Aren't you glad you don't live in Oxford?

Go Illini!

He's the baby brother. Not mine, but it's almost like he has always been.

Side-splittingly(sic) funny, very talented, maker of very brave decisions, frightfully grown up and, as this picture proves, bloody darned clever!

Congratulations Nodot.

You make us very proud.

P.S. Thank You Kabes for this and the other pictures.

Things Your Mother Should've Told You, Young Girl @ Bus Stop: 101

NEVER wear gaily coloured, floral- or Disney-printed, full-coverage granny knickers under white trousers of any description. NEVER.

ALWAYS shave your underarms if there is even the remotest chance that they might come into public view. ALWAYS.

Garden Weekend

I have always taken the sun for granted and fought to get out of it back home. Two years here and I have morphed into a little bit of a sun-lover. I don't think my sun-seeking behaviour will ever be or that I want it to be quite as intense as that of the great British public, but boy does it lift my spirits to catch a glimpse of some sun! This weekend we had picture-perfect early summer weather, and we spent most of it in and about the garden.

The garden at our earlier home was easy to maintain. It was a square(ish) plot bounded by neat strips of soil beds and the central area was covered in gravel. While gravel is not the prettiest, it's child's play when compared to grass, we were soon to discover. Grass needs to be cut and fed and aerated and a whole lot of other stuff I dare not find out about for fear of being bothered by it.

The term lawn takes on a whole new meaning at Oxford. No pressure then.

Here's a peek the fruit of our labour - stripes and all.
















Dot took it upon himself to photograph the blooms in the garden. He's not quite done yet, but there is always next weekend.

Here are the ones I know the names of,












Ruffled Pansies












Apple Blossoms












Daisies












Holly





...and some others I am yet to learn the names of.

Most of Sunday afternoon was spent horizontal on a garden chair pretend-reading The Book Thief while snoozing away in the shade.

Life is good.

(Many thanks to Dr Simon Ho for the picture of Worcester College.)

Doesn't it get your goat when...

...you are entering your address into a web form on a US website, they give you a dropdown menu to choose the country your order originates from, but in the "State" section, only give you US states to choose from, and then, as if to push you over the edge, throw up an error message to say "Please check the field(s) marked * and amend your entry"?

Ergo, I am now resident in Oxford, which is in the state of Illinois, in the United Kingdom.

Aaaaarrrrgggh!

Did you think I'd forget?

Two years on, it's all still so vivid.

I remember celebrating your 73rd with you, by your hospital bed, grateful and glad that you had made it. You were in tremendous pain but you kept your big-toothed smile on. I was proud of you, proud of us. We had weathered the storm, together. Little did I know then how much our lives would change in the next ten days.

You've missed so much you know. I'm a big girl now. We bought our own home and I can cook even! You would be so proud of me. I know you are proud of me, wherever you are. When I sit in the garden, enjoying the sunshine, listening to the birds, I know you're there, watching, taking it all in, smiling.

It's ironic how two of your most significant anniversaries happen to be in the same month. Yet I choose to 'celebrate' only this one, and that's how it's always going to be. Happy 75th Papa. I still miss you.

Lifeblog post

Lifeblog post
Originally uploaded by fortyfiveminutes.

Wed 30-04-2008 19:33 30042008009 Ma

The title of this post and the strange numbers are all testament to the fact that the author of this weblog is now the happy recipient of a brand spanking new Nokia N95 8GB mobile phone.

She is so happy to go back to using a Nokia, she could cry. Nokia ki jai!

She can't help but rub her hands in glee at the endless possibilities and the mine-is-bigger-brighter-and-shinier-than-yours advantage over her significant other. It makes him want to cry.

For you, the uneducated masses, she will list some of the virtues of this magnificent device:

The Lifeblog - gives her the ability to post pictures and blogs straight to her Flickr account and here.

The SportsTracker - she can now make a science of her training for the Race for Life (and give Dot the incentive to accompany her).

The GPS Navigator - she now won't lose her way and end up at the shops at lunchtime.

Don't you wish you were her?