Whoo-hoo, school has started! That means more time for me to work, do some creative stuff and plan my big idea. I have been playing with the scheme in my head for quite a while now, but haven’t really had much time to do anything practical with it. But if I pull it off, it will be fun, because it will put together my love of words with my passion for crafting. I couldn’t ask for more.

Oh well, still a lot of work to be done though, and since I am Procrastination Queen, I have spent the last half an hour or so looking at the holiday pictures. Some of them are really fun (often in a horrid kind of way) and I can’t wait to scrapbook them all. until then, here is a snapshot of what we did last summer (after all, it is almost over. Today, it feels definitely autumnal over here).

The little Indiana Jones


getting the knack of swimming


Disco divo


Beach babe


Playing great-great-great-great-grandmother’s piano


With my great aunt


Taking the waters in Milan


At home in London


Mummy and papa photographed by Niccolo


New recruit


Relaxing at home


at hever castle, watching the joust


Fun at Hever castle


Baby pirate at Eurodisney


My two pirates

Phew! It has been an intense month, a whirlwind of Paris, Disneyland, London, Legoland, new museums and old parks, Milan, now Florence. We have travelled, eaten, taken rides, grown (some of us vertically, others horizontally), had an inordinate amount of fun…and worked and planned. To avoid depriving the children of my presence during their waking hours, I worked from 6am to 9am which, considering Caterina is still waking up at night every two or three nights, means that I am shattered and need a holiday after the holidays. It also means that I had virtually no time to scrapbook, collage, paint, read or do anything else anything beyond some basic backgrounds I did on a couple of afternoons when Niccolo decided to paint.But I have plans, big plans, and they are finally taking shape behind the scenes. I have to say a huge thank you to my ever supportive writer friend Leslie and to Andrea Singarella who, instead of sending me packing for having emailed her completely out of the blue to ask for moral support, was extremely encouraging and kind. If customs duties weren’t so crippling for items coming in from the US, I’d buy her entire stock tomorrow because 1. it is great and 2. she is great.Now, Nicco’s school resumes in ten days, and that’s when I’ll start making things happen. So watch this space….