She looks so cute! I love the pre-cut expression on her face.

What a big girl Em is now! Gorgeous!

We won our game today. Emmett had a bases clearing triple.

I'm totally suffering for my foolish failure to not wear sunscreen.

The summery weather snuck up on me!

Emmett has discovered that blowing bubbles with gum cracks Matilda up. His life is pretty much dedicated to making her laugh anymore.

Rock on Emmett.

How did it take him this long to figure out the bubble thing? Maybe it took her this long to react, I guess. I totally remember that from when Hilary was wee.

Emmett and Matilda are my total OT-non-creepy-P.

Emmett had a bases clearing triple.

Emmett is The Man.

You know what's weird? Being more or less on the same timezone as the rest of the 'ffistas.

What a day. I think I'm going to join Mal and snuggle up to watch some mindless TV with milk and cookies.

I missed CJ's game today, but they won 13-0. So far his team has lost just one game, to a team who has lost none so far.

Raq in the states!!! YAY!!! And in the DC area means I might get to meet Mr. Mal in June. I hope, I hope, I hope.

I'm sorry, sj. The good news is that prostate cancer is one of the most treatable ones there is; my grandfather was diagnosed a few years ago, and he's fine now after chemo and radiation.

BLESS Matilda and her toes! Bless!

And dear lord, how did Princess Em get so big?

Fay! Have you seen examples of your tattoo artist's work?

She's done 5 of my friend's tattoos, and they're exquisite. Granted they're a very different proposition from my own design, being black line work rather than outline-less colour work, but 3 of them are VERY complex - a very detailed & ornate buddha design, a matching female buddha (?) and a Ganesh - all of which were custom done. They're all lovely. She's also done one piece of colour work on him sans outlines, which was all red (the stylised Japanese setting sun thingy), but gradiates very subtly from the strong red in the centre to an ever softer and more faded-out red at the edges, using different inks.

Is she genius enough to render a peacock feather?

Judging from the photographs of her own work that she's got up around her studio, she's done plenty of colour work with designs of orchids and lillies and butterflies and suchlike, and I'd say she's as good an artist as I am. Using pencils it only took me 10 minutes to copy a feather from a photograph and fiddle with it until it looked about right. The design itself is detailed, but it isn't complex - certainly it's less complex than the designs she's already done on my friend, and there's a lot more flexibility about how one renders individual barbs on the feather than there is about the details of the Ganesh or Buddha image. The fiddly bit will be making the colours on the eye work, and trying to get it as detailed as possible. However, I've just bought four peacock feathers from the market this morning as an additional visual aid.

Are you sure you want to start with something so big?

Yes. Because the thing of it is that I'm thinking about the whole body as the canvas in which empty space is as important as line and colour, rather than thinking of a nice wee design and then sticking it somewhere. The shape interacts with the space, and because it's a feather, and quite a flexible and haphazard one, hopefully it should still work and look good regardless of how the body moves (or indeed changes shape). I like the idea of having something beautiful and dramatic which is in a place where it won't be casually visible - and of having no other tattoos. I may add to this design (I was pondering getting some wee outline-less colourful stars around it, but decided to leave that until later and stick with the feather for now) but I don't think I'll be getting another one.

I have concerns.

Well, it's kind of you. I know that my wee sister and my parents will be gutted if and when they find out, because none of them like tattoos AT ALL (although I have some hopes that they may come around to seeing that it's a very pretty thing after all). My best friends are REALLY not keen on tattoos either. I know that even though I feel very positive about this it's still possible that I may be making a mistake, but you know, I've spent five or six years thinking about getting a tattoo, and this design seems really right to me.

And also... I spend my whole life NOT taking chances. I think that for once I'd rather regret something I have done than something I haven't.

And also - I can't think of the last time I considered any part of my body beautiful. I mostly just try to ignore it. I really like the idea of having something beautiful on my skin - even if nobody but me and the cat ever see it.

Apparently the RIAA has been given exclusive rights by the US Copyright office to collect all royalties for every song played on internet radio, even if the artists are not members, even if they don't want them to. And to get the royalties, you have to pay to join their subsidiary.

[link]

Anyone around?

I need a second opinion. My nose started running badly yesterday, and the post-nasal drip ripped up my throat. I'm up after only 4 hours of sleep and the nose is still running and it hurts like a bitch to swallow. Claritin didn't touch it, and the good Sudafed only made a small dent. I have to be on a plane a week from today for work.

Do I go to urgent care or wait and see if I feel better?