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Well, I've finally decided to start a journal after talking about it for so long.  Now I'll just need to keep it up as so many of these things have been started and then cease to be updated. 

So, why now?  Why not?  It's sort of still quite close to the start of the year and I'm determined to have a better one than the last.  Perhaps keeping this will make me find the positives and try not to dwell on the negatives too much - though I can't promise that there won't be some of that!

There have been a couple of positive starts to the year: I've started writing again - out of the blue a new lyric came bounding into my head and i had to get it down on paper (ok, on screen) and that made me realise how much I've missed my music since moving here. 

Oh yeah, better explain that - moved here to Cape Town, South Africa back in Sept 2005.  Came with husband and in-laws, all my family actually live here already.  Bit of a wrench after being born and bred in London, England and pretty much living in the same house for most of my life (was the family home then inherited).  Seemed like a good idea at the time, at other times I wonder what the hell we've done but as I always say, "this is real life, not a dress rehearsal", we will work at making the best of it (for the moment).  Sometimes it's wonderful, sometimes it's just not - a bit like life really.

Another positive was finding my 'stitchy bug' (seemed to have been on a long holiday and was reluctant to return) and getting the first piece finished for the year - for someone else of course - and so I need to get other things done so I can do something for me.  I'm a SABLE stitcher - Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy - and I know that's not going to change in the near future!

Fun event - is planning our trip to the Grand Canyon/Las Vegas/California due to take place in April with a few days stop over in London to see friends.  All to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary, our being together for 20 years and best friends for 21 years.

What else?  Work isn't too bad - still doing some freelance editing for a university over here and just taken on some transcription work for a UK company over here to fill in the gaps.  Plus, the hobby business R and I have started is moving to the next level and will require more attention and work.  Then there's the house to still renovate, the cats to look after and of course the in-laws who live in a 'granny flat' attached to the house.  I'm in the habit of saying that I don't need children, I have parents - his two and my father - they are enough to handle!

Couple more bits of general information, areas that I'll probably expand on as entries progress.

Film: last film seen - 13 Ghosts on TV last night, seen it before but stayed up to watch it again for the house and the unusual cast.  Actually a bit hooked on some TV programmes at the moment!  Need to organise a day at the movies soon to catch up with stuff on release.  Love horror films but have no one to go with.

Music:  see above.  Current Foo Fighters album is playing, really getting into this quite easily.  Never really got into In Your Honour that much, maybe it was the feel of two totally separate albums.  This fits more with me, like One By One and Nothing Left To Lose (my fave I think).

Books: Anthony Kiedis' Scar Tissue and Velocity by Dean Koontz.

Stitching: Last bit of a Honeypot Bears round robin, birth sampler for a friend, birth sampler for a cousin.

Well, I think that will do for the first bit of insight into the world of Z.