Where are my parents?

This much I know: my parents are somewhere in the desert, in Australia.

This is not very helpful, since 44% of Australia is desert (and a further 37% is "semi-arid"... I think that included our backyard).

Mum called a few days ago and said, "I just thought I'd say bye, we're leaving in half an hour" – as if they were going to pop out to Grandma's. They've been planning their desert trek for a while, but evidently didn't tell any of their five children much about it.

I emailed my brother a little while ago and said, So, are Mum and Dad going to Ayers Rock, or where? He emailed back:

"They left in the Landrover. Stan and Glenys went too, they took plenty of food and will be gone for a while. Hopefully Dan knows where they went."

Yes. As a family, we have it so together.

Everyone needs a Vespa

Jeweler Jennifer Cora chose my Ciao Bella Vintage Vespa card for her "Should I Buy A Vespa?" treasury – which is both a fantastic collection and an important question.

The answer is yes, of course. A resounding yes. We bought ours ... let's see ... three years ago, but it's pulling a little Rip Van Winkle in Princeton, Texas. Having a bit of a snooze while it gets restored. But it is going to be fab-u-lous.

Nathan's been obsessed with Vespas since our first trip to Italy (well, the trip when we first met...). There's definitely something about them that magically makes you a bit more hip and a lot more carefree than your everyday self. And turns you, necessarily, into a risk-taker, a devil-may-care type: "Nervous about cobblestones? Afraid of potholes, moi? Never! Ride on!"

Maybe I'm a bit obsessed with them too.

A billion boxes

I think our possessions are multiplying while we sleep.

We are not people who keep very many things. Seriously. I used to be, but Nathan has a disorder (I'm sure it's a disorder) that gives him irresistible urges to throw things away... all the time. So we're not pack rats, hoarders, or people who like to have "stuff".

So why is it that every time I go to bed feeling I've just packed half the house into boxes, I wake up to a new reality: there are a billion boxes left to go.

I have a theory, but since it involves mischievous elves and nefarious plots I'll keep it to myself. There's no need to sound insane.

Crunching the numbers

Berry runs a few quick calculations on how much of my time she can waste – I mean delightfully occupy – today.

It's a kind of joint multi-national project with her little cousin C in South Africa. His mum calls him "The Ministry for Stamping Out Productivity".

Disturbingly accurate.


. . .

Moving out

Everyone's packing up and moving. We're surrounded by towers of boxes, and in our little corner of the neighbourhood alone, six families are leaving for new stations.

This mountain of boxes is part of Mike and Marianne's move. We've been within a stone's throw of them for the whole three long years of residency – Mike and Nathan work together, and we lived on the same street on-base in Mississippi, and after Hurricane Katrina sent us up here we ended up next door to each other.

They left for California yesterday, where Mike's going to start his fellowship. We're really going to miss them.

We leave in exactly two weeks. Despite the endless packing, I'm not sure that's really sinking in yet...

Brides everywhere...

I love weddings and I love being chosen for Etsy treasuries – so this was good: jewellery designer onesmallstar put my Bella Figura "Happily Ever After" card in her bright-and-shiny wedding-themed treasury!

Prettiness

After Annie and Fred's ceremony, the stairs were awash with little girls in white dresses playing with their activity bags – putting on silvery rings, playing with stickers, eating crackers, drawing in their notebooks... (For weddings where children will be at the ceremony, activity bags are an excellent idea).

Speaking of excellent things – see that velvety rose clip in Berry's hair, with the little sparkle in the centre? That was one of my very clever Etsy acquisitions. I also got some adorable little white flower clips for her to wear to Aaron and Sue's wedding (see picture below). Everywhere we went, people commented on how cute she was with those clips in her hair. So... nice work PamperingBeki! They were a hit.

You Deserve Cake

Finally I listed this new You Deserve Cake graduation/congratulations card on Etsy. Inside it says: "You're one smart cookie".

I'm also going to sell a version that just says "Congratulations" inside – you know, for people who have done awesome things apart from graduating!

But it's graduation season; cleverness is everywhere...

Ten

Pajiba has just put out a semi-subversive 10 Hottest list that includes John Krasinski, Jon Stewart, Natalie Portman and Paul Rudd.

I'd just like to know (1) if they have been reading my journal and (2) why I didn't think up an excuse to post a picture of John Krasinski much, much sooner.

(Jim makes my heart beat fast.)

Redemption

I may not be the next Top Chef, but I am determined.

I took another shot at the disastrous pasteis de nata (see post below) and ta-daaaaa!

It's actually quite presentable, isn't it. A little light on the heart-stopping, adrenaline-pumping, flame-fighting madness – but quite presentable.