Sheepish...

... about sneaking back here after such a long absence, and so many other absences. But I find I really don't want to give up my blog, so I'll just have to get cracking and post. Even if life does seem routine and mundane.
I hate to post without a pic, so this is of some of the really cute shoulder bags I made in the weeks before Christmas, all as gifts (though a whole heap of them were... ahem ... unnecessary, as without my knowing, certain family members had ... ahem ... called for a secret Santa, so didn't actually need individual gifts).
The bag is a brilliant design by Jane, in Singapore, who blogs here. It really takes about an hour to put one bag together, go to whoa, and takes very little fabric. The best thing, though, is there is very little fiddling and yet the corners all end up perfectly, it's lined, and there are no raw edges anywhere. A miracle! It was a lot of fun to make them all, and everyone who got one from me at Christmas seemed really delighted. I have an order to make a slightly bigger version for one of Mum's friends who wants it to carry her iPad in. Jane says she's happy for you to sell these bags once you've bought the pattern, so that's great.
Life has been a bit of a blur since my last post. Before Christmas work was intense and all-encompassing ... then there was Christmas itself with my parents here from Albany. This was closely followed by a wonderful visit from my cousin Susan and her husband, Paul, from Norwich; Will's birthday; my grand-daughter's second birthday; a couple of weeks' holiday down south; a book to edit; a visit from my brother and his new wife from New Zealand; another long weekend with them down south; and, finally, time to feel as though the year proper has started.
On top of all that, David has been in a flurry of theatre and show-going for the Festival of Perth, and the concurrent Fringe Festival – about 40 events in a month. He's reviewed about half for the West Australian (have a look at his account of Faustian Pact!) and the rest on his blog.
A lot of my friends have been his dates (I'm so grateful!), though I went with him last night to see Raoul, and we're off to see Peter Brook's A Magic Flute tonight, and the amazing-sounding Striggio and Tallis next week.
A big year ahead at Schloss Zed ... Will starts uni this week, Lily has signed up for a second year in Japan - which has spurred the teachers she works with to devise new programs and challenges for her to get stuck into, David has a few new projects to start once the Festival is over, and I'm just planning to keep on going. And, I hope, blogging. I've missed it. See you soon!