the dog jumped over isn’t high enough to keep out a big, determined dog. We really do need to replace the fence, so hopefully that’s something we can do sooner rather than later.

Check out this video I took on Thursday evening. I was lying on the grass with my iPhone, just letting the rabbits be rabbits; my sore shoulder wouldn't allow me to do much else. Rosie is the small black bunny who chases the golden Summer away.

If you keep your eyes on Rosie, she digs a little patch of dirt before tumbling into it for a quick dirt bath. There're few things cuter than a rabbit rolling about because they only do it when they feel really safe and content.