Now ladies.  I must admit that I DO enjoy reading about your vintage sheet collecting (hi, Mel!), and the colourful floral designs we all remember from our childhoods  - making their way from op shop shelves to our home linen cupboards.  BUT due to my own issues of geography (i.e. living in Eastern Europe), I myself don't ever come home from the oppie with these sheets.  The only ones I've got are inherited from my fabulous Grandmother - well worn and loved, and rarely used, because my sons would not appreciate fusions of multicoloured floral sheets on their single beds.

So imagine my surprise when my vintage sheets made a stunning appearance in my life today - on one of those special days of the year - my birthday.

You see, Jem is away on a work trip, and my two younger men (Mik, 7 yrs and Tiss, 10 yrs) went into overdrive this morning, trying to make my birthday special.  Quite amazing to see them rev up and take full responsibility for birthday spoiling, when they realized Jem wouldn't be around to do it.  I heard their alarm go off at 6am this morning, and before I drifted back into fitful dreams of Brazilian Baptist Evangelism, I heard them tiptoeing downstairs and pans clattering in the kitchen. Before I knew it they were waking me with song, and piling home-made cards and presents on the bed (ones that Jem had prepared earlier), and the smell of fried eggs wafted up from the kitchen.

When I finally made it down the stairs I was stunned by the chic dining experience they had conjured up.  There was a MOUNTAIN of fried eggs on the table (yep, Tiss fried up the whole pack), there were two lit candles (they couldn't find any candle sticks so they had fished an empty brandy bottle from the rubbish), there were no knives or forks (c'mon, you can't get it ALL perfect), and last but not least... the tablecloth was one of my gran's blue floral vintage sheets.  And no, the boys didn't know it was a sheet.  They felt sure it was a tablecloth.  And beautifully spread out on the table it was, too.

Best present a mum could ever get on her birthday. And for those of my friends who have daughters - you'd better look out!  And lock up those vintage sheets.  I've got two fine-dining lady-killers in training here!

So my folks are in town this week and we decided to take advantage of the fact that we have inbuilt baby sitters for a few days. We managed to get out last night - invited along some other friends who also have kids. The bar that everyone always seems to end up at was totally packed, wall-to-wall Friday night crowd come along to party and hear a folk band we all know and love.
We do this so rarely - go out without the kids - that we all felt crazily juvenile. I think the young singles that we bumped in to didn't quite know what was happening for all the excited jumping up and down, yelled conversations and rounds of beer that were coming our way. A friend plied me with a new taste sensation - cranberry beer, dark red and thick and sweet, never tasted anything like it before. Certainly didn't taste like beer!
So, one of those moments when you are bowled over by something you used to take for granted - being able to go out to a bar for no reason, unencumbered, with no curfew, free and irresponsible.   So exhilarating!  Pity our heads and bodies are paying for it today.  Ah, that's getting older, I guess.

Easter holidays in sub zero temps means more of the same indoor action. We hung out with friends at their place last night and our boys ( we have two; they have two) ran in circles for FIVE HOURS with toy swords and sticks and shields. Through the kitchen, through the lounge, into the passage, back into the kitchen. Yelling the whole time. When, oh when will it be warm enough for us to boot them outdoors for hours at a time to do the running and yelling? What is a reasonable temperature? Anything above zero degrees? Of course the hard-core locals insist that as long as you have a good thermal jumpsuit you can lock them outdoors at any temp. I'm just a big old' softy I guess.


In other news, we went to an exhibition this arvo. Soviet era industrial and poster design by a well-known Latvian artist of the era. Lots of pointless kinetic sculpture which was a real treat.


Even Mikus was entertained for a while.  Gotta love an era of graphic design before the time of computer layout - where posters are all collages and hand lettering and texta pen. The posters in this exhibition were especially interesting for their Soviet era public service announcements. Need to take heed of some of that timeless advice:

Every morning since I've been back from tropical South America - more than a week ago - I look out the window and see that the snowman is still there, proudly sticking out its sticky little arms and blank face pointing into the sun.

I loathe him.

I flew off to Brazil in late february.  When I left Riga it was quite mild - just under zero degrees - and I departed safe in the knowledge that when I returned it would be March already, and winter would be at an end, and there would be hope and a bit of warmth in the air. I didn't expect 25 degrees and a warm wind.  I would have been happy with 1 degree and slowly melting ice and snow.

Turns out, the week before I arrived back home, there was some snow.  And Mikus got busy and built this tiny little snowman in the backyard. Now, snowmen are usually a short-lived thing.  You can only build them when things are relatively warm (around zero degrees), because at that temp the snow is good and sticky.  You often wake up the next day to find your snowman melting, or already in a puddle on the ground, because things have warmed up overnight.

But not this snowman.  Oh, no.  THIS snowman has been beautifully preserved by the fact that the temps dropped down, down, down.  The closer I got to Riga, the colder it got.  I've been home for over a week now and we are still enjoying super-duper-don't-go-outside-you'll-turn-into-an-icicle temps.  The wind chill factor is minus a million and our pellet heating system is eating pellets like there's no tommorrow.

I that is why I HATE THAT SNOWMAN!

So I'm back, and before I return to normal programming (ie. Latvian weather reports), I will make a couple of trivial observations about Brazil, for your viewing pleasure:


 6.  Some of the best impromptu photo shoots occur when you have received ridiculous frocks from well-meaning gift-givers

 7. Sao Paulo has awesome street art, everywhere.  Totally colourful and creative streetscape.




9. Listening to the Brazilian jungle through professional sound equipment is a spectacular auditory feast which should be on everyone's bucket list.

...and last but not least...

10. From what I've seen -  Rio is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  Pity it is also a dangerous city, where tourists are warmly advised not to carry around cameras.  Because of that, I have no photo to show you what I mean.  You will have to go yourself some day and check it out. 

I'm off to Brazil again on Tuesday - filming a few extra things for the documentary we've been making for the last 50 years of my life. Sounds glamorous eh, "flying to Brazil to film for a documentary".  I like to say it as often as I can, so that I can bask in the glow of what it sounds like, before reality sinks in.

Carnival will have just finished when we hit Rio.  I fully expect to see some people in silver-spangled thongs (and I'm not talking footwear), straggling home late from the after party.  But sadly, no glitter and fruit-topped head pieces for me - oh no.  I will be visiting a minister in the favelas (slums) of Rio before heading straight inland to visit ageing colonies of fanatical believers to talk about the second coming and experiences of living in the jungle.  Also exotic, but not quite samba-queen style glamour, I tell ya.

Mind you, I am really looking forward to going.  Of course I'm feeling a tad guilty to leave my gang behind to fend for themselves - all that compensatory tv and pizza will definitely be hard on them - but I think the break is just what I need.  Being outdoors with no snow and ice and overcast minus degrees.  And time without worrying about issues at home will also do me a world of good.