and other things.
It's been a pretty tough week. But there has been brightness and joy too. I was really touched by how many people reached out to offer their support and love. These beautiful flowers were sent by one of my old flatmates from Glasgow days - they absolutely made me cry when they arrived - and its especially lovely as she never got to meet him and she still knew how special and important he was in my life, even when I was messing around in Scotland and he was just bumbling around in a field waiting for me to come and play with him again. My heart still feels like it is being crushed when I think about it too much, but I can at least look at photos of him without blubbing now.
We shared a beautiful last afternoon together, he mucked around a little in the wind and cropped the fresh spring grass. But as the afternoon wore on he calmed and we ended up standing quietly together for a long time. The vet came, I have known him for years and it helped that I knew I could trust him to be gentle, Max didn't put up a moment's fuss, he was my calm and gallant friend right until the end. I gave him a kiss as the drugs started working and then I curled up holding his head as he slipped away.
Later on I looked though all my old photos and remembered how much he loved to jump, and how young we both were. He gave me so much and I will keep all of it safe for ever.
But I said I was going to write about postcard and not ponies, so here goes. Last week I put together this poster. The first draft looked a bit more like this, with lots of books I'd read and authors I like, but the colours never quite gelled - and I came back across the picture that originally inspired me and realised the colour blocking worked rather better! And, as I always tell my students - 'it's not plagiarism if you acknowledge your sources' - so thank you Design Mom, the finished second attempt is now brightening up the kitchen.
You can make one of your very own with a set of 100 postcards from Penguins,
available from all good retailers or Amazon, a large photo frame, this one is Ikea, a piece of card, some blue tac and a ruler. I probably ought to add a note - beware large and heavy picture frames from Ikea. You can just about see in the first attempt that the frame is bowing out at the sides under its own weight. Fortunately I'm married to a husband that can, not only put picture frames up properly in the first place, but will also screw a series of eyelets in around the frame and tie in a diamond to hold it all in together. Unfortunately I am unable to guarantee one of these comes with every Ikea purchase.
Today has been slightly odd and resulted in a little more craft projecting. I thought I held myself pretty well together last week, but my brain clearly decided otherwise. I get migraines occasionally, I don't always know what triggers them but I'm sure at least a couple have been related to stress or emotional upheavals - I got knocked sideways by one this weekend. My mother-in-law was here so at least Ed and the kids had someone else around, but it wasn't the greatest visit.
I realised last night that I probably wasn't going to be fit for teaching on Monday, then had the greatest fun of trying to remember how to send an email - apparently you need to type the recipient address into the To: box and not the subject line. Reading it back this afternoon was quite comical as it was quite evident that I had lost my usual command of grammar, specifically the difference between the past and present tense as well as not being able to tell the difference between an ampersand and a pound sign. Hopefully my head of department will have sorted it into English before taping it to my desk! The other spectacularly idiotic event of the evening was deciding that I was fit enough to be helpful and bath Pip and put him to bed. Ed looked on slightly bemused but only said 'it is a little early' as I tucked him in. I thought he meant 5 minutes early, I went downstairs and looked at the clock. It was an hour early. He did go to sleep though, so yay!
This afternoon has retuned to me control over a key pad and my headache has receded to a place where typing is not an ordeal - this morning that wasn't going to happen. Luckily screen printing doesn't require the same concentration so the yellow tunics were done which is sort of school work. Just a few black ones, something flash for Theseus, a robe for the priest and I think most of my sewing work is done. Well, so long as the clothes I've inadvertently ordered from India come in the size I am hoping!
