Monday, October 31, 2005

All Hallows' Eve

What is it about Hallowe'en that has everyone with kids leaving the office early? What time do they go trick or treating? And how long does it actually take to throw a costume on a kid?

These are things I don't get. Will someone please explain?

Sunday, October 30, 2005

Knowing the Right People

It has hardly ever happened before that I feel like I know the right people in life, but tonight I am sure I do. This afternoon my friend Cecilia (aka Super C) came over to do reflexology on my feet. It’s been quite a while since she’s done that to me. And, oh my God … I’d forgotten how wonderful it felt. It was sheer heaven.

Before Super C started doing reflexology, I didn't think I’d be too crazy about having someone touch my feet. How wrong I was!!! Although I’ve never had anyone else do reflexology on me, I really don’t think anyone else could be quite so good. Sorry, if this seems a bit over the top, but I am just so impressed with Super C's skill and the way it makes me feel. She totally lives up to her nickname.

Must also give thanks to Sina, another friend, who has recently gone into massage therapy. She came over last Wednesday night to give me a massage. She was fantastic. She didn’t sweat on me, didn’t breathe heavy on me, didn’t give me a wedgie with the sheet, didn’t let the sheet fall off my bum, didn’t tickle me, didn’t surprise me … in short, it was wonderful. It was an honour to be her first client! Thanks, Sina and I’ll be making another appointment soon!

Here’s to knowing the right people!!!

Saturday, October 29, 2005

Caught in the Matrix

Is it possible that I am becoming too relaxed? Or am I just not paying attention to where I’m going?

This afternoon I decided to head over to Monkland Village so I caught the bus, then jumped on the metro. I live on the green line and Monkland Village is on the orange line, so I had to change metro at Lionel Groulx. I did, went down the stairs and waited for the metro to take me in the direction of Côte Vertu. Or so I thought … the metro arrived in the station, I got on, the doors closed and off we went. I was plugged into my iPod mini so didn’t hear the driver announce the next stop. You can imagine my surprise when we arrived at the station and it wasn’t the place I was expecting. It wasn’t Place St-Henri – it was Charlevoix (where I just got on)!!! Momentarily confused, I know – it’s not hard, I then realized that I had got on the wrong metro. I hadn’t looked to see the colour of the sign or read the signs indicating which direction the metro was going. So, I got off at Charlevoix and started my journey all over again. While I was waiting at Lionel Groulx (for the second time) I had to laugh (not out loud, there are enough lunatics down there), for that split second before I realized what I’d done wrong, I had that feeling that Neo must’ve had in The Matrix when he was stuck in the subway. He ran out one end and came back into the station at the other end.

Friday, October 28, 2005

Duran Duran Live in London

"How do I love thee, let me count the ways". Elizabeth Barrett Browning puts this so eloquently and for me, I just can't say it enough about Duran Duran. I know, it sounds crazy, and maybe it kinda is, just a little. But I don't care.

Last night I turned on the TV just after 10pm and started flicking through the channels. Hit Much More Music and stopped as I heard the opening drum beats to Please, Please Tell Me Now. Ahhh how the memories came flooding back. 15 years old again. Me and each of my friends madly in love with a different member of the group. Screaming and laughing ourselves into hysterics. Does life get better than that?

Anyway, in the last 20 years the band has of course aged. What I found remarkable (or scary) was that Nick still looks the same age - and you're not gonna tell me it's his clean living or something. That "man" must have had some work done. Second on the scary list is Andy, who used to be such a cutie. What is with the sunglasses ALL the time? All I can think at this point is that he had a botched eye lift. Next, Simon - starting to look a little thick necked.

As for John and Roger - they looked the best. Roger, despite the craggy face, was lookin' f-i-n-e!!! Finally, my very own heart throb, John, looked as wonderful as ever. My opinion is probably biased, but so what! He's got some wrinkles and I don't care. His eyes shone as brightly as ever, his smile was as genuine and his attention to the audience endearing. Phew! He still makes me smile and giggle even when I'm all by myself.

The crowd was a testament to the times as well. No more teenagers in the audience; now it's all women in their mid-30s and a remarkable number of men (perhaps the husbands of these women). One of the best moments was during Save A Prayer. During the chorus, Simon turned the mic to the audience and they all still knew the words! Interesting to note though, not so many lighters being held up in the air, rather more cell phone lights being waved around! Sign of the times, or what?

Now I figure there were 2 reasons they played that last night:
1) The Duran Duran Live in London DVD is coming out on Nov. 1 (just in time for Christmas ... ;)
2) It was Simon's birthday yesterday. Am surprised I actually remember that, but there you go.

Tweedle Dee Dictionary, Part 8

Apologies for the delay in posting this week's entry. I just clean forgot.

The word this week is: Orthodontics. I will agree that the word itself isn't a made up one. It refers to the correction of irregularities in teeth and jaws. However, Tweedle Dee doesn't use it correctly. Tweedle Dee should be saying orthodontist. Not only is it said wrong by this person, they also write it wrong in emails.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Music Review

Music reviews are usually my brother's department, but I just couldn't wait any longer.

I'm a big fan of DJ Shadow and check out his web site every now and then. In August I was reading through his news and found out that he was listening to a band called Stateless. Never having heard of this band, I asked my favourite music critic (i.e. The Muddler) if he'd heard of them. He hadn't and I guess he was busy or something because I never heard anymore. Then in one of my "need new music" moods, I checked on iTunes to see if they had this band. They did! And it would only cost me $3.96 to buy this four song EP. I listened to all the 30 second samples and put it on my wishlist. Finally, in early September I decided to just buy it already. Boy, am I glad I did! Have been listening to their EP Bloodstream a lot. The style of the music kind of reminds me of Massive Attack.

If you're interested, check out the Stateless web site. They are apparently in the studio recording 4 more tracks for their debut album. I can't wait!

Thank You Dove!

It's so long ago now, I hardly remember the exact details, but here you go

Last spring I cut out a bunch of coupons for Dove products and also a coupon for a free t-shirt. At the time, I filled out the info for a free t-shirt, sent in my two proof of purchase receipts and pretty much forgot all about it. Since then I've been using the coupons as needed. Being a long-time Dove girl, this is no hardship. A couple of weeks after sending in the t-shirt offer, I got a call from someone at Dove. I had apparently forgotten to fill in the info indicating which t-shirt (of 3 on offer) I wanted. The guy on the phone gave me the choices and I picked one. But before I actually received the t-shirt, the original paper I'd filled out got sent back to me asking me to indicate (again) which t-shirt I wanted. Typically, I couldn't remember what I'd told the guy on the phone, so just checked off a t-shirt and sent it all back. A short time after that I got a t-shirt. But not the one I'd checked off - I guess it was the one I'd requested on the phone. No matter, it was fine. I was happy and kept it. And then last night (surely 3 or 4 months later) I opened my mail box and there was a large envelope from Dove. Inside was another t-shirt. This time the one I'd requested on the coupon. So now I'm really happy!

Thank you, Dove!

Monday, October 24, 2005

In response to 7 comments from last post

Sheesh - I logged on to my this morning and was stunned to see 7 comments after my last post. I thought I might comment back to all these comments, but I have decided to just post a new entry.

The Hallway Incident will not be discussed in this blog. Angry Gnome (why did you have to mention it? I told you I wouldn't blog about it precisely because my family (i.e. parents) read this) and Why know the details. Sue - we'll talk.

Angry Gnome - I hope you realise that if Everett reads your blog, he will eventually click on a link that brings him to this blog. And then, you know, he'll know and well, is that what you want? That said, I'm always happy to oblige if you need my space to relate your Everett stories.

Nick & Why - you are now the 3rd and 4th people to tell me to get talking. I will get talking. However, I have decided to speak to the therapist privately as I am not comfortable bringing these particular problems out in the open in front of a group of strangers. It'll be hard enough for me to talk to the therapist.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

I am such an idiot!

Sometimes I really wonder what I’m thinking. This morning I walked over to the shops. It took about 15-20 minutes. Did the shopping I had to do and had planned to take the bus back home. With 2 minutes to spare, I walked across the street, saw that the bus was coming and waited on the corner. Then, for some reason, the bus stopped at the corner a block away from where I was waiting. But it didn’t dawn on me until the bus zoomed past me that I was standing at the wrong corner. There was no bus stop where I was standing! The only reason I can think I did this, was because there were 2 women sitting on a bench in front of a coffee shop. It looked like they were waiting for the bus. Naturally, they were not. They finished their muffins and coffee, picked up their bags and continued on their errands.

Guess I got left holding the bag on this one. Ended up walking home. Not the end of the world, but my shopping bags were pretty heavy by the time I got back. Silly me.

Friday, October 21, 2005

Sleep Workshop - Week 2

After last night's workshop and a night to think things over, I've made a few notes to ... to ... I don't know - not summarize the topics we discussed, but more to say how I feel about being there.

What I realised last night was that the three other people in this workshop all seem to be much more at ease speaking about their problems and not at all bothered by how much time they're taking with talking about their problems. Why am I not talking more? I know I'm trying to present the problems I have in a concise and factual manner, without being whiny about it. And while I am fast to commit to a goal for the next week, the others don't seem to want to commit to a concrete objective. It sometimes sounds like they want results but aren't willing to make the effort. Are the goals I'm setting too easy for me? Is that why I feel the others aren't really working hard enough? Am I imposing my own perfectionist ideals on others? Is this another sign of my perfectionist attitude creeping out? I do realise that everyone deals with problems differently and probably, these people are working their problems out by talking them through and that for them it's the first step. Not everyone is goal oriented like me, not everyone is perfect (like me - ha, ha!) and everyone will handle the healing process differently. I have got to stop judging people because they don't do things the way I do.

Then, towards the end of the workshop, we briefly touched on the questionnaires we were asked to fill out the previous week. Two of these questionnaires have raised some concerns with me. First - I scored higher than I expected on the depression questionnaire. The therapist told us that if we scored higher than 3 or 4, we should probably talk to him or speak to our doctor. Second - I scored quite high (but not more than expected) on the anxiety questionnaire. Again the therapist said if we had a high score here it would be a good idea to speak to our doctor. I don't know what the other people scored (and I shouldn't even care). I wanted to speak to the therapist to discuss the responses to both of these questionnaires, but was too why to speak up in front of the others, mostly because I thought that they would think I'm a big whiner. I tried to delay leaving the workshop so that I could talk privately with the therapist, even though it meant missing my bus home, but before I could get a word in to the therapist, one of the other participants offered me a lift home, and so, grateful that I wouldn't have the 20-minute walk down the hill in my heels again, I accepted and left without speaking to the therapist at all. Now of course, I've spent a good part of the night sleeping even less than usual, worrying about this.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

My famous brother

While clicking around my favourite daily blogs, I happened upon the following link and look who I found - my brother, aka The Muddler. Click on this link and have a look at the picture on the right hand side of the page. Yeah - that's him! Cool, eh? Then, if you want, click on the link to the flickr page and see the other people with their gapingvoid t-shirts. Not to sound biased or anything, but The Muddler's picture is the best, hands down.

Breakthrough

Thank Waste Reduction Week, thank a variety of other factors, but whatever the reasons, I picked up No More Sleepless Nights again this week and have been pushing through that. Yesterday morning I came across a couple of pages that were so pertinent to me that they might as well have been written with me as the test subject.

The treatment recommended is the same my doctor suggested some months ago, but here it is in writing, with an explanation of how the treatment works. When the doctor first told me about it I was a bit hesitant as I didn't really understand what she was talking about (and the sound of it kinda freaked me out). We decided that I would participte in the sleep workshop first and then come back later to re-evaluate the situation. But now that I've read exactly how this treatment works, I think I may be ready to try it (even though it still kinda freaks me out). The book has answered some questions that have come up since my last visit to the doctor.

Part of my insomnia is related to upper airway resistance syndrome. This means that while I do get enough air into my lungs to maintain oxygen saturation, I struggle considerably to get this air in. Usually there is loud snoring, but no apneas or hypopneas. Rather, I awaken frequently, either from the noise of the heavy breathing or the effort to move the air.

The treatment that is referred to in this book is:
" ... a tongue-retaining device that pulls the tongue forward to prevent it falling back into the throat. An appliance is fitted over the teeth, with a bubble in front of the teeth. The patient sucks the air out of the bubble, inserts the the tongue, and the tongue is held forward for several hours. Other devices simply hold the lower jaw forward, which tends to open up the back of the airway. These dental devices work well in some cases, but [we] have seen many failures as well."

Feel like I've had a breakthrough. It's a good feeling.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Other People's Kids

I've been struggling with this all week. I know I'm not much of a people person on a good day, and even less so of a kid person. I wish I just get over it or something, but really what's the point? I don't have kids!

So what is it about other people's kids that drives me nuts? No, that's not really the right question. And I'm not sure I do know the right question to ask. The situation I'm going to lay out below doesn't refer to my adorable niece - yet. But now I'm afraid that it will eventually and I won't be cool, fun Auntie Stef anymore, but mean, nasty, old Auntie Stef. I don't want that.

Here's why I'm asking. Last Friday night I hopped on the train to the South Shore to spend the night at a friend's house. Viv & Franck have two kids; one is nearly two years old, the other about 5 months old. Now I know it's hard to have kids and get dinner ready and all that stuff. But I didn't go over to babysit. I ended up trying to entertain a 23-month old for an hour before dinner, for about an hour after dinner, and then couldn't have a conversation with my friend that I did go to visit without being interrupted by said child to read the same book over and over and over again. Little 5-month old didn't much like being held by me and proceeded to scream her head off everytime I was asked to hold her for a minute (or 30). Then on Saturday morning spent another good stretch of time repeating all this. In the 18 or so hours I was there, my friend and I had maybe, maybe an hour of chat time.

Many of you will tell me I'm mean, selfish, old and set in my ways. But you know what? I don't care. Small children are not my thing. Until they are old enough to reason with - don't even put them near me. Really - save me the agony, we'll stay friends and don't bug with me with kids. Get your husband, boyfriend, partner, parent or babysitter to look after the kids for an hour or two while you & I have a pleasant, uninterrupted visit. I'll appreciate it and I feel sure that any mother would too.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Tweedle Dee Dictionary, Part 7

Although I do have a list of words, this week I'm going to mix things up a little. Today we'll have - Computer Idiots as a topic.

Now I'm the first to admit I don't know much about computers, but I do know that if you try plug your keyboard into the internet connection and then ask where the internet connection goes - YOU'VE GOT SOME SERIOUS PROBLEMS! And here's a tip from me - before you ask where the hole is to lock your computer - look for it! It's also wise to unlock a lock before you try to secure your computer. Yes, that means using the key.

Friday, October 14, 2005

Sleep Workshop - Follow-up

OK. You'll all be glad to know that none of my worst case scenarios came to pass last night. What a relief!

I did have some trouble getting to the building though. It was raining, I didn't know the area, I was stressed about getting there on time (which is a whole other issue for me). I did finally make it to the right building and the right room, but not before following the instructions on how to get there that I pulled from the internet instead of reading my notes to find the right room number. Argh!

There were only 4 of us in the workshop last night. There should apparently be 6. The moderator is a young guy, probably in his 20s. He's an intern at the hospital and has conducted this workshop several times before. Of the other people who were there, I was the youngest. There was only one other man, probably in his late 50s.

The two hours passed quickly and apart from feeling uncomfortable initially, I managed to relax a little and get something out of it. However, most of what was talked about last night I had already read in a book, recommended to me by a friend, called No More Sleepless Nights, by Peter Hauri. It concentrates on the patient (me) becoming one's own sleep therapist. But more importantly for me, I think, I had to agree to meet 2 goals for the next week.

The first is to commit to a sleep time (this means get in bed to sleep, not worry, not read) and to a wake time (meaning no more hitting the snooze button 6 or 7 times, no more sleeping in on the weekend). I've said that I will go to sleep at midnight and get up at 6:00 a.m. I tend to get in bed not to sleep earlier and get out of bed later, even though I haven't been sleeping. This will be a challenge. It was also something I was not able to do by myself. But now it's written down in the therapist's binder with my name beside it. Next week I'll have to report my success or failure. Of course, being the perfectionist I am, it will be a success.

The second goal is to get out of bed if I'm not sleeping. No tossing, no turning, no looking at the clock, no stressing about how much sleep I'm not getting, no counting the hours I have left until I have to get up, no reading in bed, no counting the times my neighbour drags his iron chair across the tiled kitchen floor. I will get out of bed and do something else. Read a book in a chair, do an easy crossword puzzle, finish up a couple of photo albums (oh - that idea just came to me!).

What did I learn? Well, I'm going to say that after last night the most important thing I have to remember is that my bed is for sleeping. Nothing else.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Sleep Workshop - Week 1

Tonight I will attend the first of six sleep workshops. While I was happy to hear from the hospital last week about the workshop, since about Tuesday I've been stressing about it. Not to brag or anything, but nobody can stress like I can.

All the worst case scenarios have played through my head. There's the one with me suddenly being in the middle of some new-age touchy-feely therapy group and not being such a touchy-feely person myself, find myself running out of there at break. Then there's the one where everyone shares the most personal details of their life with this group of strangers and then it's my turn and I clam up. Because there's nothing like me clamming up in a group of strangers setting. Mustn't forget this one - discover that everyone there has much more trouble sleeping/staying asleep than I do and they all think I'm a big faker. And of course the classic - can't find the room where the workshop is supposed to take place and nobody in the hospital knows what the hell I'm talking about.

Enough!!!

I know, logically and reasonably, that none of these scenarios will play out. I know that I must give this workshop a fair chance and going in with a bad attitude will not help me. I have to be there.

Be there.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Tweedle Dee Dictionary, Part 6

Sequences: Contrary to popular belief - this does not mean a succession; set of things belonging next to one another. In this case, it is the plural of a circular spangle attached to clothing. i.e. sequins.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

Clothes to Donation Drop Box

Several weeks ago I finally got fed up with the bags of old clothes in my closet waiting to be given away. Brought them all out, added a few more things and decided that would be the day to get rid of them. Picked up the two heaviest bags, because I like to get the worst part of a task over with first (and yes, I also eat that way) and made my way to my local grocery store where they have a drop box. Well, they used to have a drop box.

Got to the store and stood in front of the bare ground where the box used to be. Where was the box? Had they moved it inside? Around the corner? Nowhere apparently. It was just gone. So I picked up my two heaviest bags (argh!!!) and made the trip home. It’s not that bad – it’s about a 6 minute walk. But those bags were heavy and they were cutting my hands. It hurt. Since then the 4 bags have been sitting in my hallway waiting for me to take them up to a different grocery store, a little further away – about an 8 minute walk away. It must be 4 weeks that they sit there – looking at me, taunting me, laughing at me. I can’t stand it anymore! This weekend they will go. Once and for all.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Update: October 11. Hmph. Those stupid bags won. They’re still here.

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Fall & Cooking

After an extended summer, weather wise, up until yesterday, fall is here and I’m guessing here to stay. Yesterday (Friday) was a typical fall day – rain all day and downright cold at night. Now my windows are only open a crack.

For me, this is the time of year when I get back in the house and cook – a lot! I love to cook, but in summer I prefer to be outside and take advantage of the good days. Never knowing how short or long the good days will last – this is Canada after all. And so, with the arrival of fall I retreat indoors once again and often end up in my kitchen with an apron on and a cookbook in front of me. This weekend has been no exception.

This morning I made Ballymaloe whole wheat bread - to go with the curried leek and pear soup I made last week and froze. This afternoon I made apple crisp, pumpkin maple custards and a broccoli/cauliflower and cheese sauce. All this is in preparation of Monday’s Thanksgiving dinner ‘en famille’. Tomorrow I’m thinking of making cinnamon buns. Thanks for the tempting recipe, Sue!

Anybody hungry?

Smelly Hair

Ugh – my hair stinks. How did I forget this? Last night I was in a smoke filled pub after work. I’d forgotten how bad one’s hair smells after being around cigarette smoke. I really should’ve washed my hair before going to bed. But I didn’t and now I’ll have to wash my pillow cases too. What a horrible stench!

Is it really so long ago since this kind of thing didn’t bother me? Is this a sign of growing up/old? What’s next? Complaining about the music kids listen to?

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Montreal Taxi Drivers

Having travelled what I think is a fair amount, I am constantly amazed at the rudeness and incompetence of many taxi drivers in this fair city. In other cities I have often been astonished at taxi drivers' almost psychic and omnisicent knowledge of roads. Last night was a prime example of the uselessness of the drivers in Montreal.

After work I went out with several colleagues to help entertain an out of town colleague. Drinks followed by dinner - all very enjoyable. After dinner the others planned to head out for a night of drinking and I decided to head home. Jumped into a taxi, gave my address in English (silly me!) and that's where it all went horribly wrong.

Mr. Taxi Driver decided to turn up the radio volume in the back of the taxi (he had the hockey game on, this is Montreal after all) and then while speaking (in French) to the front of the cab, asked if he could take the highway. I replied in English and told him no. He didn't say anything so I assumed he understood. Next thing I knew, we were about to head on to the highway and I had to speak loudly (the radio still blasting) and asked him not to take the highway. At the last second I practically shouted at him in French and suddenly he understood that I didn't want him to take the highway. Son of a ...

The rest of the trip was spent arguing with this guy that my way was faster and cheaper, and him trying to convince me that there were only 2 ways (there are probably about a dozen) to get to where I wanted to go. He started shouting at me that I didn't know what I was talking about and that ALL taxi drivers in Montreal went his way. So when I shouted back at him, he didn't like it much and proceeded to shout at me saying that there was no reason for me to speak to him like that. I kid you not. To this idiot I was just a stupid woman who didn't know the roads in the city where she lived and had no idea how to get around in a car. I bit my tongue and choose to ignore his sexist comments and spoke only to give him the precise and exact directions he needed to get me home. Finally we arrived at my address - probably to his complete surprise - and this guy had the nerve to tell me that there was no difference (time or cost) between his way and my way. Never mind that I proved him wrong and we managed to get to my address by not going his way... And then he "dropped" my change on the car floor and "apologized". I got out, slammed the door and in a horribly passive-aggressive manner, turned and cursed at him in French as he peeled away. Didn't even feel better.

Spent the better part of the next two hours attempting various relaxation exercises and listening to various relaxation music CDs. The key to finally getting me to relax was madly scribbling notes about the ride on a couple of post-its. I had been so furious when I got home that I couldn't even concentrate on making my lunch or preparing my clothes for work the next day. Now I'm hoping this blog post will let me vent the rest of my anger and allow me to move on. I've generally been a little (a lot) obsessive with my rage and hope that this forum will help me get it out of my system. All for a happier, healthier me - here's hoping.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Problems Dressing

Don't know what exactly my problem is, but lately I've had some problems dressing myself.

Last Friday was a particularly bad day for dressing myself and today it happened again. Allow me to explain.

Friday I wore a cool blouse (quite see-through) with a little cami (for modesty) underneath. The problems I had were with the cami. When I put it on in the morning, I didn't realize that I didn't put my left arm through the strap properly. Of course the strap irritated me all morning long. But it wasn't until about 11am that I decided to check things out. Went into a bathroom stall, took off the blouse and realized that I'd somehow missed getting my arm through the strap altogether and it was just attached to the blouse with the little snap thing at the shoulder. Fixed that and went on with my day. I did notice though that the cami kept rising and didn't seem to sit right. Paid it no mind and just figured it was me. Went out after work, got home around 11:30pm and then, as I was getting into my pj's, saw that I'd not only put the cami on back to front, but also inside out. Honestly - you'd think I'd gotten dressed in the dark! But no, I had 5 bright light bulbs all going full strength in the bathroom.

Now for today's problem. Not nearly so embarrassing, but still. Today it's supposed to be quite warm (26C, with a humidex of 29C!) so I decided to wear a little burgundy cami with sequins along the top and a light cardi to cover up while I'm in the office. Fine. Was running behind schedule so threw on the clothes after my shower. Except had another problem with the straps. But none of this I noticed until about 30 seconds before I was to leave the house! Panic in front of the door - off with cardi and cami. One strap I had apparently pulled tight and the other completely loose and then put the cardi on inside out. Fixed both cami straps and managed to get both arms in the right holes. Turned cardi right side out and managed to do the buttons up properly before running to catch with bus.

Made it with about 30 seconds to spare. Phew! Quite a morning.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Tweedle Dee Dictionary, Part 5

Combinding (i.e. combining): In this person's world, it means not just joining together, but joining and binding together. Who knew ...

Monday, October 03, 2005

Clean laundry

Ahhhh the pleasures of clean laundry. The last couple of weekends have been so busy that I haven't had time to do any laundry. This has meant that my supply of matching bras & knickers was sorely depleted by the end of last week. So depleted that I actually did not match on Thursday and Friday. What if I'd been hit by a truck and rushed to hospital?! The horrors! But all is well now. I spent part of Saturday night and most of Sunday doing laundry and cleaning. Now my bathroom tiles sparkle beautifully and my underwear matches. All is well in my the world.