My vote could go either way.

Help Boganette decide - awesome or not so awesome?

Love(ing getting) letters and Christmas cheer

Wow, this real mail thing is great.

I started writing the letters without the expectation of letters in return, so it's been a real pleasure to receive letters and cards back. And some of those letters have been written so well I've almost cried. You guys rock.

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I know it's only August, so talk of Christmas may upset some of you, but I don't care! And that's because it's at this time of year that Jules and I start to talk about what delicious treats will make up our meals on Christmas day. It's such an incredible pleasure to talk about eggs cooked with cream for breakfast, and champagne on tap throughout the day. Mmmmmmmm.

Dear John...

What a fabulous response I got to my desperate plea for letter buddies. And I'm so pleased that there are people who love and adore snail mail as much as I do. Unless it's bills, and then I'm not such a big fan.

Did I mention that our power bill was $300 this month. Ouch. And that's with us barely being here.

Speaking of letter writing, and not being able to help myself when it comes to thrifting, I thought I'd show y'all a little beauty I picked up a couple of months ago:

Da da! It's a ... um ... I don't know what the word is for it so I am going to call it my writing folder.

It has all sorts of pockets and compartments for me to store my letter writing paraphernalia:

It's circa 1984 as you can see by the helpful calendar:

I also have a thrifted letter holder:

I love this and I suspect it was handmade because inscribed on the back with a wood iron is "Dearest Mummy, love David and Margaret 1954".

Lovely.

Medicine

 

Sheesh, she's deperate

I love writing letters and I love stationary. I love finding the right postcard for the message. I'm even starting to feel fondly towards some stamps.

When I was a kid, I had penfriends and sure, they were all right, but at the ripe old age of 31, penfriends are a little lame. But that's what I think I'm looking for.

I write to my friends and family pretty regularly but still, I need more. I need more people to write to.

Did I mention that I'm single-handedly bringing back correspondence. The proper kind. Not this fly-by-night electronic kind.

So please, send me your address so I can write to you. I don't expect a response, and you can op out anytime. But REAL MAIL folks. What's not to love?

Barry Newsdesk is THE news.

Barry Newsdesk is a Citizen Journalist. He was made redundant at the start of the year and decided to use his powers for good by starting his blog.

The interwebs being what they are, you have to take people at face value but you also have to keep in mind that they may actually be pretending to be an entirely different person. So at the risk of offending him, and I really hope I don't because he's a top bloke, I have to say that I can't work out if Barry Newsdesk is an utter genius or someone who had a minor head injury as a child.

Decide for yourself when you pop by his blog. Best post so far has to be one of his latest: Crazy Crazy Crazy Night. Read it and laugh. Or weep. Or maybe do a little of both.

Mmmmm, books

 

I love and adore Agatha Christie books. And I love and adore Slightly Foxed, a wonderful secondhand book store in the Victorian Precinct (what was once known as the Old Part of Town).

I've found some wonderful AC treasures there of late... but it's never enough. I can never find enough time to clean the fridge, but I can finish one of these books in a matter hours once I've started reading.

Any chance you, my dear reader, would be willing to swap some Agatha Christie's for, perhaps, some vintage aprons? Or vintage scarves? Or maybe you'd like me to keep a look out for a certain little retro something for your collection?

Pop!

I love pop culture. And the term 'pop culture' helps me feel like I'm not just wasting my life away in front of the telly. Rather, I am expanding my knowledge in an important sociological area.

Or something like that.

And so I also like to read about pop culture. One of my all-time favourite sites is MamaPop - a pop culture blog for mamas.

They have expanded my horizons. What would my life have been without Joss Weldon's Dollhouse? Or True Blood, which has our very own darling Anna Paquin as the star. (BTW - and I'm confident this will be the millionth time I've told you this - I held Anna's Oscar. It was heavy).

And now they've introduced me to Amanda Palmer. Man, this woman ROCKS. Check her out for yourself:

Oh Christmas Tree

I'm taking part in this Christmas ornament swap. Because going back to work* after 18 months at home with a kid who still wakes in the night was not enough to fill in my days.

I've started which, frankly, IS A FREAKING MIRACLE, but that's about all. I made one piece (only 29 more pieces to go... did I mention that I designed the most time consuming ornament EVER?) and had to open a bottle of wine**.

Blimey. I'm such an eeyore somedays. So, for those of you who are still reading after my grizzling, here's the silver lining - I can expect some precious, handmade ornaments for my Christmas tree this year. Yay to that.

*Yes, I have a new, full-time job. I've been meaning to write about it but, for one reason or another, I haven't. It's also one of those jobs where it's best not to talk to the interweb about it. Most excitingly, it means that Jules is now a full-time dad/house husband. It's like I've landed in feminist heaven. He even has my tea ready for me at 6. Still working on him greeting me at the door with my pipe and slippers. I'm going to make that a stretch goal in his performance review this year. Am I still blathering on about this? It appears I am.

**Jules, if you're reading this, please keep calm. I went for the moderately priced stuff i the cellar.

I should do that at some stage

My darling friend Phil has a mostly-music blog called I Should Do That At Some Stage.

It's a delicious mix of reviews, cat photos (hi Indie!) and comments on life. He's the go-to man should you ever want to know anything about New Zealand music. Actually, he's the go-to man full-stop (trust me on this; I've been in a pub quiz team with him for about 4 years).

Best of all, he writes like the utter genius he is. Check out this opening comment on Paul Simon's Graceland:

I've always been fond of the title track to this classic album even though it penetrated easy listening radio more easily than Elvis's jaw penetrated a peanut butter, marshmallow and banana sandwich.

Brilliant.