Waking Up.

In the weak afternoon light, the peppery scent of Stock gently guided me back to the world.

And as the sun strengthened, warmth entered my room, lighting up the boys' ukulele and reminding me that there is life beyond napping (unfathomable as it may seem).

More nice jugs (wink, wink,nudge, nudge...).

It was a wet and stormy morning with an exhausted Jonno home early from calving. We all snuggled upstairs on the big blue couch underneath layers of warm blankets and watched 'Wallace and Grommit'. Sheer, giddy heaven. What else was I to do but finish off the project I began yesterday.

I have to admit I am thrilled and so pleased the whole confetti thing worked. I had a few moments where I just thought they weren't going to be heavy enough but so far so good... mind you, what was I expecting, that the jug cover would miraculously float away?

A leg of lamb is lazily roasting in the oven for tonight, floating in white wine, chicken stock, garlic and a squeeze of lemon and I am going upstairs into my bed with a hot water bottle to do a similar thing. In fact, the whole family is about to troop upstairs to do the same thing. How lucky am I to belong in a family where everybody considers it a good hobby. Archie's version is a little different to the rest of us though. He likes to listen to story Cd's, leaf through books, pen the odd note (sometimes love-filled and other times more the poisonous variety) and make the odd thing from Lego.
Oh bliss, we are all beginning to melt up the stairs. Books. White sheets. Half-waking thoughts. Soul ironing.

In Defense of Naps - by a passionate advocate

The other day I was wondering in the new age section of the library when my mother-in-law's familiar face suddenly popped around the corner with a cheery grin. I think I must have been a bit tired because it took a couple of minutes to place her, so startled was I in my post weekend haze. Fortunately Hugo said "Gran-gran" and I gathered my thoughts together to form a fully functioning brain and could indeed recognise Maureen as Jonno's mother and my M.I.L. for the last eight years. Maureen, I am sure will testify that I looked extremely vacant at the time. Anyway, she handed me an article saying I needed to read it and I politely nodded then put it in my bag.

Of course I forgot about it for a week until today when she began to say intriguing things linking back to the article. Once again I nodded politely then ran home to read it, thankful as I plunged my hand into the darkened nether regions of my bag that it was still neatly folded, ready to yield its knowledge like a pearl in its clammy house. Hopefully that wasn't too graphic for any potential readers.

As I have written many times, I am an avid napper. I would say it is my main hobby (my crafts and book reading are classified separately under life purpose) and I am very, very good at it. I have been practising religiously for years and taught my family how to do it as each member was born. The fact that Jonno was already a napper from a family of nappers was definitely in his favour. And this luminous newspaper article clipped from the NZ Herald on Wednesday, November 26 was titled, "Take a nap, it's good for you". Hold me close, I whispered.

Maureen very kindly underlined the most salient (I love that word, it is just how I felt back in the womb) points, and so my eyes under her mystical guidance were drawn to the writer's loving murmur that "taking a nap may boost a sophisticated kind of memory that helps a person see the big picture and get creative". I always say that I wake up from a nap with my best ideas and a sudden comprehension of how to achieve them. So much more effective than spending hours at a drawing board nutting through a problem and also probably why it has been so many years since I was last gainfully employed. Apparently, when you are being paid, it is not on to say, "Just let me nap man, I will have it sorted. Now, where can I lay my mattress". I think that is also why I like kindergarten and my first year of school, there was scheduled napping time... I don't think they do that any more.

Jonno's theory of, well let's call the creative evolution of an idea an epiphany (or as they say in Wales, epiphanway) is strikingly brilliant. He feels that there is a strong correlation between losing a thought midstream and the random, unexplained implantation of an epiphany to be strongly linked. He has noticed that when he goes for walks, he picks up all sorts of thoughts and has started to wonder if he is collecting the lost ideas of others. As though they are hovering in the air waiting for a freshened mind to catch them like an unwitting butterfly net. Something to ponder or collect.

Quiet in the Afternoon

This is Jonno's contribution to the world of knitting - he is very happy to drink the contents if anybody else finds themselves needing such equipment.

This is the flower from the book 'Knit 2 Together' by Mel Clark and has been knitted for stage three of the mobile project. I am obsessed with them and if I had all the time in the world, I would paint dead branches a glossy yellow, festoon them with knitted flowers and plant them around the garden.

It is now the quiet afternoon, Hugo is upstairs sleeping and Archie, finishing his day at school. Usually I spend this portion of the day napping too but like the dish and the spoon, time ran away on me. I am quite curious about what it is like to be awake between 1pm and 3pm and I have to say, the skin over the universe does stretch too thinly at this time. Much better to lie down and let it gently skim over your white sheets instead. Just about to wake Hugo and do the school pick-up. Archie needs tributes of strawberries to peacefully transition from school to home at the moment so I will begin my foraging.