nappies - a retrospective

this is me with my mother a long time ago when instead of bleaching hair, crisp white sanitised nappies were de rigueur. at least in my world.

last night i saw this photo for the first time. it's almost a faded bastion of a lost world. it was given to my daughter as a series of family portraits for her coming of age. it's official yet simultaneously surreal, raen miro is now a woman in the eyes of society & so the commencement of the handing down of family heirlooms/bric a brac begins. the traditions are passed, stories are told & shared.

when she was an infant, we too floated in a framed sea of freshly washed nappies which flapped wildly in the wind permeating their happy apple cider vapours into the breeze on the line at the little house i bought when still wet behind the ears at university with her dad, before we parted ways a year later. that is where i gave birth to her after hiding up a hedge seeking to divert the inevitable after being in labour for the longest time because i didn't want to push. eventually i was coaxed down & the rest is history. twenty one years ago yesterday.

i can still smell the vinegar warmly whitened by the sun's deep caress.

thank you for being a friend

being on the-day-after" end of an epic almost week long birthday celebration in the midst of moving my life and work, all i can do is, with a smile plastered all over my face [still], say thank you to the beautiful people who enrich my life & make it so much better... thank you for being my friend. and for writing it on my bedroom wall.

these are a tiny sample of images from my birthday. not an accurate depiction at all but an hors d'oevre if you like.

from waking to champagne & cake in bed accompanied by raen's sweet dulcet tones in the early am, to sublime lunches upon lunches all over the city, a zine fair & kusama exhibition run through, relocating an entire warehouse working bee, an impromptu dinner out[featuring an amazing organic wheat-free lemon & almond cake handmade by adam], the perfect last supper in ending with incessant dancing once more into the sunlight all couched with lashings of champagne, the blood of christ & lounge island iced teas... like a never-ending ice-cream/story it just wouldn't stop.

i was too busy enjoying it all to take many pics so there aren't many of you. in fact most unusually i didn't touch my camera all day yesterday. sorry about that. as much as i love myself, this really is supposed to be about you.

you make me very proud, happy and humble. because of you, i have just had the best birthday & year ever. it has been by far both the most challenging & rewarding year of my life. my pledge is to be as good a friend as i can be back and to honour us.

you are [without getting all wedding invitation angsty]:

raen, stevie, clare, kate, marcus, monica, ky, john, baz, dermot, karina, gina, annette, alex almost to the power of infinity [parker, pappas, chamarro], sonja, mark, adam, mathieu, kathleen, matthieu, james [mcintyre, scott, crawford], kaitlyn, serena, eugene, davey, barry, andy, kirsten, caroline, evan, simon, scott, dan, ang, marianne, francois, steve, steven, jessica, heidi, shell, dean, jack, madeleine, jordan, sophie, lisa, dean, claire, troy, maddie, bella, catherine, rosie, anna, fee, dan, felix, michael, chris, glenn, kate, kaori, stefan, katherine, tracey, jen, carmel, josh, shannon, francesca, rachel, jacqueline, shailla, iOTA, richard, jan, krystyna, christine, kirsty, renee, amanda, jacqui, em, amalia, AB.

i can't believe there are so many people whom i love [which is possibly reciprocated] in this crazy little mixed-up world where we don't have enough time for ourselves let alone each other. i didn't even have to pay anyone. thank you for sharing the passion and freely giving your precious energy to be part of this journey. thank you for choosing me. i will continue trying to be the best version possible. to be worthy of your friendship.

each one of you have turns every day contributing to increasing the quality of my life & the pleasure of being on this planet. i am the luckiest girl in the world & indebted to you for helping me remain here & allowing the opportunity to soak you all up.

the consumed champagne et al was a massive toast to you. obviously a lot is required for this never-ending story of ours. no pain-killers need apply.