A New Year

Thanks to all for the lovely birthday wishes -- it was a lovely day, from my Swedish fish breakfast all the way through to our mac n' bacon dinner, and a birthday toast with champagne glasses of milk.

(Please note the IKEA plate, spoon, and serving dish... all acquired on our weekend jaunt down to Houston last Saturday. 

Yes, meatballs make people do crazy things!)

So, here's to another year of creativity and love, of red thread and white felt, of old woolly jumpers and stuffing, of photographs and laughter, and of many wonderful weeks to spend with family.

My Own Co-Pilot

This weekend, as Justin's going to be out of town for a while, I drove down to San Antonio to keep myself busy. It was rather a whirlwind weekend of baby shops, lunch with friends, and going through my in-laws' closets of their saved childhood lovelies!

It was also my first real road trip solo, which I'm rather proud of. Yes, last summer, when we made the eighteen-or-so hour drive from Arizona to Texas, I drove all the way in one of the cars. But all I really did was follow. I turned when Justin turned. I never had to think about routes or exits or what to do if you end up in a different city accidentally.

This trip, I was in charge of all of that!

And yes, that includes ending up in a different city! On these messy Texas highways, roads turn into other roads and then turn back again, so one missed sign meant that I drove into Austin...

Eek. Austin is not a fun place to drive. But, the man in the petrol station was very helpful, and got me back on track!

On the way home again, I was (understandably!) a little nervous about my sign-spotting ability, so I wrote myself a little note on my hand to keep me going... and it worked.

Having a happy evening relaxing before the second half of the semester of work starts up again tomorrow! Enjoy yours, too :)

Street Colour, Part 2

After deciding to photograph all the bright, unexpected, colourful things I come across, I've been seeing colour everywhere!

This bath tub was in someone's back garden right behind the college.

I'd stopped initially to take a photo of the fifteen foot water slide in the same garden!

A little blue flag in the parking lot at work.

Three red signs, again in the parking lot.

Who'd have thought parking lots would be so full of brightness?