A visiting mother and moody computer really cuts into internet time. Now that mum is gone and i can spend my nights alone, with just a bottle of wine and an indifferent tortoise for company, expect to be crushed under the weight of exciting new blog entries!

I had lofty goals for my two month summer holiday:

Work hard on finding new career, make gazpacho or other cold soup everyday; get fit enough to do the bollywood workout at the gym, have large jugs of sangria in the fridge at all times, perfect the art of sewing a cotton wrap dress, study japanese everyday, not spend time on acquiring new and useless crafts which may make me happy but won’t feed the tortoise, and only use the air-con at night.

Actual accomplishments:

Made soup stock, got rock hard calves, had sangria in the fridge every day, gave up on ever wearing a cotton dress and not looking like fluffy pillow with a belt on, bought some stretchy scoop neck tops instead and made lots of skirts, studied japanese several times, picked up at least two new crafts and got prickly heat between my boobs!

All in all a productive summer. It compares very favourably with the last, where i locked myself inside for two months with the air-con on full blast, half sewing cotton dresses, while watching rock star inxs, flavor of love, and other assorted crap. (I still managed to watch the same crap this year, i just managed my time more efficiently)

Mum was very excited at being in such a craftacular city, and we bought some beads to do together that night. Little did I know how the low price and near instant gratification of jewelery making would speak to my soul!

this is mum hard at work

she made the brooch and i made the matching earrings.

these are the ones that i will probably wear the most

these from the best ever beads shop i have ever been to, in kichijoji - craft mecca. thanks again kat!

and these are my favourites.