On my desk

I am a complete on my desk failure as once again there is nothing of great interest.

I have moved the laptop from the office to the dining room table so that I can (hopefully) get on with some work while Aislin plays - it seemed cruel to shut myself away in the office leaving her all alone. This way she can see me and chat to me and I can keep going - that's the theory anyway.

I've been juggling appointments so my diary and appointment cards are here....

And some entertainment for the invalid.....

I am also messing with the online component of my business, writing a report and uploading an 'sign up' box to website.

But really all I want is to be lying here sipping a Daiquirí with not a child, appointment book or laptop in sight.

Oh God is it only day 6? and 'on my desk' (late)

Still here...no raids but I'm pretty sure some notes have been added to my already bulging ASIO file.

Well I'm loving this NaBloPoMo...ahem...nothing gets a girl through the day like the irritating, nagging, little thought that you haven't done today's post yet (I blame you for this Cathy). In my 'excitement' yesterday (wow! sarcasm twice already) I forgot all about On My Desk Wednesday!! What an oversight! The only guaranteed blog fodder I have all week and I forgot about it!

Here it is.

On my desk today I have... Mini Sharpies...I'm a stationery addict and these feed my habit....

....a magnifying glass......because I HATE wearing my reading glasses and want to pretend I don't need them.....

....and an Alumni membership card.

Ooh, this is like a game isn't it? Like those I spy books. 'What does this all mean?' I hear you ask. What strange project is she undertaking that requires these items?

Yeah, well sorry....nothing. They have no relevance except that they have been used sometime in the past week and no-one has put them away. Because the truth is that on my desk today there is no work, there are no projects and nothing of the remotest interest to anyone. Sorry.

This is an insult to the great institution that is 'On My Desk'. and will go down in history as the lamest post of my blogging career.

Which reminds me, speaking of careers...I'm a bit disappointed that there haven't been more suggestions for my future. Dave came up with a marvelous idea that I should become a navigator on a starship. This appealed to me enormously (I love Sci Fi) but in the end I just can't do the tight spacesuit I'm afraid.

So come on, what else is there...there will be prizes....ok, there won't be prizes but I need all the help I can get.

On my desk

What's on my desk? Paperwork. Piles and piles of paperwork. Happily the work that I was doing yesterday is now FINISHED - I am doing a happy dance about that I can tell you. However while finishing that I neglected some other work. So now I'm doing that. It's boring. So boring I'm not going to take a picture of it. My friend Google provided this one, but that doesn't look anything like me, the paperwork mountain is similar to mine though, at least it feels as though it is.

So not much else to tell, it's a slow blogging week what with it being all work and no play. Of course that's only because I played too much last week. I need to pace myself a bit better I think.

However if it's more exciting 'on my desks' you're after, pop over here and have a look.

On my desk

Boy, these on my desk posts come round quickly don't they?

So today I have a pattern, fabric and notions for some light weight, casual trousers....boring black I'm afraid but as I'm very much the amateur when it comes to making clothes I decided to keep things very simple....if these work out I shall be more adventurous next time. I'm hoping to make a wrap dress to wear with them and I have some lovely fabric for that.

Then, after lunch I may go down to the willows with this....

I'm feeling a little bit artistically inspired today by this....

Beautiful woodblock painting by Cressida Campbell. Not that I'm planning any wood block work, if only I were so talented (and patient). Cressida has just released a book of her work which I would love. I'll have to drop some heavy hints as I have a birthday coming up...and of course there's Christmas too.

On my desk

Today I am still editing. So on my desk you will find....

The reference texts....

....the hard copies and my red pen - ('old red' as my students used to call it)

...and Sophie (the maid) - a blurry shot because she was about to jump away - she's camera shy.

There is also a magnifying glass, because I am in denial about needing glasses, a cup of tea (what would 'on my desk' be without at least a mention of a cup of tea?) and some dust. I need to dust the office. Not today though.

On my desk

As it is school holidays I am not at my desk, but on the table we have......

Cluedo....

.....Junior Scrabble....

..and Snakes and Ladders...

Most enjoyable.

On my desk

So many things on my desk, I may disappear under them. Well actually they were taking up so much space on the desk they are now on the floor. Sigh. I like to keep a clear desk but I think it's cheating if it's only clear because I've put everything somewhere else!

On my desk today is my breakfast. Have you noticed that food (and tea) figures heavily on my desk? There was that bun a couple of weeks ago and a cup of tea just about every week. I don't usually eat breakfast at my desk but today I decided to read some blogs while I ate, not a habit I intend to get into but once in a while is ok. Isn't it?

Anyway, I haven't been having my 2 and 5 as I should lately so I'm attempting to get back on track with that, starting with breakfast. Here it is, fruit, yoghurt and a spoonful of organic blueberry granola. Looks very healthy doesn't it? Tastes good too surprisingly.

Of course there is also the ubiquitous cup of tea (note the comfort mug is out again today).

Also some CDs I've been burning and my Grace cards because really I need all the grace I can get just now.

On my deskTOP I have a number of projects, most importantly the plans for some workshops I'm planning to run in term 4 and some other bits and pieces that I have been working on for way too long and really must finish - hello website and of course blogs to read....because that's important too, right? Right.

The eagle-eyed among you (HA! that's sarcasm in case you missed it) may have noticed that I have been rather out of sorts recently. There's been a lot of whining and complaining and talk of being unmotivated and a general lack of enthusiasm - exaserbated by being constantly sick for 5 weeks (I'm feeling much better thank you). I apologise. There's a lot going on and I am desperately trying to regain some excitement about my life - well my work/business life really most of the rest of it is good but work, well it sucks. I'm not sure what is going on, I always get a bit tetchy and restless around the equinoxes - don't know why - some kind of astrological anomaly I'm sure. Hopefully spring will bring with it some new energy and I shall be back to my old self soon.

I do have some happy news, my sister (youngest) and her family are arriving from Melbourne on Friday to visit for the weekend. I am very excited about that. I miss my sisters a lot (the other is in the US) and I can't wait to squish the living daylights out of my nieces and nephew and enjoy some food cooked by my brother-in-law (he's a chef and a good one too). It will be a weekend of relaxing, eating, drinking wine, shopping with my sister (woo hoo), cuddling children and generally catching up. Can't wait!

But for now....it's only Wednesday so back to work.

On my desk

What's on my desk? Not a lot. Oh there could be...it's not like there aren't loads of things I should be doing....but I'm in avoidance today. Not in the mood. Can't be bothered. So far all there is on my desk is...

...a cup of tea and a bun.....(and they won't be there much longer)...

....and a small pile of books to assist with an article I'm writing.....or not writing actually....

...and that's it.

Today I should also be getting in the car and going to look at venues for a workshop I may be running...but once again....meh....not so keen.

What I'd really like to do is climb into bed with my book and read until I fall asleep.

Today I feel a bit like this.....

..or this.....(but without the voluptuous bosom)...

It just seems to be taking ages to get my energy back after the virus and the infections - it's all a bit tedious really.

Maybe I should have a big bowl of healthy soup or a giant plate of spinach instead of that bun.

Nah. Don't think so.

On my desk...

....sound of crickets chirruping.

There's nothing on my desk because I've been out all day.....something's afoot.

More later.

On my desk

Sadly, on my desk today is this.....

Yes, it's tax time and I must stop procrastinating and get on with the dreaded tax return. Is there anything more tedious? I doubt it.

I also have to sort through this.....

Because I'm quite sure I don't need most of the stuff in those folders. So I got them out and put them on the desk to remind me to do it. Only now I can't really be bothered doing it and I'm resisting the urge to just slip them back into the filing cabinet and walk away whistling innocently. However you can guarantee that if I do that today will be the day that the file police decide to raid my cabinet and they'll discover my guilty secret and it will be all over the tabloids tomorrow.

No, I do not take my filing system too seriously and there is too such a thing as the file police.

On my desk or watching paint dry

I'm bringing you a quick 'on my desk' while I wait for the first coat to dry. As you can imagine the desk isn't getting a look in at the moment, it's all about the painting and the planning. So on my desk you'll find...

....paint charts....for obvious reasons.....

.....and magazines - a couple of well worn examples from my enormous collection of Country Living and Country Homes....I have House Beautifuls too. Inspiration (or 'house p0rn'* as a friend of mine used to call it).

Tom came home last night to alarming questions like 'can you reinstall that air conditioner somewhere else?' and 'how do I move kitchen units?'.

He looked a little frightened - especially as he's on holiday next week, in theory to have a rest before starting his new job on the 25th, but I think he knew I was making a mental list of jobs for him to do (that's a list in my head not a list that's mental....although.....).

I was going to tell you about his new job wasn't I? Well, not today.

Back to it.

*Yes I've disguised that word to fool the spiders, don't want to encourage anyone over here when they're clearly looking for something else. They'd be very disappointed to find pictures of paint charts.

On my desk

Today, 'on my desk' is brought to you from the dining room table. This flu has finally peaked unpleasantly and add to that last night's insomnia* I'm not feeling up to sitting in the office today, so I've brought the laptop to the table - it's warmer here. I went back to bed for an hour after Tom and the girls left this morning and I'm heading back there again shortly. I'm not good for much else today.

I did consider blogging from my bed or the sofa but decided against it. It's a precedent I don't want to set.

It's quite nice sitting here, listening to the crackling fire and looking out of the window, watching the torrential rain**. If I didn't feel like death warmed up I might actually be enjoying myself.

So on my 'desk' today all I have is tea and tissues (and a few random papers in the background there)....

..did you notice it's the big, ugly 'comfort' mug today again? Whenever you see that mug know that things aren't quite right.

My busybody book diary - a wonderful thing with a column for each family member, very handy and I highly recommend it if you need to keep track of more than one person or project.

Fortunately (and unusually) we have a very quiet week ....

.....so although I could be working hard on any number of things, there is nothing so pressing that I can't rest and recuperate. Which is just as well really.

*I have previously mentioned that I suffer from insomnia from time to time. The last two nights I have been wide awake in the early hours. It's not nice. I did however manage to show some restraint and did not hurt my sleeping husband (as suggested in that post I linked to***).

**In the first 4 days of August we had more rain than we had in all of August and September last year. Fingers crossed it keeps up.

***Clumsy grammar. I'm sick and I'm tired. Try to ignore it.

On my desk

Well look at that, Wednesday again and you know what that means don't you? It's 'on my desk' day. So what wonders have appeared on my desk today?

First of all some flowers from Aislin - she loves to bring me flowers from the garden (or from the school principal's garden in this case - oh dear).

A card. Every day I pull one from the pack (Cheryl Richardson's Grace cards). It keeps me 'mindful' and makes me think a bit more deeply than 'what shall I make for dinner tonight?'. I like to think whatever I pick is the message I need for that day. Today it was this.....and no, it has nothing to do with my ongoing insomnia.....although......

On the back it says 'Keep your eyes open. When we decide to live a more conscious life we see signs of grace everywhere'. Very appropriate for me today for so many reasons.

And last, and most definitely least, bills. They have to be paid and I'm trying to do it in a spirit of gratitude rather than resentment....without you Telstra, no phone, no internet...and SA Water? Well, speaks for itself really.

More on my desk here

On my desk

I have a confession - two in fact. First, I am a voyeur. Not in a pervy way (well not much) but in a more domestic way. I like seeing the inside of people's houses. Especially work rooms and desks etc. I can't explain it but I don't feel too guilty owning up to it here because anyone reading this is probably a bit of a voyeur too, isn't that why we read blogs ....it's not? Oh....that's just me is it? Well now you know.

The second confession is that I'm quite lazy. If there's an easy way to do something I'll find it and take full advantage. So when I discovered that Kirsty at Kootoyoo had a 'game' called 'On My Desk', where every Wednesday's post is a picture of what is on your desk that day, I was all over it. First I crept around the players blogs in my raincoat peeping at their desks then I realised that I could do it too and it would solve the blogging problem one day a week - there's not usually much to talk about on a Wednesday. I'm sure if I surf the blogosphere long enough I can find a game for every day of the week and you'll never have to listen to me blethering again. Well, sorry to disappoint you (third secret confession, I like the sound of my own voice). So from now on Wednesdays will be 'On My Desk' day and you'll get to see a photo of my coffee cup what I'm working on and perhaps a bit of an explanation.

First a bit about my desk. I love it. It's old and pretty crappy looking. It was once an office desk from some government department before they decided that office desks are better when they're U-shaped lumps of formica surrounded by 'walls'. Remember when people worked in offices at solid wooden desks and everyone could see each other? Anyway, my desk is from those days. It's scratched and ink stained (ink? what's that? it's what we put in pens before gel was invented - tsk) and the drawer handles are ugly and sometimes they get loose and fall off. I'm always planning to sand and varnish it and buy it new handles but I quite like it the way it is really. It has character and it has seen me through many a long and stressful project/essay/assignment and we have bonded through my pain. Those scratches are battle scars. From time to time I look at the smart shiny desks in the office supplies shops that come with matching bookcases and comfy leather chairs but they are so heartless and unfriendly. I'll stick to my solid old friend thank you very much.

So getting to the point (finally), what is on my desk? I've blogged before (with photos) about my office tidying projects, those things are still there, Tara and the piece of Turkish textile. I also permanently have a desk lamp, my laptop, a file stand thing, a photo of the girls, a box of tissues and at the moment I have a very dusty red 1960s Swedish Art Glass vase that I found in a box of 'junk' my mother-in-law gave me to look through (she thought there might be something I'd want).

I'm not usually given to 'ornaments' (dust collectors) and something like this is not usually my taste (too 'retro') but for some reason I like it and in certain lights the colour is amazing, so I'll clean it up and find a spot for it. And of course Swedish Art Glass is very collectable.

There is the ubiquitous coffee mug, I have several lovely ones but today I am using one that cost $1.49 in the supermarket. I bought it for Hannah to take to school on hot Milo days (she breaks them a lot - 5 so far - so I bought a cheap one). It's a hideous colour but it's big and I needed a big cup of coffee this morning (don't ask).

And lastly, what am I working on today? Well it's not on my desk top, but it is on my desktop - the dreaded website. Which will probably explain why I've just spent and hour faffing about with this blog post and taking photos of coffee cups.

Welcome to 'On My Desk Wednesday'.