A hot and humid Sunday afternoon with cicadas on (loud) loop but
apart from that it’s pretty damn quiet round here. The Other Harf has
taken off into town to deliver 100 flyers advertising his new
beancounting business venture and Miss 9.5 has been cleaning her room
for the past hour and a half, which judging by the piles of wet towels,
discarded clothes, cut-up bits of Girlfriend and Creme
magazines, felt-tip pens (some with lids) and assorted coloured
iceblock sticks, pipe-cleaners, stick-on googly-eyes and feathers
(she’s been making some pretty freaky-looking pet-rocks all morning)
might take another hour and a half at least.

Apparently I’m not allowed to peek at how she’s getting on because it’s going to be “soooooo extra-specially
clean!” I won’t believe my eyes and entrance to the room will only be
by special invitation and only when it’s “properly finished.”

As
well Googling recipes for Beef Wellington (the main for our
traditional homemade-yet-posh Valentine’s Day Dinner – the Other Harf
and I take turn about making courses every year – he’s making
Boysenberry and Apple Crumble for dessert which is not as posh as Beef Wellington but it’s my most favourite dessert in the world, ever) I’ve been reading through
the first module for the online photography course I signed up for with The Photography Institute of New Zealand.

I’ve had my eye on the course for a while now, and we haven’t really
been able to afford it but when they emailed me a deal for $500 off the
course fees I put the hard word on my case to the
Other Harf and he agreed. I’m very excited about it and can’t wait to
broaden both my knowledge and my skills and one day possibly even make some money out of this beloved hobby of mine! Wheeee!

Now if you’ll excuse me I’m off to watch Chef Ramsay smother a fillet of beef in Mushroom Duxelles and Hot Mustard and wrap it all up in Puff Pastry, again. Ooooh eeer…